Manufacturing

While the Province's manufacturing sector, in terms of output and employment, is dominated by fish, paper and petroleum products, the industry encompasses the manufacture of a wide variety of other products including technology-based goods, footwear, furniture, marine vessels and oil rigs. The emergence of the oil and gas industry has significantly boosted the manufacturing sector in the Province--the Bull Arm industrial site, the St. John's Dockyard and the Marystown Shipyard are all benefiting from increased activity in the oil industry.

In the first nine months of 1998, the value of manufacturing shipments totaled $1.3 billion, an increase of 8.6% compared to the same period last year. Higher fish product shipments were the primary reason for the growth in value. Increases in many other products including wood, fabricated metal, non-metallic mineral, and chemical products also contributed to the gain. The volume and value of newsprint shipments declined as a result of the strike at Abitibi-Consolidated's mills at Grand Falls and Stephenville. Employment in the manufacturing industry in the first nine months was 17,800, relatively unchanged from that recorded last year.

Fuel production at North Atlantic Refining is currently about 105,000 barrels per day. The refinery had two scheduled maintenance shutdowns this year--one in April and the other in October/November. These scheduled shutdowns help ensure the safety of refinery operations and increase the efficiency of various refinery equipment and processing units. The November maintenance included the installation of a new reaction furnace to recover more sulphur from processed crude. The refinery returned to normal production during the first week of December.

The Economic Development and Growth Enterprises (EDGE) program offers tax incentives and the lease of unserviced crown land for a nominal fee to new or expanding business. Since its inception in 1995, a total of 64 companies, operating in various sectors, have been granted EDGE status. Of this total, 39 manufacturing and processing companies have been designated, investing $17.4 million and creating 275 jobs.

Company Profile

NEWDOCK, St. John's Dockyard Ltd.

dockyard.jpg (45594 bytes)The past twelve months were successful ones for the St. John's Dockyard (SJD) for both business divisions. Privatized last year, the ship repair division was successful in securing approximately 60 contracts, providing employment for up to 284 people at peak periods. The offshore services division entered into an $8.5 million agreement with the Terra Nova Alliance and Kongsberg Offshore (KOS) of Norway, to construct Hinge Over Subsea Templates (HOST) systems for the Terra Nova project. Grenland Offshore (KOS's fabrication partner), is presently constructing four of the seven HOST systems required by Terra Nova. Employees from SJD have been in Norway since September 1998, acquiring the skills and expertise necessary to build the remaining three systems in St. John's starting in the Spring 1999.

Aside from the obvious immediate economic benefits, the goal of this agreement is to establish a local capability to fabricate HOST systems within the Province. Upon conclusion of this agreement, SJD will be the only North American fabricator with the proven skills needed to manufacture the HOST systems.

With a strong footing in offshore fabrication combined with a continued upgrading of the ship repair facility, the St. John's Dockyard expects 1999 to be another successful year.


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