Soudure Saint-Gabriel Receives $198,000 in Funding From Government of Canada for Enlargement of Facilities

SAINT-GABRIEL-DE-BRANDON, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - March 18, 2011) - The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, today announced the awarding of $198,000 in repayable funding to Soudure Saint-Gabriel through the Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies (TISQFE). A manufacturer of steel dump bodies for trucks, the firm will use this financial assistance toward the reconfiguration of its plant, the total cost of which is estimated at $446,000. 

"This Soudure Saint-Gabriel project will enable the enterprise to upgrade its manufacturing area, which has become an impediment to growth. The new facilities will promote the company's expansion and the creation of jobs in the Lanaudière region," explained Minister of State Lebel.

The project, which comes on the heels of an internal analysis of the firm's manufacturing conditions, involves, among other things, enlarging the plant, installing a paint chamber, acquiring production equipment, improving the quality control process and developing new promotional items.

By specializing in the metal processing sector, a growth-generating niche for the region, Soudure Saint-Gabriel is contributing to the diversification of the Lanaudière economy. The Municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, located in the D'Autray Regional County Municipality, has been particularly hard-hit by the slowdown in the forest sector. According to Soudure Saint-Gabriel, this project should result in the creation of two new jobs in the area.

About the TISQFE

Brought into force last June, the Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies was established to help communities affected by the forestry crisis diversify their economies in order to secure their development and create and maintain employment. The measure's aim is also to support the viability and sustainable growth of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in these communities.

This measure is one of many put in place by the Government of Canada in recent months to counteract the effects of the forest crisis. Others include, for example, the Community Adjustment Fund, with its $1 billion budget over two years to mitigate the impacts of the crisis, the Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program, toward which $1 billion has been granted to the help enterprises carry out environmentally-friendly projects, and the investment of $230 million in collaboration with the Government of Quebec for silvicultural work and the restoration of bridges and culverts on multi-use forest roads. Workers have also benefited from 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.

Canada Economic Development is online at www.dec-ced.gc.ca. Subscribe to the Agency's press releases at http://www.dec-ced.gc.ca/eng/media-room/mailing-list/list.html to keep up with the latest news.