LONDON, ONT. -- It’s a company that started back in 1978 as a tractor dealership in the little hamlet of Salford in Oxford County. Now 42 years later, Salford Group has grown into a world-wide agricultural company.

“We have six manufacturing facilities.We have one in Russia, in Georgia, Iowa, Manitoba and two in Ontario. This one that is our head office in salford and a facility in Norwich Ontario,” says Geof Gray, president of Salford Group.

You’ve probably heard of the name Salford Group, but didn’t know that the company plays a large role in the agricultural industry.

“We primarily focus on farming equipment manufacturing and in our sector we focus on ground tillage equipment and fertilizer equipment,” says Gray.

The equipment made at Salford is essential to many farms, especially when the pandemic hit and food security and availability became a fear for many.

“That’s where I became fearful,” says Gray.

“If the government did too much shut downs we’re all going to starve in six months, because the farms had to run and the equipment and the parts had to keep flowing so we were happy we were deemed an essential service so we could keep feeding the world.”

Gray says once deemed an essential service, the manufacturing facilities became busier than ever, which has led to lots of job openings at the two manufacturing facilities in Oxford County.

Currently there are around 200 employees total at Salford Group in Ontario and 30 or more staff members are needed ASAP.

“Since this is head office we are hiring accountants to sales staff to engineering staff. We need manufacturers from welders, assemblers and fabricators,” says Gray.

Gray says being in a rural area makes it difficult to quickly hire the staff needed, but the team is working hard to do so, however this is just a small piece of the growth expected at Salford Group.

“More and more we are shipping into China and looking for new markets whether it’s South Africa, Brazil and also bringing on new products. There’s lots of growth and the growth is what brings job opportunities and career growth to the employees as well.”