Diverse: this term seldom has been used to describe London’s economy and is often overlooked. A quick look at the employment pie chart for the London region highlights how close the top industry sectors are to each other. The manufacturing, health-care, education, digital creative, professional services, finance, and insurance sectors each employ between eight and 12 per cent of London’s labour force.
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Not having one or two dominant industry sectors helps build resiliency in the economy so it can withstand turbulence. And these key sectors have developed strong clusters around them that are driving our economy forward.
In recent years, food and beverage processing has seen significant growth. Along with new arrivals such as Dr. Oetker, Natra and the Original Cakerie, there have been numerous expansions at existing companies, such as McCormick, Cargill, and Labatt.
To support this growing sector, new niche markets have formed, adding several temperature-controlled distribution facilities, equipment suppliers, automation and maintenance firms, and packaging companies. They too have grown in London as a result. This has created a food cluster that has more than 60 companies and employs 6,000-plus in London.
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Recently, the London area has seen markets expand for juices, teas, and broths, produced with raw, organic, and fresh ingredients. Pulp and Press Juice is one local example that has grown sales from 12,000 to 15,000 bottles a week to keep up with demand. With new shops like Rebel Remedy Health Bar opening, these companies are proving there’s a demand in London and area for health foods and drinks, which spills over into the exploding craft beer scene in London that will see a few more opening this year alone.
Another fast-growing cluster is digital creative, which has added more than 2,000 jobs just in the last two years. This unique cluster of more than 300 companies has growing video game production businesses, content creators, software developers, interactive media firms, and more.
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This year alone, six gaming companies received funding from the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) to boost innovation and create jobs. Voices.com, an online marketplace for voice over talent, secured one of the biggest investments in the London tech industry’s history, US $18 million from a global venture capitalist to spark major growth right here in London at their headquarters.
Fanshawe College’s new downtown campus, the Centre for Digital and Performing Arts, is well positioned to help develop skilled talent for this growing cluster. Several incubation facilities, such as Hacker Studios and UnLondon, have popped up downtown to help entrepreneurs start technology and related businesses.
London’s manufacturing sector has also seen growth, due in part to industrial land developments. Some land deals to date will see more than 30 jobs created and 11 acres of land sold. On the redevelopment side of things, two London manufacturing icons - the former sites of Electro-Motive Diesel and Kellogg Canada - are seeing new life with factories HCL Logistics and Drexel Industries taking over the space. A large portion of the old Kellogg cereal plant will be reborn as a huge indoor adventure park called The Factory, featuring North America’s largest indoor ropes course, a trampoline park, go-karts, escape rooms, and much more.
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Embracing the Future
Future economic success for London lies in the ability to build strong clusters. The prevalence of clusters will play an important role in developing a knowledge-based, dynamic economy and building sustainable economic advantages for London. By advocating for infrastructure, R&D and incubation support, and working with local educational institutions and other partners, we can expect to see more of these niche and traditional clusters sparking innovation.
