MoveMobility opens CentrePort HQ

Ambulances will soon be built at CentrePort Canada as a Manitoba-based company undergoes a $19-million expansion.

MoveMobility Inc. opens its 60,000-square-foot headquarters in the Rural Municipality of Rosser today.

“We were literally elbow-to-elbow in our office space,” said Carrie McDonald, the company’s chief administrative officer.

MoveMobility has retrofitted commercial wheelchair-accessible vehicles in the area for at least 15 years.

It became bloated with demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, not for its usual offering, McDonald said — many transport programs and community outings halted as Canadians were told to stay home. That demand dropped.

“What we heard from a number of … communities was, given the fact that people were isolating, some people were worried to seek health care,” McDonald said. “We heard a lot of people say, ‘It’d be great if we could bring health care out into our community.’”

MoveMobility turned to medical vans, or what McDonald described as “a doctor’s office on wheels.”

The company began making mobile health vehicles outfitted with exam tables and seating areas. It shipped its products throughout Canada, to client municipalities, First Nations and health regions.

Van options now include counselling and harm-reduction models, among others. Counselling-focused vehicles, for example, may include a table and comfortable chairs.

McDonald estimates four vans are retrofitted weekly. MoveMobility also ships to the United States.

“We are really driven by … continuous innovation and improving lives for people,” McDonald said.

The company has been working to expand into the Type 2 ambulance sector (van-based ambulances). Earlier this month, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham issued a statement calling for more funding for ambulances and full-time paramedics.

MoveMobility appears to be the only Manitoba firm building ambulances, McDonald noted.

However, MoveMobility’s space at 465 Lucas Ave. — 17,085 sq. ft. — was too small. The company had already expanded the facility in 2021, McDonald said.

Government funding for a new site has come over the past two years: $1.3 million and $1.1 million, respectively, from Manitoba and the feds.

MoveMobility’s Lucas Avenue site will be available for lease starting July 1.

McDonald didn’t have a timeline for when ambulance production will begin at 160 Wheatfield Rd. Staff are working on the production space, she said, adding they’ve finished at least one prototype.

MoveMobility Type 2 ambulances have been approved for use in Ontario. They haven’t been approved in Manitoba. The company has faced hurdles with provincial regulations; Manitoba generally uses larger Type 3s.

Meanwhile, the business keeps adding staff. McDonald joined the team in 2018; she thinks she was employee No. 19.

MoveMobility now counts around 65 workers. Two business development staff started on Monday. A couple weeks ago, another handful began.

The expansion could create 44 new jobs overall, including for welders and engineers.

CentrePort Canada has clocked a growth in specialty vehicle manufacturing, said president Carly Edmundson.

Fort Garry Fire Trucks increased its production space by roughly 30 per cent, it announced in December. It’s headquartered in the trimodal port. It said it would spend more than $4 million on new equipment and production.

Manitoba’s aerospace industry — Magellan Aerospace, Boeing — has also trumpeted multimillion-dollar expansions in the past months.

“It’s really showing the strength of the Manitoba manufacturing sector,” Edmundson said.

Rosser Reeve Ken Mulligan called MoveMobility’s expansion “nothing but good.”

CentrePort Canada services road, rail and air transport. It spans 20,000 acres over the Rosser and Winnipeg jurisdictions.

Rosser consumes roughly 12,000 acres. About one-third of the developable land is still open, Mulligan said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com