Corporate Markham In The News
December 1, 2001 (Update) - Hilton Hotel is on schedule to open its new 103,455
square-foot Markham hotel in spring 2002. The 6-story, 145-room luxury hotel is currently
under construction on the southwest corner of Highway 7 and Commerce Valley Drive East,
immediately west of Highway 404, in the prestigious Commerce Valley Business & Technology Park.
The hotel is strategically located minutes south of the Toronto-Markham Buttonville Municipal Airport
and will feature the latest in technology to accommodate the many business travellers to the Markham area.
November 20, 2001 - Markville Shopping Centre and its owner Cadillac Fairview
Corporation Ltd. of Toronto have announced a major expansion of the popular
local shopping destination. Wal-Mart will move from its current two levels
into an expanded single level with the addition of 63,176 square feet to its
ground floor space. A new tree-lined pedestrian walkway is also planned
from Highway 7 to the facility's main entrance with the addition of several
new restaurants along the walkway. The Town of Markham and Cadillac
Fairview are working closely on a master plan for the entire site at Highway
7 and McCowan Road. Markville is the area's largest shopping centre with
over 200 retail stores and services including Wal-Mart, The Bay, Sears, Old
Navy, The Gap, Toys 'R' Us, SportChek, Roots and HMV Music.
October 10, 2001 - Philips Electronics Ltd., the Canadian arm of Royal
Philips Electronics of the Netherlands, one of the world's largest electronics
companies with sales of over U.S. $45 billion, officially opened its new Canadian
headquarters in Markham. The new facility at 281 Hillmount Road in the Cachet Corporate
Centre located at Hwy 404 and 16th Avenue, will house over 300 employees with 200,000
square feet designated for a distribution centre and 75,000 square feet for office space.
"A major reason for Philips moving to this site is Markham's reputation for being both
a people and business-friendly community," said Eric Versteeg, Chief Executive Officer
of the company. He added that "Philips and its employees are looking forward to
becoming an integral part of this vibrant and progressive community."
September 20, 2001 (Update) - Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Centre,
Markham's premier luxury hotel, officially held the grand opening for its recently
completed $47.5 million renovation and expansion. A new 14,000 square-foot convention
hall will host large-scale banquets and functions for up to 1,400 guests. Named after
Markham's current mayor, the state-of-the-art Donald Cousens Conference Centre features
waterfall curtains, high-speed Internet access, precision acoustics, advanced
audio-visual capabilities, wood and marble paneling. The up-scale hotel also added 74
new executive suites to its existing 332 with an additional 99 extended-stay suites
soon to be completed. The 150,000 square-foot hotel is one of Markham's largest
employers with over 400 staff members. Hotel owner Herman Grad, who opened the facility
in 1989, commented that "(Mayor Cousens) has been a strong advocate for the creation
of convention facilities, believing firmly in the vitality of the area's economy and
the progressiveness of this community."
September 11, 2001 - IBM Software Solutions Laboratory, owned by computer
giant IBM Canada Ltd., was officially opened in Markham. Representing the third
largest research and development facility in Canada with 565,000 square feet,
the new site occupies 88 acres of land in Markham Centre, located in the Warden Avenue
and Highway 407 area, and employs 2,500 highly skilled software engineers. The $150 million
facility includes cafes, bistros, game rooms, a fitness centre, and an employee day-care.
Ed Kilroy, President of IBM Canada, said his company chose Markham over 30 other international
sites including Ireland and Asia, for several reasons including access to a highly skilled labour
force and close proximity to major transportation systems such as Highway 407. The company's
Canadian headquarters is also conveniently located minutes away in the Steeles Avenue and Warden
Avenue area in south Markham.
August 11, 2001 - Bearskin Airlines and Markham's Toronto Buttonville Municipal Airport
have announced the launch of a new commuter service starting in September between Markham and Ottawa,
Canada's leading high-tech communities. Ron Hell, Marketing Director of Bearskin Airlines commented,
"We see it as a terrific niche market. If you look at the geographical position of Buttonville, it's
just as convenient for anybody travelling to or from downtown as is Pearson. Here you can roll in
with your car, park for free, and arrive at the airport - although we don't promote it - 15 minutes
before flight time." One-way fares will range from $99 to $329 on seven round-trip fights per day and
are not contingent on advance purchases or minimum stay requirements. The company will also offer an
online booking system on its own website along with that of local company CorporateMarkham.com Inc.
Bearskin Airlines, headquartered in Sioux Lookout, 120 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, employs
over 450 people and reached $50 million in revenue last year.
July 17, 2001 - Henckel Canada, the world-renowned maker of quality knives,
has opened its new distribution centre in Markham. The facility, located on
3.5 acres off Cochrane Drive in the Highway 404 and Highway 407 area, occupies
55,000 square feet of warehouse space and 8,000 square feet of offices.
Henckel President Roman Esterl chose to re-locate to Markham because, "It is an
ideal location - close to the airport, to downtown Toronto and to good transportation."
He also expects his business will "input $5 million dollars into the Markham area."
June 18, 2001 – Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc., a leading
supplier of industrial hardware, software and services for the Internet
sector, held a ground-breaking ceremony to launch the construction of its
new $12 million state-of-the-art facility in Markham. The 90,000 square
foot building to be located on Allstate Parkway, will be the new Canadian
headquarters of the expanding company, already located just minutes from the
new site. With sales of over U.S. $19.2 billion worldwide, the firm has been
located in Markham since launching its Canadian operations in 1985. Everett Anstey,
Sun’s Canadian Chairman, President and CEO commented “We’re in the business of
providing the backbone to the Internet economy. We’re growing, though not at the
rate we’re used to. But in the first half of the year, with the economic downturn
in the U.S., we were kind of immune.” The first of three phases is schedule to open
in August, 2002 with a training and education centre.
May 16, 2001 - ATI Technologies Inc., a world leader in
the supply of graphics, video and multimedia solutions, together
with Nintendo of America Inc., offered a preview of the graphics
technology that will power the eagerly anticipated NINTENDO GAMECUBE™
video game console. The technology was unveiled at the Electronic
Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, California. “ATI’s
custom graphics chip technology has been essential in the development
of the NINTENDO GAMECUBE, ensuring its emergence as the world’s
most powerful next-generation video game console,” said Genyo
Takeda, Corporate Director and General Manager of Integrated Research
and Development, Nintendo of Japan. David Orton, President and COO
of ATI Technologies Inc. commented “With this announcement,
ATI has successfully entered the mass consumer electronics and game
consoles market.”
See our profile in the Markham Economist & Sun
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Corporate News - 2001
