Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, June 30, 2010 – The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, today announced the awarding of a repayable contribution of $1,403,839 to Premier Tech Technologies, a subsidiary of Premier Tech Ltd. This financial assistance, drawn from the Business and Regional Growth program, will allow the enterprise to proceed with its commercialization strategy, designed to boost sales of peat-based gardening substrates and ecological products – such as mycorrhiza – beneficial to plant growth. This project will translate into the investment of $5,654,703 and the creation of 16 person-years in Rivière-du-Loup.
Minister of State Lebel was pleased to see an innovative SMEs take a step that holds great promise for both its own growth and that of the region. He added that Canada Economic Development does not hesitate to support enterprises that, like Premier Tech, choose to develop emerging markets in order to become more competitive. "Application of this marketing strategy can be expected to boost sales of the company's range of value-added products, the fruit of years of innovation and of research and development. This project will also help consolidate the window of opportunity for peat moss and agro-environmental technology development in the Bas-Saint-Laurent," noted Mr. Lebel.
Founded in 1923 and endowed with a multidisciplinary workforce of over 2,000 people worldwide, Premier Tech structures its operations around three main business sectors directly or indirectly related to peat moss: horticulture and agriculture, environmental technologies and industrial equipment. With over 440 employees on strength in the divisions targeted by this assistance, Premier Tech is recognized around the world for its high-tech industrial equipment, its organic products that boost growth and disease resistance in plants, and its leading-edge stand-alone wastewater treatment technologies.
Premier Tech's project will target emerging markets in agriculture and will develop a commercial supply chain for large-scale organic cultivation both nationally and internationally. The project will also yield communications tools and spawn marketing activities designed to increase sales and enhance synergy among the three business sectors, making the firm more profitable.
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Sources:
Jean-François Lauzon
Communications
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 514-283-0306
E-mail: jean-francois.lauzon@dec-ced.gc.ca
Ève Cardinal
Special Communications Assistant
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 819-997-1339
E-mail: eve.cardinal@dec-ced.gc.ca
