A North Bay-area equipment company that began in a backyard garage has grown into a multi-service operation with a new home base, even as it navigates the fallout from tariffs affecting cross-border trade.
Borgford Equipment Services relocated in June to the former Arnstein Industrial Equipment building on Highway 17, a move that supports a workforce of roughly a dozen employees. The company sells agricultural tractors, mining equipment and construction equipment across Canada and the United States, with owner and director Merv Borgford describing the business as focused on North America rather than international markets.
“Coast to coast mainly in the mining industry. That is primarily the business we do across the country and into the U.S.,” Borgford said.
Mining and Agriculture at the Core
Most of the company’s mining-related work takes place underground, according to Borgford, who estimated that about 70 per cent of that side of the business is underground work, with the remainder tied to surface construction projects.
Borgford Equipment is also a full-line dealer for Mahindra, an agricultural equipment brand, selling tractors and side-by-side vehicles. The company said it plans to begin building and designing equipment for the underground mining market, though it noted that a significant inventory shortage is currently affecting timelines, with new stock not expected until closer to the end of the year.
Tariffs Cut Into U.S. Business
Borgford said the company has felt the effects of tariffs, particularly through reduced activity from some of its American customers.
“I had a couple of key customers in the USA; they were doing a lot of business with us so probably cut back at least 20-25 per cent,” Borgford said.
To offset that pressure, Borgford said diversification has become central to the company’s strategy. In addition to equipment sales and rentals, the business offers service and repairs, hose repair, machining, on-site machining, in-house cylinder repairs, and mobile repair visits to customer sites.
“So, we’re very diversified in case one industry slows down compared to the others,” Borgford said.
Technology and Local Projects
The company has also invested in diagnostic equipment to keep pace with newer machinery entering the market, allowing mechanics to plug into equipment and run troubleshooting tests on screen rather than relying solely on manual inspection methods.
Locally, Borgford Equipment took part in designing and building a specialized off-road response vehicle used by the District of Nipissing Paramedic Services to reach patients in remote areas inaccessible to standard ambulances. The company retrofitted the ambulance body, installed the required equipment, and continues to service the vehicle. Borgford said the company has since quoted similar builds for paramedic services in Moosonee and for a rescue vehicle at an underground mine in the United States.
On the rental side, Borgford Equipment supplies underground mines and mining contractors with equipment including personnel carriers, scissor lifts, scoop trams and rock trucks, and also handles rebuild work for equipment sent in by outside companies. The business serves mining operations in Sudbury, Timmins, Kirkland Lake and Manitoba, along with rental clients in British Columbia.
“We have some expansion ideas in the works; it is just getting the investments and stuff in place to do that,” Borgford said.
This article references reporting from:
