May 22 - Expansion in the works for C.B.'s Protocase (Cape Breton Post Article)

A Sydney company that makes custom metal boxes for the likes of NASA wants to expand its own universe. Protocase Inc. is looking at leasing a 5,000-square-foot space near its existing11,000-square-foot electronics casing facility in the Harbourside Industrial Park within the next six to 12 months. "We are very nervous," Steve Lilley, the president of Protocase, said Friday. "It’s always a gamble. . .When do you make that move? You can’t do it too late and you can’t do it too early." The additional space will mean the company, incorporated in 2001, will be looking to hire more employees and acquire more equipment to service its stable of 2,500 customers, 400 of them in California alone. The company got $757,000 in federal business loans in 2008 to build a new plant in Sydney. "Been there, done that," Lilley said. "It came with lots of hassles and frustrations. There are buildings available and Protocase does not want to be in the business of property management." The company’s "key offering" is a two- to three-day turnaround on orders. "That means you always have to have some capacity there, because you’re always going to have peaks and valleys because of the quick turnaround," Lilley said. The company that started with six employees now has 48 on the payroll. "We cater to engineers and researchers essentially all over North America," Lilley said. Researchers, including some from NASA and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will often just need one metal enclosure for their work. "There’s been an interesting business that’s emerged out of that, too," Lilley said. Often the same customers will eventually want to put their inventions into mass production. "In most cases they’re really interested in buying 500 or 1,000 over a 12-month period, which means they’re only looking for 50 or 100 a month and that fits really well within our business model." Most metal fabricators aren’t comfortable with such low-volume work, Lilley said. Protocase hired during the recession, bringing on two new sales people, two programmers and an engineer. With the new space the company’s planning to lease, it will need another full manufacturing team of 15 people. Protocase is also looking at leasing $500,000 of new equipment, including some that will allow it to apply a coating to products it now gets done in Quebec.

Protocase owner Steve Lilley says his company is ready for expansion but deciding when to do it is a gamble. (Staff / File)

May 2, 2010 - Steps for Life

Steps for Life - Walking for Victims of Workplace Tragedy is a 5 km fundraising walk to help support families who have suffered form a workplace fatality, life-altering injury or occupational disease. It took place on May 2, 2010 at the Harbourside Sports Field.

April 2009 - Provincial Energy Ventures

Provincial Energy Ventures (PEV) is currently unloading shipments of Indonesian coal at their terminal on the former Sysco dock. Ships are unloading the coal onto the dock where is it being stockpiled to a height of nine to twelve meters. The initial order of coal is for 250,000 tonnes and may increase up to 400,000 tonnes. The coal is being transshipped to a power company in the United States. Strict environmental controls are in place to ensure that the coal does not create any dust problems. A series of mist towers and water cannons are used to control dust from the piles. An automated computer system monitors wind speeds, direction, strength of the sun, humidity, and rainfall in order to determine how often it is necessary to water the coal to ensure it remains damp.

March 2009 - Ferry Street Bridge Closure

On Monday March 23 the Ferry Street bridge will close to local traffic. The bridge will remain closed an indefinite amount of time while work is occurring to Muggah's Creek. The bridge is located in a construction area and will be closed to both pedestrian and road traffic. There will be blockades near both entrances of Ferry Street Bridge. Detour signs will be posted to redirect traffic, and caution lights and barriers will be installed to ensure public safety.

December 2008 - Road Work

Riverside Development Ltd. is nearing completion of the new roads that open up more of the central part of the site. Storm sewer, sanitary sewer and water mains have been installed, along with new curb and gutter. The first lift of asphalt was installed on these roads in December and the final lifts will be in place once the asphalt plants open in the spring of 2009.

December 2008 - Portside Aggregate Building

Construction of the new $250,000.00 maintenance and repair building for Portside Aggregates is moving forward. The new building will relocate the maintenance activities of the operation closer to the quarry area. Also being relocated is the weigh scale operation. The new scale location will allow easier access to the SPAR road for vehicles picking up aggregate. The maintenance building , scale house and scale will be fully functional in this location by early spring.

December 2008 - STPA Building

Sydney Tar Ponds Agency is busy readying the new Materials Handling Facility in anticipation of the start of the major Tar Ponds solidification and stabilization work in 2009. The $8.3 million building will house a major debris and equipment cleaning facility and will provide washroom and change room facilities for the workers on the Tar Ponds cleanup. Construction site security will also be housed in this large new building on Ferry Street.

December 2008 - Protocase

Protocase Custom Enclosures, a designer and manufacturer of custom metal enclosures for the electronics industry had its' official opening. The new head office and manufacturing facilities for this innovative local company is located in Harbourside Commercial Park. See Cape Breton Post article.

June 26, 2008- New Soccer Field

Gary Campbell announces the development of a new facility onsite, a soccer and rugby field that will include tennis and basketball courts. View the full article from the Cape Breton Post.

From left to right: Cecil Clarke, Gary Cambell, Minister Murray Scott, Mayor Morgan, Councilor Jim MacLeod, Keith Bain