Orillia firm expanding

Author: Frank Matys

Date: Feb 04, 2010

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Frank Matys

Orillia-based Sheridan Seating is expanding its West Street operation. The business received more than $300,000 in federal stimulus funding aimed at strengthening local economies.

ORILLIA - When spectators file into any one of the venues at Vancouver’s Winter Olympics, chances are good they’ll be resting their bums on bleachers produced by Sheridan Seating.
The Orillia-based company is supplying the PNE Coliseum and the Richmond Oval, among other facilities participating in the coming celebration of sport.
“We’ve got every event, except for the temporary seating,” said Paul Sheridan, president.
Which is not to suggest the family-run business is resting on its laurels.
Federal funding of more than $300,000 will allow the company to expand its West Street operation, which will now manufacture folding chairs for the rectractable bleachers it produces.
Until recently it relied on North American suppliers for this key component.
The majority of those suppliers are now importing their products from China.
“This, in our opinion, has led to a poor quality of product that is coming onto the American and Canadian markets,” said CEO Richard Sheridan, noting that layoffs have followed within many of those same companies.
The coming expansion will allow the Orillia business to begin manufacturing its own folding chairs at a time when others in the industry are shifting to offshore production.
The expansion is anticipated to result in 15 new jobs.
“It will require a lot of additional help from new employees, and we believe that Orillia has a pool of experienced workers from … industries that have closed down and left the city,” Sheridan said.
The funding was made possible through the Southern Ontario Development Program, a stimulus initiative aimed at strengthening local economies.
“This investment will allow Sheridan Seating Inc. to strengthen its business and increase its competitiveness by manufacturing a new product,” said Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
Added Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton:
“It is important that local businesses in Orillia have the tools and resources they need to excel in local and international markets.”
The company was established in 1978 as a manufacturer of gymnasium equipment, and has since become a supplier of flexible platforms, bleachers and seating.
“By developing our products locally, we will lower international transportation costs and thereby reduce our overall carbon footprint,” Richard Sheridan added.