Steven Rossi, the CEO of Worksport Ltd. (the “Company” or “Worksport”), made the following remarks regarding the Company’s commencement of production of hard-folding tonneau covers at the Company’s 220,000 square foot in West Seneca, NY which started production last Tuesday August 2.
“I would like to thank our investors, shareholders and employees for helping us reach this very special milestone: the opening of our U.S.-based manufacturing facility in West Seneca, New York, which is now also the Company's head office.
“The start of production of our pioneering, state-of-the-art truck bed covers has begun, heralding an era of heightened productivity and the completion of a long, hard but ultimately successful journey. We believed in our idea, a tonneau cover like no other, and knew we had created something we could protect with patents, which is exactly what we did. That led to a prospect that we believe will propel us even further forward as an American manufacturer, combining a solar-integrated light truck bed cover, branded as SOLIS, and its companion, the newly redesigned, higher quality, more powerful COR portable energy system, which is still in its R&D phase.
“When the COR system completes testing and is market-ready, we expect to assemble SOLIS covers in our West Seneca, NY factory, representing a transformative leap in Worksport's operational and strategic direction, underlining the Company's dedication to innovation, exponential growth potential, revenue generation, and continuous value creation for our shareholders.
“At the beginning of 2023, we set out a clear and straightforward goal: complete our NY factory to start production as soon as possible to meet current demand. And I am so proud to say we believe we have now achieved that milestone, an outstanding achievement for our Company, team, and investors. Now that hard-folding tonneau cover production has started, the next goal is to aim for profits, sustainable growth and bring our solar cover to market.
“When we look back, we raised funding to accomplish these transformational events, sourced and acquired our wholly owned 220,000 sq. ft manufacturing facility in West Seneca, NY, purchased for US$8.125 million, and then made the crucial and strategic choice to wait for production until we acquired and completed the installation of our US$4 million custom European manufacturing line, a key piece for future revenue growth and quality standards important for OEM partnerships. It had to be set up and tested, with employees recruited in two successful job fairs and trained on the manufacturing line. Manufacturing processes then needed to be perfected before we reached the milestone of starting production, sourcing components both within and outside the U.S.
“A final piece was the strategic relocation of our corporate headquarters from Ontario, Canada to the U.S., a game-changing step in our growth trajectory and a strategic shift allowing the Company’s HQ to be onsite at our NY factory, significantly facilitating enhanced process flow, and fostering a solid working community and culture of high productivity.
“For me personally, as Worksport’s CEO, I've been personally frustrated at many turns in the story because it is so apparent that the market demand is there. Clients want to order significant quantities of our products -- and even have sent orders pre-production. We've been in discussions with some very recognizable major automotive OEMs, and a national U.S. customer and reseller of automotive aftermarket accessories has approved our hard-folding light truck cover samples. And yet, without our manufacturing and assembly team and resources, we could not fulfill this interest in Worksport's products.
“Now, however, our team is ready, reinforcing our commitment to American-made quality and innovation. We are eager to move those products out the door and into the hands of partners and consumers to start filling several recently-received purchase orders. We can proudly say to customers, investors, shareholders and employees that this moment has arrived. We believe our dream is coming true, including developments with the SOLIS solar truck cover and the COR portable energy system. Marketplace, meet Worksport. We wish to be your manufacturer of choice for innovative alternate energy systems, hard- and soft-folding tonneau covers for light trucks, and in the near future the SOLIS solar cover and COR portable energy system.”
Follow us on social media: