New Ontario Brewing benefits from provincial support

We told you back in March New Ontario Brewing was re-tooling into Pure North Medical to meet the demand for hand sanitizer during COVID-19.

On Monday, the company received $294,000 from the province to support the re-tooling and enable the company to purchase production equipment to continue producing hand sanitizer at the local operation.

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli says New Ontario stepped up very early to help keep people safe.

“It was obviously a business risk that the team took. But a calculated one knowing they had a great product but a huge demand,” he says.

New Ontario President Mike Harrison says they’re distributing to wholesalers, retailers, consumers and hospitals both in the area and outside the region.

Harrison was asked why he made the move from making beer to hand sanitizer early in the COVID-19 crisis.

“I went to the store to buy hand sanitizer and I couldn’t. My wife went to the store and she couldn’t. My partner and I had a discussion and we decided we could make it work here. We did it right and we brought in engineers and architects,” he says.

Harrison says they are resuming production of their beer again and plan to officially open in the middle of September at the new location at the old Northern Honda building.

(photo by station staff)