Sainte-Claire, Quebec, August 24, 2007 Acting
on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour and
Minister of Canada Economic Development, Steven Blaney, Member of
Parliament for LévisBellechasse, today announced the awarding of $115,750 in
repayable funding to Moules et Modèles PCM Inc., an enterprise based in
Sainte-Claire, in the Bellechasse Regional County Municipality (RCM).
Moules et Modèles PCM Inc. is a 60-employee firm specializing in the
design and manufacture of large industrial molds in steel, aluminium, composite
materials and wood. This funding from Canada's new government will serve
for the implementation of the company's first foreign marketing strategy.
More specifically, it will enable Moules et Modèles PCM Inc. to hire a
sales director for the U.S., step up its participation in trade fairs and begin
soliciting business in such American states as South Carolina, Florida and
Minnesota.
"The growth of the Quebec economy hinges largely on the ability of our
businesses to gain a foothold in the U.S. market," noted Steven Blaney.
"That is why Canada's new government has implemented major initiatives
within the framework of the Advantage Canada strategic plan to
create the kind of conditions that will enable our enterprises to thrive and
compete, both here and abroad. So I am thrilled to see that Moules et
Modèles PCM, a high-performance, dynamic Chaudière-Appalaches firm, is now
ready to take up this challenge with the help of our new government," he
added.
"We have been considering this decision to tackle the U.S. market for a long
time," explained Moules et Modèles PCM President Jean-François Hamel.
"With this funding from Canada Economic Development, we will be able
to launch an export strategy that will allow us to seize new business
opportunities and target new markets," he concluded.
Ultimately, Moules et Modèles PCM's entry into the U.S. market should
result in the creation of at least 10 new jobs.
Commercialization and foreign market development is one of the stages at
which Quebec's small and medium-sized businesses often experience major
difficulties. Canada Economic Development has established the Partnering With Enterprises For Commercialization
measure to help these businesses better
position themselves in the foreign marketplace and take the first steps to that
end. Under this measure, Canada's new government may pay a portion of the
wages of a new human resource specializing in market development and cover a
percentage of the costs associated with his or her hiring.
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Sources:
François BélisleCommunicationsCanada Economic
DevelopmentTel.: 819-825-5260, ext. 235E-mail: francois.belisle@dec-ced.gc.ca
Yan PlanteSpecial AssistantOffice of the Honourable Jean-Pierre
BlackburnCanada Economic Development
Tel.: 819-953-5646Cell.: 613-808-8309E-mail: yan.plante@hrsdc-rhdsc.gc.ca