TORONTO — IKO has announced today plans for the establishment of a new quarry and granule production facility near Ironton, Mo.

The $75-million project will see IKO establish both a quarry site as well as a state of the art roofing granule manufacturing and coloring plant in the area.  The new facility, which will employ about 50 in the region once in full operation, will be the third of its kind constructed and operated by IKO. The company currently operates granule facilities in Madoc, Ontario; and Ashcroft, British Columbia. The current timeline calls for IKO to break ground on the site in 2022, and to commission the plant in 2024.

"The establishment of the Ironton site is an important step for us," said Guy Tremblay, vice president of North American Operations for IKO. "Not only will it make us more efficient in terms of our logistical operations, but it will provide us with the added capacity to supply our U.S. based manufacturing plants with granules from a centralized U.S. site for many years to come. We are a firm believer in maintaining our strong history of vertical integration for our operations, and this is a logical step forward in achieving that goal in the U.S."

The project is only the latest capital investment made by IKO to support its U.S. manufacturing operations, as the company has added two asphalt shingle plants and a TPO manufacturing facility since 2014. In all, the company operates more than 35 manufacturing sites globally, including eight locations in the United States.