Windsor Star
Editor’s note: This is Part 3 in the Windsor Star’s contribution to Postmedia’s national series “How Canada Wins.” Over five weeks we’ll chronicle our community’s place in the country, the promise of greater prosperity, and the blueprint to get there. See the series intro here.
The future of the Windsor area changed in March 2022 when LG Energy Solution and Stellantis announced they had selected the city to host Canada’s first electric vehicle battery plant.
The initial $5-billion investment with its promise of 2,500 direct jobs led to further announcements of $1.3 billion and 4,000 more jobs landing in the region. Prior to the uncertainty brought by the U.S. tariff threats, the Conference Board of Canada forecast Windsor and Essex County would experience the highest GDP per-capita growth in the country over the next four years.
While plenty of key players — including the federal, provincial and municipal governments — deserve accolades for their role in the Windsor area’s record-level investments, perhaps no organization has boosted the future of Essex County more than Invest WindsorEssex.
As part of Postmedia’s look at How Canada Wins in the future, we take a look at past achievements and the future vision of this community difference-maker.
WHAT IS INVEST WINDSORESSEX?
Invest WindsorEssex is the area’s economic development organization responsible for investment attraction, retention and expansion of existing businesses.
Its Small Business Centre nurtures the growth of small and new businesses with more than 1,000 engagements and events annually while the Automobility and Innovation Centre offers high-tech supports and testing to business through Canada’s largest publicly accessible virtual reality cave.
Just under 30 people work in IWE’s various programs. The organization has a $2.5 million annual budget, funded by the the City of Windsor and Essex County, plus other grants.
“I sat on the board of this organization 25 years ago. This is a completely different organization now,” said IWE’s COO Keith Andrews, who re-joined the organization in January to oversee development of a new strategic plan.
“Windsor-Essex has a brand now — it’s recognizable outside the region. They’re doing things in a completely different way than a decade ago.”
PLANTING SEEDS OF SUCCESS
The seeds of success that resulted in what former Invest WindsorEssex CEO Stephen MacKenzie calls ‘a five-year, overnight success story,” were planted in 2017 when IWE’s strategic plan began to focus on landing a battery plant as the centre of its strategy to make the area the heart of Canada’s automobility sector.
IWE partnered with the German firm P3 identifying targets and putting together a comprehensive package that anticipated questions companies might ask and the government supports they’d need.
Even before companies made inquiries about Windsor, IWE officials had already begun assembling written willing-seller purchase commitments from the various landowners at the Banwell Road site.
When LG/Stellantis reached out, IWE was able to respond with comprehensive answers within 12 hours, setting the clock ticking to the March 2022 announcement.
GENERATIONAL INVESTMENTS LANDED
The Windsor region has never experienced the volume of investment — especially foreign direct investment — it has seen since 2022.
Just over $6.2 billion and 6,513 direct jobs have been announced, which equates to $15,300-plus per-person in Windsor and Essex County.
“The impact of this is generational,” said Joe Goncalves, Invest WindsorEssex’s vice-president of investment attraction and strategic initiatives.
“The unemployment rate is nine per cent now. It would’ve been 18 per cent without what’s happening. It will get lower as these plants come fully online with the thousands of jobs that will be created.”
Included on the list are the NextStar Energy battery plant and 26 companies in its supply chain, 10 advanced manufacturers, seven zero-emission technology manufacturers, six warehousing/distribution firms, three battery/EV research and development centres, a hotel, a laboratory and a pharmaceutical firm.
Goncalves said there are over $4 billion of potential further investments still in the pipeline.
SECRETS OF SUCCESS
While preparing to meet opportunity is a necessity, Goncalves said having existing relationships and creating new ones helps land investment.
“The battery plant wouldn’t be here without Cheryl Holden,” said Goncalves of the then-senior director of investment attraction for the federal ministry of innovation, science and economic development.
“When the companies reached out, she directed them to us because she knew what we were doing and how far along we were in planning.”
He added the strong professional relationship IWE has built with Invest Ontario and FedDev Ontario helped land the battery plant and has allowed IWE to also maximize subsequent opportunities.
Locally, Goncalves singled out the city of Windsor’s deputy chief administrative officer, Jelena Payne, for overseeing city support and rapidly responding to solve problems.
Perhaps the best example of the importance of relationship-building is the one Goncalves developed with Fritz Linner, BMW’s senior vice-president of global purchasing, even though his employer had nothing to do with the battery plant project.
Linner was to participate in an IWE-supported event in Windsor and Goncalves called and offered to pick him up at Detroit Metro Airport. He took a hungry Linner to the Caboto Club for a pizza and the two became fast friends.
“He opened up so many doors for us,” said Goncalves, who joined IWE in September 2020 after working in the automotive sector.
“Sometimes, when companies didn’t want to talk to us, I’d call Fritz. He’d make calls on our behalf and tell them, ‘You really need to talk to these people.’
“Then, a couple hours later, I’d get a call from the company we wanted to talk to. He’s been a tremendous help in us landing some supply chain companies.”
COMMUNITY RIPPLE EFFECTS
The impact of IWE’s attraction success isn’t just in the number of dollars, jobs and plants attracted to the area.
According to Statistics Canada, the area’s population has ballooned by 38,400 people since January 2022.
The region has seen new condo/apartment and housing subdivisions sprout up to accommodate the new residents. Retail space has become more difficult to find, sparking new construction.
“These spinoffs, whether the battery plant and supply chain are in Windsor or elsewhere — are creating jobs for people throughout Essex County,” Goncalves said. “They’ll shop, create retail and live in different communities.
“That’s part of creating economic diversity. They’re coming here because they see the current projects and future growth.”
A hotel anchoring a $200-million commercial development in LaSalle was recently announced while another hotel in Tecumseh is under construction. The Star has also confirmed one of the largest builders in North America now intends to establish a local presence.
National grocers have been adding stores while Devonshire Mall undergoes a massive redevelopment and expansion.
VISION OF FUTURE
As IWE prepares its next strategic plan, it does so from a totally different perspective.
“There’s a confidence here now,” Andrews said. “Success has allowed us to look at what our success can be in the future. In the past, we were chasing things.
“What’s changed is we’ve been able to execute on this substantial investment and the region as a whole is viewed in a different light. There’s a validity.”
While the current tariff war with the U.S. has created uncertainty, it doesn’t change the general focus IWE will pursue.
Andrews said the organization will target more diversification, improving productivity and leveraging the area’s world-class agriculture and advanced manufacturing sectors.
“I don’t think there’s another region in the province or even the country with as much upside as we have,” Andrews said.
HOW DO WE GET THERE?
Andrews said the first step to future prosperity is for IWE to complete its five-year strategic plan, have the assurances of a stable funding model to get a return on investment and ensure it has the modern governance to carry on.
“There are some business folks in the area that have been incredibly successful and I’d like to include their knowledge in what we do,” said Andrews. Improving IWE’s engagement in the community is another focus.
“I don’t think we’ve tapped into that as well as we could,” he said.
Goncalves said the Small Business Centre and IWE’s marketing arm will provide local firms the support they need to build the future economy.
“Building and retaining what we have is a key growth piece, not just attracting new plants,” Goncalves said. “Helping small businesses adapt to using artificial intelligence and processes will be important growth incentives.
“We’ve built the largest EV supply chain in Canada and perhaps North America. It’s easier to attract more companies once you already have that set up.”
