Targeted Manufacturing Initiative for Northern Ontario – Productivity Improvements (Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program REGI) – FedNor

ByMaurice

Description:

Through its Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program, FedNor provides repayable assistance to existing Northern Ontario manufacturers to upgrade and improve capital equipment used in manufacturing processes, including information and communications technology, to improve their competitiveness and productivity.

Comments on Funding:

Funding is generally up to 33% of eligible capital costs and up to 50% of eligible non-capital costs.

Assistance available for SMEs is repayable.

If applicants incur costs to implement their projects prior to approval of funding, these costs will not be considered eligible for reimbursement unless written consent is provided by FedNor.

Eligibility:

The applicant must:

  • Be established manufacturers located in Northern Ontario (For further clarity, established manufacturers means firms currently operating, whose primary line of business is the manufacture of a commercial product and that are planning for growth.)
  • Have 500 or fewer employees.

Eligible project costs include all expenses directly related to the project and deemed reasonable and necessary for its execution. Costs may include:

  1. plant equipment purchases, including digital hardware and software that are a direct part of the manufacturing process;
  2. installation and commissioning of new equipment;
  3. training on the use of new equipment;
  4. implementation of recommendations from an Operational Assessment, such as lean manufacturing, ISO certification, quality controls, information and communications technology or other operational and managerial improvements; and
  5. modernizing the production facility through upgrades to existing production equipment (e.g., automation, robotics, ancillary systems).
    Eligible costs must be for arm’s-length purchases.

Applications Steps:

Documentation Needed:

Applicants must provide:

  • a work plan detailing the productivity improvement or the equipment upgrade to be addressed, including milestones/timelines, and a description of how the project will improve the firm’s competitiveness and productivity. The Applicant must detail how the project was identified, and include a review of the competitive landscape,
  • evidence of capacity to implement the project, including financial statements for the past three years. Where the last year-end is more than six months past, interim financial statements must be provided,
  • Details on how the proposed project will benefit business operations (including target performance measures), supported by reasonable forecast results and the plan to achieve these results, and
  • Details on how the proposed project will result in net economic benefits to Northern Ontario.

About the author

Maurice

Maurice (Moe) Muise learned the ins-and-outs of government while an employee of the Government of Canada in Ottawa for 10 years. His current focus is helping small businesses in Ontario to identify and maximize government grants to grow their business. Click here to learn more about Moe’s background and how he can help your business.

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