infra-Ray ready to go Heater factory opens soon By the time this story reaches print, the assembly line at Port Perry's rolling. .Robert Wood, head of Infra-Ray Inc. in the Reach Industrial Park, finalized the details of opening the plant last weekend in Rochester Michigan, where the parent com- pany, Solaronics, is based. Solaronics has been manufactur- ing infra-red heaters for the last 29 vears. Mr. Wood, meanwhile, had been repairing the heaters here in Canada, and although the American company repeatedly offered him Canadian distributorship, he kept saying no, 'because I was the general. manager of another company." That company eventually lost its distribution-rights, however, and Mr. Wood was forced at one point to call Solaronics to inquire about newest industry could be ~ parts he needed to continue his repairs. When he called, they said, "We've been looking for you," Mr. Wood relates. "The next thing we knew, Elane (his wife) and I were driving to Rochester!" And although he initially accepted distributor rights to Ontario, he eventually agreed to take on the en- tire country. Now, he has 18 dealers throughout Canada. An eight year resident. of Port Perry, he looked for a local area to open a factory, and finally bought property and an existing building in the Reach Industrial Park on Durham Rd. 8 west of Port Perry. Although he has already hired an engineer to help get the assembly line going, he expects to hire 20 local people when the plant is in full operation. In peak times, he figures that up to 40 employees might be necessary. The reason-for the company's growth is simple--infra-red heaters are the fastest growing type of in- dustrial and commercial heat on the market. : What's more, Mr. Wood unabashedly says his company makes the highest quality infra-red heater in the business. Already, eleven local businesses have tried out infra-red heat, including the ALL TYPES -- ALL MAKES -- STEREOS & HI-FI's PHILIPS SERUENG | | ™ oun ext somes ce 214BLOORST.E. | 723-5341 PARKSIDE STEREO * 7° FACTORY AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTRE FOR: PHILIPS -RCA- ZENITH - TOSHIBA - HITACHI - LLOYDS Sold and Serviced By HARRY'S REPAIR Hwy. 7A, Nestleton MICROWAVE OVEN SERVICE Ariens 10 HP yard tractor stays busy all year long mowing grass, bagging clippings and leaves, tilling gardens, throwing snow off driveways and dozing earth - and it's on sale right now. Features include: 10 HP Ultra- Balanced Ic engine with cast iron bores ® 32" Flex-N-Float® mower deck * 6 forward speeds and reverse * Electric start, adjustable seat, headlights and taillights * Local service and parts ARIENS . -- Optional bagger shown. 986-0046 Scugog Memorial Arena and the Scugog Works Garage. Word of mouth from established customers has been Infra-Ray Inc.'s best form of advertising. "It's to the point now that every time someone goes to a new building in Port: Perry, they automatically come to me for heat," he says The benefits of infra-red heat are many, but mostly economic. "Infra-red heat warms objects it shines on, like the sun, it does not warm the air, except for conduction and convection," he points out. The biggest benefit is financial, however, and Mr. Wood claims most applicatipns save between 50 and 75 percent on their fuel bill. With natural gas or propane as the fuel, the heaters kick out immense heat from the ceiling down. It ac- tually warms the floor and reduces roof temperature, resulting in lower heat loss. At. times ceiling air temperatures will be lower than air at working levels. Even specific areas of a building can be heated without partitions. Precise zone control eliminates the need to heat the entire room. Warm air unit heaters force air movement along walls and roof, resulting in increased heat loss. Infra-red, on the other hand, is a quiet, still heat, with no air move- ment or chilling drafts, with dirt, dust or smoke blowing around. "Within three minutes of opening a loading dock door in a factory, an infra-red heated building will seem like the door was never opened,' Mr. Wood says. His plant will also be producing processed heating for assembly line needs in other plants. For example, instead of a drying oven for paint, an infra-red oven can dry faster and actually bake the paint on, thus reducing time and speeding up production. And while the Infra-Ray heaters are designed strictly for industrial or commercial use for now, Mr. Wood foresees a time in the future when they can be used in the home. Obviously he is excited about the new plant, which he is running with the help of his wife/secretary Elane: "It's just a fantastically rewar- ding business from the aspect of happy customers," he concludes. Seniors by E. Irvine The Senior Citizens held their regular meeting on Wednesday, April 22nd which was called to order and opened in the usual way. We had a minutes silence in memory of a departed member, Ray Wren. We had a good attendance and a good meeting. We were honoured to have as visitors Father Grima and Dave Finnigan, talking to us about the 'Seniors apartments they are going to build which was very interesting. We were entertained by our own choir which were fantastic as always. At 5:30 a number of us sat down to a Pot Luck supper which was enjoyed by all. , Last of all -- our Easter Hat Patents, first prize - Win Philip, se- cond Myrtle Prentice, third Georgina McLaughlin and one man Gordon Prentice. There is a euchre on Wednesday 29 at 1:30 at the Latcham Centre N come on out and join us WEDDING INVITATIONS and Accessories PORT PERRY STAR 235 Queen Street Port Perry 985-7383 PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, April 28, 1987 -- 11 Elane and Robert Wood are extremely busy these days set- ting 1 up a plant to manufacture infra-red heaters in Port Perry. S%e story for details. v6 AND V8 ELECTRONIC IGNITION 39" * LABOUR ONLY parts extra EXTRA "VANS AND AIR-CONDITIONED VEHICLES CER, EXTRA TS AND CONDEN ENGINES REQUIRING PC APL 0. 1087 Pp AND 6 CYLINDER ELECTRONIC IGNITION 87° MERE'S WHAT WE po: vd insta at 10p qual ¥ nN ANS 0ST CARS ANU VANS most 0 ext 123 Yor MO nig vehucie filters 20 ey dR 1651 £0 * Supply an od fer . af up 10 c sares of 10W 30 inst J LE motor Of wate the chassss Lun PLUS A 15- POINT INSPECTION until May 15th, 1987 Let us check your Air Conditioning System If you hear trouble ... turn it over to the pros! A MUFFLERS =] BRAKE LININGS SHOCK ABSORBERS 3 Guaranteed for as long as you own your car! v "= TAYLOR'S AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE CENTRE Hwy. 7A Wea, A Perry