Eggs. Lumber. And now balers. A vacant industrial site west of Elmira will have a new use as home to Tube-Line Manufacturing.
Woolwich council this week cleared the way for the company to move, approving the necessary changes to the township’s zoning bylaw. Currently located near Wallenstein in Wellesley Township, the company has outgrown the space. The new site allows it room to grow.
Tube-Line, which makes bale-wrappers and loaders for farm use, will bring some 40 jobs with it.
The manufacturing operation is the latest incarnation for the 18-acre site at 6455 Reid Woods Dr. It was previously home to Elmira Wood Products. Prior to that, the site was used for an egg-grading operation.
Dan Kennaley, Woolwich’s director of engineering and planning, told councillors meeting Tuesday night that Tube-Line’s farm-related use makes the business suitable for land in an agriculture zone. The biggest issue is potential noise impacts on some of the nearby residences, which has been addresses satisfactorily by the company following a noise study, he added.
Coun. Allan Poffenroth, however, remained skeptical, pushing for assurances neighbours would not suffer adverse effects.
“I don’t want to see noise problems develop,” he said, pointing to longstanding complaints about some industrial operations in Elmira. “I’m concerned about a potential future problem.”
Under the bylaw allowing the use, outdoor equipment using back-up beepers, for instance, will be limited to between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the week, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
Sam Head, a planning consultant for Tube-Line, said the hours of operation would fall between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., with no heavy presses or other noisy equipment involved in the process. Renovations to the existing structures would include soundproofing. As well, where the wood-processing business saw 15 trucks a day accessing the site, the new use would require only four or five.
