Brampton-based armoured vehicle manufacturer Roshel has already outgrown its 400,000 square feet of manufacturing, research and development space.
The decade-old company has become the go-to provider of Light Utility Vehicles (LUVs) to Ukraine and several NATO countries, including the U.S., Germany, the UK and France and is in serious contention to land a multi-billion-dollar deal with the federal government.
But it needs space, about two million square feet.
“We know that many automotive companies pulled out from Canada, and that’s exactly where defence can substitute and bring thousands of employees back, including in Brampton,” Roman Shimonov, Roshel’s CEO, explains.
“We have facilities that are vacant right now, and we’re playing an important role in ensuring that a Canadian company can take care of the Canadian families, and that’s exactly what we’re doing at Roshel,” Shimonov says. “We’re hiring hundreds of employees. We can start hiring thousands, subject to getting the award.”
The award is a contract to build 1,600-2,100 vehicles and 400-500 light utility trailers. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that the bidding has been restricted to Canadian companies and that the government has narrowed it down to two companies.
CityNews has learned that Roshel is still in the running.
Shimonov says to support an order that size, they would need to hire hundreds of new staff before year’s end and need a nearly-ready space to accommodate production. And the Stellantis plant seems to fit the bill.
Essentially idled since 2023, when the last vehicle came off the production line, most of its workforce of 3,000 has been laid off. The Jeep Compass that was supposed to be manufactured at the Brampton plant was awarded to a plant in Illinois, and no new program is on the horizon.
Earlier this year, the City of Brampton rezoned the lands to “automotive manufacturing only,” in a bid to safeguard those jobs and prevent Stellantis from being able to sell or lease the lands to non-automotive manufacturers.
When asked if Stellantis had plans on selling the land to another manufacturer, spokesperson Lou Anne Gosselin replied, “Stellantis remains focused on finding a sustainable future for Brampton assembly. We are engaged in constructive discussions with government partners and other stakeholders to help establish the conditions needed to support that objective.”
“We are in a collective agreement with Stellantis,” says Vito Beato, Unifor 1285 President, who represents the Brampton Stellantis workers. “We are close to bargaining. We’re not going to allow Stellantis to cut and run. We are going to hit the table, and we are going to focus on getting answers for Brampton, get our members back to work, and get them protected for however long it takes for them to get back to work.”
“I’m hearing from Stellantis that it might not be until 2031 that they return, and that is unacceptable,” says Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown. “I think the Government of Canada needs to fully hold Stellantis accountable for the legal obligations they have for accepting millions of dollars in subsidies.”
Stellantis received over $200 million in federal funding to help support manufacturing of electric vehicles at the Brampton plant.
“Having said that, I want to find these workers jobs right away, and whatever that location is, I hope that we can have a conversation with Unifor, with Stellantis, with Roshel and see how we can create more good-paying jobs in our community,” says Brown. “And I do hope those jobs are Unifor jobs.”
Roshel isn’t surprised by Brown’s backing. Last month, Brampton City Council unanimously approved a motion to support the company’s bid to supply the Canadian Armed Forces with a new fleet of armoured vehicles.
Shimonov is confident that if the contract – expected to be worth up to $6 billion – is granted, Roshel can help develop an infrastructure that will attract other defence manufacturers to the area. The company just entered a partnership with Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, where it is establishing a ballistic steel manufacturing plant, “which will allow us to be fully independent when it comes to critical supply.”
A decision on the LUV contract is expected within the next few weeks.
“We’re talking about starting deliveries in 2026, and that’s quite challenging; but there is no one else that can commit to that,” Shimonov says. “We are the only company, not just in Canada, but the world that can start delivering this year.”
“We can not wait for the award to be ready. Definitely, we are more than just looking (for property),” he says, suggesting preliminary real estate conversations have already started.
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