Laval économique is relaunching its funding program in order to encourage manufacturing companies to accelerate their digital transformation.
In addition to providing strategic support, the program finances 25 per cent of the equipment acquisition cost, up to $100,000, in addition to related costs for a maximum total amount of $125,000 per company.
According to Mayor Stéphane Boyer, that digital shift and the resulting increased productivity are essential “to keep companies competitive and meet their workforce challenges”.
Leverage
Resulting from the Laval, capitale des opportunités Economic recovery plan tabled in the summer of 2020, this direct financial assistance program for the manufacturing sector was a big success last year.
As a proof, for each dollar invested by Laval, the 6 beneficiary companies were giving 15. The $750,000 in municipal funds granted in 2021 have generated investment projects of approximately $11.3 million.
This measure not only contributed to maintaining 600 jobs and creating 53 new ones, but also to making the funded businesses even more profitable. By chance, they’re estimating an average growth in turnover of 20 per cent over the past year.
“[…] with the help of the program, manufacturing companies have been able to increase their production capacity up to 24 hours a day, while reducing the impact of labour shortage and automating their processes,” we can read in the press release published by the City on May 24.
Nearly a Million
Director of Laval économique, Lidia Divry urges SMEs leaders to initiate the movement, or continue their digital transformation project, as the case may be.
“Phase II of the Accélérateur d’opportunités – Soutien à la productivité program is currently accessible to all manufacturing companies in Laval, and so far, about 10 [of them] have expressed an interest in submitting a project.”
For the relaunch of that project, Ms. Divry and her team have a limited budget of $962,000.
For any other information, please contact Benard Pitre, commissioner of technological transformation, at b.pitre@laval.ca ou 438 223-5384.
translated by Alec Brideau
