Firm scraps planned London plant citing U.S. tariff threat

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By: Norman De Bono

The threat of steep U.S. tariffs on Canadian-made goods has shut down one London manufacturing plant before it opened.

China-based Maple Armor Group announced in August it bought 5.6 hectares (14 acres) of land in London to build a plant to make residential, commercial and industrial alarm systems.

The company has a plant in Brossard, Que., and planned to expand to Ontario to tap into the U.S. market, chief operations advisor Harry Yang said.

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But Maple Armor Group has withdrawn from the London land deal and will instead expand its Quebec plant and hold off on U.S. expansion.

“We pulled out,” Yang said. “There’s too much uncertainty. If we were to build a bigger plant here, we would need to sell into the U.S. It’s too chaotic right now. It’s better for us to take a safe approach.”

The company is the second in recent days to announce it will not open a planned manufacturing plant in London. Anvo Pharma has shut down construction of its plant on Bonder Road, and put the lot and partially completed building on the market. The company has pledged to repay a $3.2-million loan it received from FedDev Ontario to build the plant here.

Maple Armor Group bought land in Innovation Park on Boyd Court, north of Highway 401 off Veterans Memorial Parkway, at a cost of $2.9 million, the company announced in August.

Maple Armor Group backed out of the deal in November.

“It was a preliminary purchasing agreement and the city was gracious enough to allow us (time) to decide whether to go ahead,” Yang said. “When we entered into the agreement the intention was clear, to allow us to review and make a decision (later).”

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In November, then U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatened a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods sold into the U.S., a move that would make the price of goods made here more costly for U.S. consumers. After his inauguration on Monday, Trump said he plans on implementing the tariffs on Canadian goods Feb. 1.

“We have the land and facility in Brossard, and we think it would be better with the uncertainty of politics, so there was a change of plans,” Yang said.

Maple Armor Group opened in Quebec in 2011. The company is a subsidiary of the Chinese brand Jade Bird Fire Co. and its Chinese brand name is Mei An.

Jason Bates, manager of the London Region Manufacturing Council, said concern is high among many Southwestern Ontario manufacturers about the impact of possible U.S. tariffs. He recently held an online meeting for members to discuss the possible impact with officials from Global Affairs Canada and more than 700 businesses registered for the call.

“There’s a high level of concern. The unknown is scary in business and there are no answers out there right now,” Bates said.

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“It will be a barrier to the U.S. market. It could be huge.”

U.S. importers will pay the tariff that will be passed on to consumers, pushing up the cost of an item at least 25 per cent.

“Maple Armor is a lost opportunity,” said Kapil Lakhotia, chief executive of the London Economic Development Corp. 

“The U.S. is our biggest trading partner and given the number of companies in Canada that supply food, auto parts, building products and medical devices to name a few, there will be a negative impact. It’s the front and centre issue for manufacturers right now.”

Maple Armor Group planned to build a 5,575-square-metre (60,000-square-foot) plant that would have employed about 50 people.

Anvo Pharma broke ground on its London plant in September 2020. Work stopped on the plant in the Advanced Manufacturing Park at Veterans Memorial Parkway and Bradley Avenue in the summer of 2024. 

The 5,575-square-metre (60,000-square-foot) building on a two-hectare lot was listed for sale in December for $10.5 million.

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