MRO Magazine

Government awards funding to improve production capacity at three Quebec companies

March 25, 2018 | By MRO Magazine

Trois-Rivières, QC –  Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) is awarding nearly $1 million in financial assistance to Captel, Aspasie and Hardy Filtration.

The three companies in Trois-Rivières will be able to improve their production capacity and expand thanks to financial assistance supporting projects that will generate total investments of more than $6 million and create 20 new jobs in the region.

The repayable contributions totalling $937,210 were announced today by the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice–Champlain and Minister of International Trade, acting on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for CED.

Captel, Aspasie and Hardy Filtration have been granted contributions of $469,560, $400,000 and $67,650, respectively, to acquire state-of-the-art production equipment. These businesses will now be able to diversify their markets and meet growing demand for their products and services.

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The funding awarded by the Government of Canada through CED’s Quebec Economic Development Program will help these enterprises achieve their growth objectives.

Contribution – Investments – Project description

Captel Inc.: Repayable contribution of $469,560 out of a total investment of $1,869,950

With this project, the business wanted to group all of its activities in its Trois-Rivières plant and acquire production equipment and tools that will help it increase its productivity and continue to diversify its operations. CED’s financial support is going toward the purchase of some of the equipment, including an angle machine, press brake, machining centre and ventilation system.

Captel is an SME that designs and manufactures steel structures for power transmission towers and wireless networks, power distribution substations and industrial and commercial buildings. Captel also specializes in the commissioning of telecommunications infrastructure. With nearly 20 years of ISO 9001 certification, the company has more than 80 employees and a number of marquee clients, including Bell Mobility, Rogers, Videotron, Ericsson, Telus and Hydro-Québec.

Hardy Filtration Inc.Repayable contribution of $67,650 out of a total investment of $2,438,000

In transferring the company from the founding shareholder to the next generation, Hardy Filtration has been pursuing its growth and modernization since 2015. This project will improve the company’s productivity and production capacity through the acquisition of innovative automation equipment for producing state-of-the-art filtration products. CED’s contribution will go toward the acquisition of production equipment, including an automated packaging machine, a labelling system, a printer, software and a glue machine.

For 20 years, Hardy Filtration has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide range of filtration products for a variety of applications: HVAC air filters, paint booth filters and dust collector bags. The SME exports part of its production and serves a local clientele, including educational institutions and hospitals, as well as businesses such as Canadel, Marmen and Rio Tinto/Alcoa. Located in Trois-Rivières, the company has around 70 employees.

Aspasie Inc.: Repayable contribution of $400,000 out of a total investment of $1,971,882

International market demand for the company’s packaging products is soaring. Aspasie therefore needed to acquire new equipment to continue to grow. With CED’s assistance, the business purchased high-performance in-mould label (IML) cutting equipment and will now be able to embark on an international marketing campaign.

Founded in 1971, Aspasie is a family manufacturing business that is now run by the next generation. It specializes in three point-of-sale marketing areas: the manufacture of hair colouring display units, IML labels – a very green process – and, very recently, systems for merchandising and displaying products on store shelving. Firmly anchored in its industry sector, Aspasie built its reputation serving such major clients as Proctor & Gamble, L’Oréal, Aveda, Shiseido and Coty. The company sells 95% of its production in international markets. It currently has 170 employees, who work in the Trois-Rivières and Saint-Barnabé-Nord plants.

Summary

  • Number of projects: 3
  • Number of jobs created: 18
  • CED’s contributions: $937,210
  • Total investments generated by these projects: $6,279,832

Source: Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

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