Aero Montreal Receives $731,250 in Funding From the Government of Canada

MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - March 21, 2011) - The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, announces the awarding of $731,250 in non-repayable funding to Aéro Montréal. Of this amount, which has been granted through the Business and Regional Growth program, $600,000 will go toward the pursuit of the organization's operations over the next three years, while the remaining $131,250 will be used for the MACH initiative designed to optimize the performance of Quebec's aerospace supply chain and increase its global competitiveness.

"It is important to support organizations that, like Aéro Montréal, are helping enterprises in Quebec's aerospace sector become more competitive and increase their international reach," explains Minister of State Lebel.

By bringing together all major industry players, Aéro Montréal has the resources needed to deliver concerted, effective action and is thus able to wield considerable influence. The organization relies on unified, well-targeted strategies to assist the sector's enterprises in their efforts to achieve greater prosperity. 

This contribution from the Government of Canada will enable Aéro Montréal to keep working to strengthen Quebec's aerospace companies and elicit mobilizing projects. In so doing, the organization will continue playing a key role among these firms by identifying emerging challenges and developing strategies to address them. 

The assistance will also serve to cover the costs of a specialist to coordinate implementation of the MACH initiative, a project that promises to improve the performance and competitiveness of 40 Montréal and Québec suppliers over the next three years in order to help them better integrate global aerospace supply chains.

Increased competition has forced major contractors to reduce their number of suppliers and to work more closely with those who are capable of offering integrated solutions and of developing efficient and seamless partnerships, from co-design to the management of technological, operational and financial risks. Consequently, Quebec aerospace companies must improve their business practices and move towards more competitive models. This Aéro Montréal project is helping them achieve that.

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