Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list inclu...
A tentative deal has been reached that could save the former Mitsubishi-Hitachi facility in Saskatoon from being sold off.
The Brandt Group of Companies announced a deal Friday with US-based industrial liquidator Prestige Equipment and financial services company Hilco Global to acquire the majority of the facility’s assets.
Brandt intends to manufacture green energy products — including wind turbines — at the plant.
“When we learned that the Hitachi assets were going be broken up and sold off in spring, we had to act fast or the province would lose a world-class facility and the ability to produce large-scale green energy products,” said Brandt President Shaun Semple.
Nearly 400 people were laid off when Mitsubishi-Hitachi Power Systems Canada closed the plant last October, ending production of engines designed for wind turbines.
The 22-acre parcel located in the city’s Hudson Bay Industrial area, including its manufacturing facility and all of its highly specialized equipment is included in the proposed sale. The price of the sale wasn’t disclosed.
Semple said the Saskatoon facility presents an excellent opportunity for growth and diversification and will bring Brandt’s manufacturing footprint in the province to over 500,000 square feet.
The expected closing date for the deal is April 10.
