Sudbury concrete company recognized for its Ontario-made products

Brown’s Concrete Products in Sudbury has been in business for more than 100 years and recently received a provincial award for its products through the Ontario Made program.

The program is part of an initiative that the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters launched as a way to support and promote Ontario-made products.

Brown’s Concrete Products was one of four award winners in an online ceremony Feb. 24. It won the Consumer Awareness Award and was the only business from northern Ontario.

"Being one of four companies is very important. Also, the fact that we are a northern-based business that actually was an award winner, I think that that’s important that the north is represented," said Ken Scott, Brown's Concrete's office manager.

The Ontario-Made program was launched in the summer of 2020. Currently, 2,600 manufacturing companies are part of the program.

Mathew Wilson, senior vice president with Canadian Manufacturing & Exporters said supporting local businesses throughout this pandemic is vital.

"Ontario Made is really about the value-added manufacturing that goes into the retail side of things. So, the more you can buy that’s locally made in Ontario and in Canada and have those inputs from the regions, obviously provides a lot more support back to our communities," said Wilson.

A total of 130 companies were nominated for the awards and the voting was left to the public and judges -- who said Brown’s really stuck out.

"What was neat about Brown's was it was something different and they didn’t have just a simple consumer package where they could put a logo on. They were making concrete products for patios and stuff like that, which is not exactly easy to label," said Wilson. "So, the way they used the logo was neat because it was very innovative, and then had to be creative in the way they were using it and that’s what separated them apart from others."

Officials with Brown’s Concrete Products said it was important to the company to make the program known to the public.

"It’s important that we used it on all of our packaging, all of our literature, our website, all social media," said Scott. "So, we really went all the way with that program to make sure that people knew they were supporting an Ontario-made product."

Brown’s Concrete Products will be celebrating its 115th anniversary this spring and Scott said this award was a great way to kick off the celebrations.

The other three 2022 winners are:

• Manufacturer Spotlight Award – Bliss Dough
• Retailer Spotlight Award – The Market Shoppe
• Merchandising Excellence Award – Grey Jay Sales & Distribution