A London manufacturer is investing in new technology and expanding into new markets after U.S. tariffs slashed its business by 10 per cent. Attica Manufacturing employs more than 70 people at its London CNC machine shop, where increasingly sophisticated equipment is helping the locally-owned family business compete for contracts in Canada and around the world. Rather than retreat during challenging economic times, the company reinvested with an eye on diversifying its customer base. “The introduction of new technology and new equipment has opened up markets in aerospace space, satellite componentry. It enhances our defense sector and certainly opens up mining (and) energy,” explained owner Andy Mavrokefalos. During a tour, Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon was shown how a federal investment of $750,000 supported the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment. “The kinds of machines that you’re seeing around us are the most innovative machines. So a company like Atticus can compete, stay innovative, win contracts around the world and keep this workforce building,” said Solomon. A tax policy change called the productivity mega-deduction will also allow businesses to deduct certain equipment costs immediately, rather than spreading the deduction over many years. “It’ll not just stabilize, but allow businesses like Attica to be able to pivot and see extra growth beyond the tariff attack,” said London West MP Arielle Kayabaga. Defence manufacturing is expected to account for a growing share of Attica’s business. London Centre MP Peter Fragiskatos explained, “About 30 per cent of the business here is comprised of making products for the defense sector. And you’re going to see that increased to 50 per cent in coming years, all of which tells a story about changes that are happening in the Canadian economy. Manufacturing continues to thrive. It’s just looking different.” The federal government’s recent purchase of an additional 190 armoured vehicles from London-based General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) has generated more work for Attica and other businesses in sectors hit hard by U.S. tariffs. “Investment in our defense, in a company like GDLS, that creates the demand signal, that creates more customers, more resilience and more sovereign control. So it’s all connected,” said Solomon. Kayabaga added, “Businesses like GDLS have been able to begin to work with Canadian steel, we want to see that in mass production, and that’s what we’re working towards.” For Fragiskatos, the response to the latest economic challenges reflects London’s manufacturing history. “Particularly from the 1980s through the 1990s and through the 2008 financial crisis, what’s defined our community is resilience,” said Fragiskatos. After 50 years as a family business, Attica Manufacturing sees a promising future making complex parts for customers in Canada-- and around the world. “My next generation is also involved in the business, and that gives them hope that this will continue into their future,” said Mavrokefalos.
