Success story: Sault metal fabricator builds new shop on Yates Ave.

A local welding and metal fabrication company that started with two employees 11 years ago is planning to hire 16 new employees at a new location on Yates Avenue.

In a deal to be approved by city council on Monday, Torque-Fab Inc. will pay $142,500 for a 2.85-acre parcel of land there.

Yates Avenue is being developed by the city as an industrial park with marketing support from Century 21.

"Torque-Fab Inc. plans to build a 6,000-square-foot facility on Yates Avenue that will support their future growth and employment plans," says Rick Van Staveren, the city's director of economic development.

"Torque-Fab Inc. is a welding and fabrication company that was established in January of 2013 under David Fleury," Van Staveren says in a report co-authored by Melanie Borowicz-Sibenik, assistant city solicitor.

"They provide customized work with a focus on heavy machinery and equipment repairs. The company originally started out with two employees, working out of mobile service trucks to fulfill customer needs.

"Over the years, the business has expanded from working out of trucks to also operating out of a rented shop located at 5 Industrial Crt. B, Sault Ste Marie.

"Their current workforce is 16 and is expected to double in the next two years once they have expanded into a new facility."

The proposed agreement of purchase and sale stipulates:

• the buyer shall undertake to construct a building of a minimum of 2,000 square feet within three years of purchase. If the purchaser fails to construct a building within that time frame, the city may take back the property
• the subject property will be sold “as is, where is”
• the buyer must release and hold harmless the seller from any and all claims related to environmental matters
• the buyer undertakes on closing to sign an acknowledgement that the buyer knows Algoma Steel Inc. is located east of the subject property and that Algoma’s operations from time to time will result in noise being emitted that might be heard at the subject property
• the offer is conditional upon the buyer arranging at the buyer's expense a new first charge/mortgage satisfactory to the buyer in the buyer's sole and absolute discretion no later than 6 p.m. on June 24, 2024
• the offer is conditional on the buyer obtaining an environmental site assessment satisfactory to the buyer no later than 6 p.m. on June 24, 2024

Monday's special city council meeting will be live-streamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.

That meeting will be followed by a joint meeting with the Michigan Sault's city commission starting at 5 p.m.