Maple Ridge got its start on forestry and agriculture, and that industrial base is exactly the kind of environment where packaging automation earns a place on the floor: forestry companies remain among the district's largest private employers today, alongside firms that build utility poles, yachts, and other building materials. Incorporated in 1874, Maple Ridge is British Columbia's fifth-oldest municipality, and its economy has kept moving since: the community once hosted North America's only high-volume lithium-ion battery plant before that operation scaled back sharply after the 2008 recession. Population climbed 10.6% between 2016 and 2021 as Metro Vancouver's growth pushed east, and the district has been rezoning land to bring in new industrial tenants.
None of that is food or CPG. But it points to a steady need for packaging automation on the industrial goods coming off these lines. We build and service case erecting and sealing equipment that forms and closes cartons for building-materials, utility, and light-manufacturing output, plus robotic cobot palletizers that keep pace as the district brings new industrial tenants online. We don't have a facility in Maple Ridge itself, but our case-packing and palletizing lines already support co-packers and manufacturers elsewhere in Canada, and we can supply, install, and service that equipment for your operation across British Columbia as this rezoned land fills in, with ongoing support once it's running.