DEBERT - For Paul Straus and other head honchos with Home Hardware Ltd., there is no question that patience has been a virtue.
"Finally, we can see the fruits of our labour in getting to this point," said Straus, the company's president and CEO, during a celebration at the company's Eastern Distribution Centre in Debert, which is in the process of undergoing a 236,000 square-foot expansion.
"This has been a long time in coming," he said, while taking a break from the festivities. "But we've had some patience and worked with the folks in the community. Today we're here celebrating the rewards of that work of putting the planning and the efforts into staying in Debert."
The 18 acres required for expansion is on former Debert army camp land owned by the municipality and efforts to purchase the property began in 2005.
That initiative was stalled, however, because of provincial regulations, which forced a massive archaeological dig for aboriginal and historical artifacts suspected to be on the site.
Over the past several years, the Municipality of Colchester has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars undertaking a full archaeological study, which essentially prompted no results.
In the meantime, all Home Hardware officials could do was sit back and wait, which prompted fears by the municipality that the distribution centre would be moved elsewhere.
Strauss emphasized on Wednesday, however, that "Debert is an important part of Home's business."
The company has realized the growth of 31 stores over the past five years within the Atlantic region, bringing the total to 217.
"And over the last number of years we've had a 35 per cent increase in our volume in Atlantic Canada," he said.
That has resulted in cramped space at the distribution centre, which has made the expansion even more crucial to the company's future plans.
Home Hardware employs about 230 fulltime workers with an additional 50 employees being hired during summer months.
That results in an overall financial contribution to the Colchester County's economy of $19 million per year, a factor not lost on Mayor Bob Taylor.
"I think this today is a big commitment by Home Hardware that they're here for the long haul," he said. "I think one of the big things is, a couple of years ago we were concerned that this wasn't going to go ahead. And not only the expansion, but that the whole operation might move out of here."
The expansion is being conducted in two phases, with the first phase taking up 180,000 square feet. That is to be completed at the end of January, with the 56,000-square-foot second phase slated to begin next spring, with completion planned for the summer.
All the contractors involved in the expansion are local, or within a short proximity to Colchester County, said construction and design manager Brian Reed, who added that he has been very pleased with both the relationship his company has had with municipal staff and the on-site workers.
"We wanted to hire as many local trades as possible," Reed said. "We're right on schedule and maybe a little bit ahead."
DEBERT - For Paul Straus and other head honchos with Home Hardware Ltd., there is no question that patience has been a virtue.
"Finally, we can see the fruits of our labour in getting to this point," said Straus, the company's president and CEO, during a celebration at the company's Eastern Distribution Centre in Debert, which is in the process of undergoing a 236,000 square-foot expansion.
"This has been a long time in coming," he said, while taking a break from the festivities. "But we've had some patience and worked with the folks in the community. Today we're here celebrating the rewards of that work of putting the planning and the efforts into staying in Debert."
The 18 acres required for expansion is on former Debert army camp land owned by the municipality and efforts to purchase the property began in 2005.
That initiative was stalled, however, because of provincial regulations, which forced a massive archaeological dig for aboriginal and historical artifacts suspected to be on the site.
Over the past several years, the Municipality of Colchester has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars undertaking a full archaeological study, which essentially prompted no results.
In the meantime, all Home Hardware officials could do was sit back and wait, which prompted fears by the municipality that the distribution centre would be moved elsewhere.
Strauss emphasized on Wednesday, however, that "Debert is an important part of Home's business."
The company has realized the growth of 31 stores over the past five years within the Atlantic region, bringing the total to 217.
"And over the last number of years we've had a 35 per cent increase in our volume in Atlantic Canada," he said.
That has resulted in cramped space at the distribution centre, which has made the expansion even more crucial to the company's future plans.
Home Hardware employs about 230 fulltime workers with an additional 50 employees being hired during summer months.
That results in an overall financial contribution to the Colchester County's economy of $19 million per year, a factor not lost on Mayor Bob Taylor.
"I think this today is a big commitment by Home Hardware that they're here for the long haul," he said. "I think one of the big things is, a couple of years ago we were concerned that this wasn't going to go ahead. And not only the expansion, but that the whole operation might move out of here."
The expansion is being conducted in two phases, with the first phase taking up 180,000 square feet. That is to be completed at the end of January, with the 56,000-square-foot second phase slated to begin next spring, with completion planned for the summer.
All the contractors involved in the expansion are local, or within a short proximity to Colchester County, said construction and design manager Brian Reed, who added that he has been very pleased with both the relationship his company has had with municipal staff and the on-site workers.
"We wanted to hire as many local trades as possible," Reed said. "We're right on schedule and maybe a little bit ahead."
