In 2010, the EIC teampurchased the property that was once the Imperial Tobacco Plant with a vision to repurpose it into a multi-tenant “industrial mall,” so that it would never again be susceptible to a single industry shutting down. The project was a massive undertaking taken on by a small team of driven, hardworking founders. “Our vision was to maximize the potential of this millionsquare-foot, 55-acre property by creating an industrial center full of diverse, innovative, and sustainable businesses to replace the economic and employment loss from the closure of the Imperial Tobacco Plant,” says Jack Baribeau – one of the founders of the EIC, as well as the founding president of Baribeau Construction. Prior to getting involvedwith the EIC, Jackhadbeenself-employed and working in construction since he was 18 years old. He grew up in Saskatchewan, where he estimates he built “hundreds of homes,” and then after coming to Ontario he got into commercial building. In the years since, Baribeau Construction has grown steadily in both size and reputation. They are now one of the leaders in commercial contracting in the London region. Jack was first exposed to the site that would become the EIC when he used to drive by it while taking his kids to play hockey. After the old Imperial Tobacco Plant shut down, he decided to drop in and talk to their representative. “I said ‘It’s probably costing you about one-and-a-half million per year just sitting here empty. Why don’t you give it to us and we’ll break it into small pieces and create jobs for the Clear Solutions Inc. started in 2019 as a small wood finishing shop within a small unit at the EIC. As their capability grew, so did their space requirement. By working with the EIC team, we were able to revitalize an old section of the building and convert it into a fully functional 14,000sqf workshop for CNC cutting, wood & plastic products, and paint finishing. DECEMBER 2022
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