Posted: May 10, 2010
Sault Ste. Marie is a major alternative energy producer and has been for quite some time.
With an announcement May 7, the community is entering into a new phase in the green sector. Heliene Canada is constructing a solar panel manufacturing facility on Second Line, which will employ up to 36 people.
Company President Martin Pochtaruk commended City staff and Council for their “vision in establishing the community as the Alternative Energy Capital of North America.” He also thanked the Innovation Centre and Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation for facilitating the firm through the bureaucratic process.
Such help is what the SSMEDC does.
“When an entrepreneur makes a decision to move forward, we do whatever possible — from an economic development perspective — to assist them,” said John Febbraro, Acting Executive Director of Development Sault Ste. Marie, a division of the SSMEDC. “Whatever the client needs to get to the next level, that’s what we support.”
In Heliene’s case, funding was needed, and part of it would come from the provincial government. To help get off the ground, the company received a $2.5-million investment from the province’s Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.
“Without its financial contributions, our project wouldn’t exist and neither would the jobs that we’re (creating),” said Pochtaruk, who’s also a member of the SSM Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors.
Being able to access such funding is one of the benefits of starting a business in Sault Ste. Marie, said local MPP David Orazietti. The NOHFC “is very important for strategic investments in Northern Ontario.”
These investments, in turn, have a significant impact on the region's economy, he added. “By supporting Heliene Canada, a value-added manufacturing businesses in the clean energy sector, we are creating high quality, well-paying jobs and positioning our city to be at the forefront of a growing industry.”
PHOTO: At Heliene’s groundbreaking ceremony May 7 (L to R): Development Sault Ste. Marie’s John Febbraro, Heliene investor and former Algoma Steel CEO Denis Turcotte; Sault MPP David Orazietti; Heliene President Martin Pochtaruk, and Councillor Steve Butland.
PHOTO: Heliene Canada President Martin Pochtaruk, who's also a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, addresses the crowd at the May announcement.
PHOTO: Posing in front of a solar panel are (L to R) Heliene Canada President Martin Pochtaruk, Ward 1 Councillor Steve Butland, local MPP David Orazietti, and Heliene investor and former Algoma Steel CEO Denis Turcotte.
PHOTO: John Febbraro, Acting Executive Director of Development Sault Ste. Marie, a division of the SSM Economic Development Corporation emcees the Heliene announcement.
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