A Simcoe company that assembles and manufactures antennas is moving into a new 50,000 sqaure-foot plant in Brant County.
TACO Communications, whichs assembles antennas for air traffic control, military use and wireless internet use, is planning to be in its new home on Sharp Road by the end of February.
"It makes a lot of sense for us to be in Brantford," said Patric Murphy, the company’s president and CEO. "We had to expand and there just wasn’t anything available in the Simcoe area."
"But even at that there are still a lot of reasons for us to move to Brantford."
The move will bring the company closer to its suppliers and customers, he said, adding that the company is selling its products all over the world. The new location is within a kilometer of Highway 403.
"We wanted to be on the west side of Brantford because the majority of our employees live in the Simcoe area and will be moving with us," Murphy said. "They’ll have to drive about a half-an-hour to get to work but they won’t have to drive through Brantford to get there."
Most of the 30-plus people employed by TACO will remain with the company, said Murphy, who shares ownership of the company with his son, Ryan.
Murphy purchased the company in 2001 and at that time signed a five-year lease at its current Victoria Street address in Simcoe. The lease is due to expire in March 2006.
In addition to its Simcoe plant, the company has a sales office in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
According to information found on the internet, TACO Communications was established in 1943. The company produced antennas for the U.S. military during the Second World War.
It was purchased in 2001 by Murphy, of WADE Antenna Ltd., which is based in Burlington. Antennas from the two companies can be found on communications towers all over the world.