Government of Canada Lends Financial Support to Industries I.S.A.

NORMANDIN, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - July 24, 2012) - The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, announces that the firm Industries I.S.A. has been awarded financial assistance from the Government of Canada to improve its production capacity and competitiveness.

"The Government of Canada is doing everything it can to support communities that, like this one in SaguenayΓöÇLacΓöÇSaint-Jean, are affected by the forestry crisis, and therefore had no hesitation in supporting Industries I.S.A., whose project will help strengthen the region's economy," said Minister Lebel.

Founded in 2003, Industries I.S.A. Inc. specializes in wood modification by high heat treatment (thermo-transformation). Its products provide a quality alternative to other widespread composite and synthetic products because they are made from a natural and renewable raw material and because the treatment process used is completely eco-friendly.

To increase its production capacity as well as its competitiveness and productivity, Industries I.S.A. has developed a project to optimize its manufacturing process. By making these improvements, the firm will be able to boost its revenues, create new jobs, gain market share and, ultimately, ensure its viability.

About the Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies (TISQFE)

This $121,300 in repayable funding has been awarded through Canada Economic Development's Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies (TISQFE).

The TISQFE was brought into force in June 2010 to help communities affected by the forestry crisis diversify their economies in order to ensure their growth and create and maintain employment. The initiative's goal is also to support secondary and tertiary wood processing projects in these communities.

This measure is one of several put in place by the Government of Canada to counteract the effects of the forest crisis. Others include the Community Adjustment Fund, with its $1-billion budget over two years to mitigate the impact of the crisis, the $1 billion granted to the Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program to help enterprises carry out environmentally-friendly projects and the $238 million invested, in collaboration with the Government of Quebec, for silvicultural work and the maintenance of multi-use forest roads. Workers have also received their fair share of support, with the Government of Canada introducing some of the most generous measures in history to help them through the economic crisis.

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