Steel manufacturer receives $925K from feds for automation

July 18, 2019 – Groupe Tremblay, a Quebec steel manufacturer, has received nearly $1 million in funding from the federal government to improve its productivity.

On July 17, Mélanie Joly, minister of tourism, official languages and la francophonie and member of parliament for Ahuntsic-Cartierville, announced a non-repayable contribution of $925,925 to the Montérégie-based company.

The investment will help Groupe Tremblay to increase its productivity and production capacity by acquiring latest-generation technological equipment that will make it possible to implement a new cathode-plate manufacturing process and automate the production sector.

This funding is awarded under the Steel and Aluminum Initiative of the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program, announced in March 2019. Administered by the regional development agencies (RDAs), this initiative provides targeted support to Canada’s small- and medium-sized enterprises in the steel and aluminum sectors. Non-repayable contributions enables these SMEs to adopt innovative technologies for increasing their productivity or competitiveness and create highly skilled jobs.

The REGI program builds on the objectives of the federal government’s Innovation and Skills Plan by providing regionally tailored, nationally consistent support for business productivity and scale-up and by helping enhance regional technology clusters and innovation ecosystems.

In 2018, Canada’s steel and aluminum industries employed more than 33,500 Canadians and contributed $8.9 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product.