(OTTAWA) – August 27, 2014
Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada’s leading financier and insurer of Canadian companies that sell internationally, today announced that it is providing Quebec-based Baultar Concept Inc. (Baultar) with a USD 374,000 advanced payment bond.
As part of Baultar’s contract with AnsaldoBreda S.p.A, (AnsaldoBreda), a rail transport engineering company based in Italy. They were asked to provide a guarantee to match a USD 374,000 advanced payment. Baultar did not have the available capital to meet this requirement, so EDC provided the bonding guarantee to help secure the contract.
Baultar, which specializes in the design and manufacture of composite flooring, crew seating, lighting and other specialized accessories for the transportation industry, will manufacture the floors for trains that AnsaldoBreda is building for a major city in the U.S.
“EDC was able to help us win this contract with a financial instrument that we had never used before,” said Alexandre Taranto, Baultar’s Director of Finance. “This kind of product can be a game-changer for small companies, like ours, looking to grow their business abroad.”
Baultar’s transport solutions have been applied to more than 50 North American customers, including railcar and locomotive manufacturers as well as regional and national transportation authorities. Supported by their North American applications, the company is intensifying efforts to reach out to European and Asian markets.
“Anytime we can help a small Canadian company like Baultar secure a contract with an international giant like AnsaldoBreda, that’s job number one for us,” said Bruce Dunlop, EDC’s Vice President of Commercial Markets and Small Business. “Small companies are the heart of the Canadian economy, but it can be difficult for a smaller business to win contracts with large international buyers because of their financial demands. Our job is to provide solutions that make it easier for companies like Baultar to grow their business abroad.”
Small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) like Baultar make up approximately 98 per cent of Canada’s businesses, account for 45 per cent of GDP and 60 per cent of all jobs in Canada. Of the more than 1 million SMEs operating in Canada, only 41,000 are currently exporting. More than 75 per cent of these exports are going to the U.S., but moving forward, SMEs are poised to diversify and grow their presence in key emerging markets.
EDC served more than 7,000 customers in 2013, of which 80 per cent, or approximately 5,500, were SMEs. Most of EDC’s products and services are designed to address many of the financial pain points of SMEs.
Baultar, who celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2014, is a Quebec-based company located in Windsor (the QC Eastern Townships) that employs approximately 90 employees. It provides transport solutions to the U.S., France, Mexico, Australia, Taiwan and Brazil. Their strengths reside in solving complex, costly and seemingly intractable problems at the heart of clients’ operations. Through a process of continued research and development as well as continual improvement (the keystones of Baultar’s corporate philosophy), their products have evolved to exceptional quality and durability.
EDC is Canada’s export credit agency, providing financing and insurance solutions locally and around the world to help Canadian companies of any size respond to international business opportunities. As a profitable Crown corporation that operates on commercial principles, EDC works together with private- and public- sector financial institutions to create greater capacity for Canadian companies to engage in trade and investment.
For more information about how EDC can help your company, visit www.edc.ca.
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Phil Taylor
Export Development Canada
(613) 598-2904
ptaylor@edc.ca
