Ontario firm gets $1M EDC guarantee for China expansion
by Canadian Manufacturing Staff
EDC guaranteed RBC loan for Mirus International's acquisition of manufacturing site in China
OTTAWA—Export Development Canada (EDC) has announced a $1-million guarantee for Brampton, Ont.-based Mirus International Inc. to help support its acquisition of a manufacturing operation in China.
The acquisition will allow the Canadian company, which specializes in power quality improvement and harmonic mitigation products, to become more competitive in the Asia-Pacific market.
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) provided the capital financing, with EDC guaranteeing 100 per cent of the amount.
“Mirus has been trying to penetrate the China market for many years now but with little success due to the taxes and tariffs imposed on imported goods,” Mirus president and CEO Tony Hoevenaars said in an EDC statement.
“We know there is a great need for our products in that market so when the opportunity to acquire a manufacturing operation presented itself, we needed to act quickly. With the guarantee that EDC provided, securing the required funds from our bank was much easier.
“We now look forward to the challenge of building our business in China and the surrounding Asian Pacific markets with the ability to supply locally.”
Mirus hopes the Chinese operation will help reduce transportation and production costs.
“This was a great opportunity for Mirus to anchor itself in a very large and fast-growing market,” said Christian Dallaire, Ontario regional vice-president of small business solutions with EDC. “By establishing a permanent presence in China, Mirus has positioned itself to provide better service to foreign clients, gain access to new supply chains, and expand its market share.”
Mirus designs and develops power quality improvement products.
Its harmonic filters and transformers reduce distortion in electrical power systems to boost efficiency, and prevent damage or failure of electrical components.
These products are used on systems that power machinery like oil rigs or supply ships, where disruptions in power can have serious consequences.
Last month, Mirus was presented the award for Emerging Exporter at the 2014 Ontario Export Awards.
