Aliments Ludo, Biopterre, OPTECH La Pocatière and Lambert Peat Moss to carry out development and growth projects

Government of Canada supports the development of two businesses and two college centres for technology transfer in the Kamouraska RCM by investing nearly $1 million

LA POCATIÈRE, QC, April 6, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED)

In 2017, the Government of Canada made a commitment to stimulate innovation in order to increase the productivity and long-term competitiveness of Canadian businesses. The goal of the Innovation and Skills Plan is to get meaningful results for Canadians and to help businesses prosper through technology. As a true economic driver, innovation is the key to success in that it generates growth that benefits businesses and communities.

With Government of Canada support totalling $982,588, two enterprises and two college centres for technology transfer in the Kamouraska RCM will initiate development projects evaluated at nearly $2 million.

The announcement was made by David Lametti, Member of Parliament for LaSalle–Émard–Verdun and Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions.

College centres for technology transfer Biopterre (website in French only) and OPTECH have been awarded $704,656 in non-repayable contributions, while Aliments Ludo (website in French only) and Lambert Peat Moss have been granted at total of $277,932 in the form of repayable contributions.

The funding granted through CED's Quebec Economic Development Program will be used to acquire equipment and carry out growth projects.

Quotes

"By helping businesses and organizations invest in equipment and devices that will enhance their performance or in marketing strategies that will promote Quebec SMEs in new markets, the Government of Canada is standing by its commitments to stimulate expansion, innovation and exports."

David Lametti, Member of Parliament for LaSalle–Émard–Verdun and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

"In line with our commitment to foster growth for the Canadian economy, the Government of Canada's goal is to provide better support for businesses that want to prosper through innovation and the adoption of new technologies. The projects announced today will undeniably contribute to the achievement of this goal."

The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for CED

Quick facts

• CED is one of the six regional development agencies under the responsibility of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
• For more information on CED's key directions until 2021, consult Strategic Plan 2021 or visit www.dec-ced.gc.ca.
• For more information on these projects, please see the attached backgrounder.

Backgrounder

Proponent	Contribution – Investments – Project description
Biopterre - Centre de développement des bioproduits (website in French only)	Non-repayable contributions of $565,856 out of a total investment of $707,320 Biopterre – Centre de développement des bioproduits is a non-profit organization created in 2007 to support enterprises in the bioproducts sector. Biopterre carries out applied research and technology transfer projects within three main focus areas: biotechnology and horticultural products; biomass and environmental technology; and mycotechnology, non-timber forest products and specialty cultures. The most recent project, which is currently under way, consists in setting up an applied research platform for the development of mycotechnology, namely the use of fungal strains for industrial purposes. CED's contribution of $160,000 will go toward the acquisition of analytical equipment, such as a cellular imaging reader and a high-performance liquid chromatograph. An earlier project received $405,856 in funding from CED to set up a culture research platform in a closed environment to support the production of plants, mushrooms and molecules for nutraceutical, cosmeceutical and pharmaceutical applications. CED supported the acquisition of equipment for the culture research units in closed environments, laboratory instruments and leasehold improvements. Once these two projects are completed, Biopterre plans to hire a high-level resource for a period of time to convert the molecules of interest.
Lambert Peat Moss	Repayable contribution of $125,000 out of a total investment of $250,000 Lambert Peat Moss is a Quebec family business that extracts peat moss, manufactures peat-based gardening substrates and produces berries (cranberries and blueberries). It owns various harvesting sites in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, Côte-Nord and Lac-Saint-Jean regions. Its product line is designed for amateur and professional horticulturalists alike. The project consists in implementing an international marketing strategy to increase the company's market share. CED supports Lambert Peat Moss's participation in trade shows and technical visits to distributors, including hosting and organizing visits to the Rivière-Ouelle facilities. CED's contribution also covers the cost of consulting services and specialized consultants for the development of partnerships, as well as the production of promotional materials and advertising tools targeting new markets.
Les Aliments Ludo (website in French only)	Repayable contribution of $152,932 out of a total investment of $543,000 Aliments Ludo has been making prepared food products for 20 years. The company produces and distributes spaghetti sauce in jars, a line of frozen pizzas and, to a lesser extent, meat pies and pizza dough. The company's products are available in areas between the Centre-du-Québec and Mauricie regions and eastern Quebec. The activities funded by CED consist in acquiring equipment such as refrigerating and freezing rooms and to expand the plant to increase capacity and improve the company's production flow. The project has created five jobs.
Centre de technologie physique et photonique de Montréal - La Pocatière service point	Non-repayable contribution of $138,800 out of a total investment of $173,500 The Centre de technologie physique et photonique de Montréal (OPTECH) is a non-profit organization that is part of the network of college centres for technology transfer (CCTTs). Its mission is to develop and promote optic/photonic technologies to support efforts to improve productivity and innovation in Quebec businesses. Optics/photonics is an enabling technology that drives innovation and helps optimize the development and use of clean technology in many industry sectors. These technologies help maximize the productivity of businesses by improving the energy performance of processes and reducing spoilage through better input and output quality control. OPTECH's expertise is used by enterprises specializing in optics/photonics and SMEs that are not specialized in this field but want to integrate these new technologies into their products and processes. Housed in Cégep André-Laurendeau, the organization has a service point in La Pocatière. The project consists in strengthening the client's innovation and technology transfer capacities at its La Pocatière service point so that it can support improvements in environmental performance for the SMES and organizations it serves. It focuses mainly on the agri-food industry, a strong sector in the area, which can benefit from the improved efficiency and quality control, as well as the development of new products. CED's support will help the company acquire a solar simulator, a light optimeter, a brilliance meter, a spectro-colorimeter, a scintillation measuring device and instruments for measuring light collection and chlorophyll.
Summary	Number of projects:     5 Number of jobs created:           6 CED's contributions:    $982,588 Total investments generated by these projects:             $1,853,820

Restez branchés

• Suivez DEC sur Twitter, LinkedIn et YouTube
• Consultez la salle des médias de DEC

SOURCE Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

Relations avec les médias, Développement économique Canada pour les régions du Québec, 514-283-7443, [email protected]