Plant oils firm opens distillery in Saint‑Tite, Que., with $1.1M from feds and province

Saint‑Tite, Que.—The federal and Quebec governments are contributing $1,105,000 to support the establishment of a facility in Saint-Tite, Que. producing essential oils and hydrolats from forest products and residual biomass, as well as expansion activities for Grondines-based firm Aliksir.

Founded in 1988, Aliksir specializes in the production of “organic” certified essential oils and hydrolats (used for aromatherapy) made primarily from Quebec forest products. The firm also produces soaps, cosmetics and food products.

$230,000 in funding will come from the feds, through Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, and $875,000 will come from Quebec. The funding will go toward the purchase of equipment for the business’s Saint-Tite and Deschambault-Grondines distilleries and support its products’ commercialization in international markets.

“For 30 years now, the Aliksir team has been sharing its passion for aromatherapy with Quebecers by producing organic essential oils and hydrolats, which are distributed across Quebec and in New-Brunswick, Ontario, the United States, Europe and Japan,” said Julie Boulet, member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Laviolette, and minister of Tourism.

She continued, “We are therefore proud that this dynamic company chose Saint-Tite to build a new distillery, which will definitely contribute to the economic vitality of the Mauricie region.”