Govt. of Canada and Quebec grants financial support for a start-up Aluminium food container production unit in Saguenay

Stobia, a new company located in Jonquière, is set in motion for the production of aluminium food containers.

The company secured financial support totalling $ 632,795 from Quebec and Ottawa to support its start-up. The company counts among its shareholders William and Jean-Samuel Allard, two sons of Minister Andrée Laforest.

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages for Canada, and Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy and Innovation for Quebec, announced on 9^th November’20.

The project, worth over $ 1.6 million, will create a dozen jobs over the next two years. Stobia plans to manufacture more than 100 million aluminium containers per year.

The Honourable Minister Mélanie Joly said: “Helping businesses to start-up, grow and innovate so they can enhance their competitiveness and create good-quality jobs is at the heart of our priorities. That is why we are proud to support Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean’s Stobia. The Government of Canada is here to support workers and Quebec and Canadian SMEs in these difficult times; we are helping them equip themselves adequately so that, together, we can rebuild a stronger, resilient, sustainable economy.”

Jean-Samuel Allard, one of the shareholders said:  “Hope one day we will be able to use aluminium from the region. This is what we wanted, except that no aluminium is rolled in the region and it is still very difficult to be able to find a rolling mill nearby. I don't think there are even any in Quebec. That's why we are taking steps with Rio Tinto to have our raw material as close as possible.”

The company targets the food processing, restaurant, grocery and retail markets in Quebec and the rest of Canada.

Federal assistance is made up of a repayable financial contribution of $ 268,795 granted by Canada Economic Development for the Regions of Quebec (CED). The contribution will relate to the acquisition of cutting-edge digital production equipment and the carrying out of rental improvement works. The Government of Quebec, for its part, is granting two loans totalling $ 364,000 through Investissement Quebec and the ESSOR program. This aid also aims to finance the purchase of equipment as well as part of the working capital.

The Quebec Minister of the Economy & Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, said: “The aluminium sector is a priority in our plan to kick-start the Quebec economy. The support we are announcing today is strategic for the growth of both Stobia and the region. Aluminium processing is one of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean’s clusters of excellence that must continue to be developed. This new factory will enrich the region’s expertise by creating added value for our aluminium.”