Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec – The Government of Canada is committed to creating jobs, stimulating economic growth and ensuring long-term prosperity.
To that end, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a repayable financial contribution of over $9.2 million to Premier Tech Ltd. designated to their innovation and commercialization project IPSO, whose total cost will be $45.9 million.
The funding is granted under Canada Economic Development’s Quebec Economic Development Program and will be paid out over three years beginning in the 2012-13 financial year.
The Government of Quebec will also contribute non-repayable assistance of $5.1 million over three years to Premier Tech Ltd. for their project. The company will also benefit from various tax credits from the Governments of Canada and Quebec.
A French acronym standing for innovation, products and procedures, services and commercial offerings, IPSO will be aimed at, among other things, developing innovative new products while having a positive impact on the environment. Plant growing media will integrate new technologies and include new organic active ingredients that are more environmentally friendly, while improved treatment systems to be commercialized will reduce water and soil pollution.
The funding will enable Premier Tech Ltd. to develop some 60 new products over the next three years from its four subsidiaries, and to carry out R&D for innovation in the company’s manufacturing processes, after-sales service and product-related commercial offerings.
The IPSO project will create or maintain 200 jobs. Most of the project will be carried out in Rivière-du-Loup, but some investments will be made in other parts of the company, namely in Joliette, Lachenaie, Drummondville, Montreal and Pointe-Lebel.
Premier Tech Ltd.
For nearly 90 years, Premier Tech Ltd. has built its know-how and reputation on the skills and synergy of its three groups: Horticulture and Agriculture, Industrial Equipment, and Environmental Technologies.
A leading producer in the horticulture and agriculture industries, Premier Tech Ltd. has grown its business by emphasizing secondary and tertiary processing of sphagnum peat moss, while developing innovating growing media, water treatment biofilters and microorganisms beneficial for agriculture. Its growth is also thanks to its expertise in the production of industrial equipment designed to handle organic and inorganic materials.
Elsewhere in Canada, the firm operates plants and peat extraction facilities in New Brunswick, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia. In 2012, Premier Tech Ltd. exported 57 percent of its output. According to the company’s estimates, the IPSO project will enable it to conclude 62 percent of its total sales on foreign markets by 2015. The company is present in 19 countries of the Americas, Europe and Asia.
In November 2012, its Environmental Technologies Group won the Technology Green 15™ award, which aims to recognize the efforts of Canadian companies that succeed in creating technological solutions and intellectual property promoting an efficient use of the planet's resources.
Contributions by the Government of Canada to the Rivière-du-Loup region and Quebec
Through the Economic Development Agency of Canada for Quebec Regions, the Government of Canada has approved investments of $144.6 million since January 2007 in 306 projects generating economic benefits for the Lower St. Lawrence region, including a total of over $32 million for 58 projects in the regional county municipality of Rivière-du-Loup.
The following initiatives and programs have been implemented in Quebec by the Government Canada through the Agency: the Quebec Economic Development Program, the Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec’s Forest Economies, the Community Futures Program and the Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund.
