Feds invest $569K in Quebec Popsicle stick manufacturer
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
Industries John Lewis will add a third finishing line at its La Tuque, Que. facility, which makes sticks for the food industry
LA TUQUE, Que.—The federal government is investing just over $1 million in a pair of businesses in La Tuque, Que., including a manufacturer that makes sticks for the food industry.
Industries John Lewis, a subsidiary of Groupe Rémabec, will receive $569,250 of the funds. It will use the repayable contribution to buy moulding equipment for a third finishing line at its plant in the small Quebec city northwest of Quebec City.
The company processes white birch logs into sticks for frozen sweets, corn dogs and coffee stirrers. With capacity to make about eight billion sticks each year, the company says it’s the largest producer in North America.
The remainder of the CED funding will go toward Bioénergie La Tuque, a company working to build a biorefinery to convert residual forest biomass.
The federal government said the cleantech firm will use the $500,000 loan to carry out technico-economic feasibility studies that could pave the way to starting up a biorefinery in La Tuque.
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, the federally-run regional development agency financing the two projects, says the projects will inject an investment of more than $2.6 million into and help create and keep jobs in the Mauricie region, an area located between Montreal and Quebec City along the St. Lawrence River.
“Canada’s manufacturing sector is a cornerstone of the economy, accounting for more than 10 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product and employing 1.7 million Canadians,” said Navdeep Bains, minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
Bains continued, “That is why we are investing in Canada’s large wood industry. These investments will allow the manufacturing sector to remain a key source of jobs, trade and innovation in Canada.”
