A locally-sourced heated furniture company, an app that funnels consumer traffic to local businesses, and a railway maintenance company with local contracts looking to expand thanks in part to this week's announced progress on the return of the Northlander will receive over $1.8 million to help them foster innovation and expansion in the North.
On behalf of the Ontario government, Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli announced $1,895,595 through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) to
the three companies in the Nipissing region to support business expansion and the research, development and commercialization of new and innovative technologies. Fedeli says this investment will help create jobs, diversify product and service offerings, and boost economic growth in the northeast.
"Our government continues to foster a strong future in the North by supporting economic growth and job creation," said Fedeli. "These businesses play a critical role in the northern economy, supporting the community and contributing to the province’s prosperity as a whole."
Wrmth designs and manufactures heated outdoor furniture. The company will invest $3.6 million to commercialize its flagship product — the smart Muskoka chair — and develop software to allow users to control the chair using a mobile device. Wrmth has received $1,344,493 in NOHFC funding.
Sally Daub and John Pomeroy, Wrmth's co-founders hosted the event from their temporary workspace on Birchs Road. Wrmth will be setting up permanent operations in a space on Commerce Crescent. Pomeroy praised the City of North Bay's Economic Development team for making the choice to set up shop so enticing.
"Wrmth has chosen North Bay because the opportunity for building competitive onshore manufacturing is in Ontario's north. Manufacturing here means bringing innovation, new intellectual property and adding high-value jobs," they said.
One Red Maple Inc. designed a browser extension people can download onto their smartphone, tablet or computer that lets them quickly search, locate and buy products from locally-owned stores instead of from larger big-box retailers and online corporations. The company will invest over $1.8 million and has received $483,495 in NOHFC funding to enhance this web-based technology.
Mark Sherry, One Red Maple's president was on hand to accept the grant and said the new business is "giving independent retailers the tools to compete
against large online corporations and big box stores. Our browser extension compares what you are looking at on a web page such as Amazon’s and looks for local matches and redirects you to the local store to make the purchase, while our mobile app allows you to search the local database of products.
"Local shopping has never been easier. Thanks to the funding available through NOHFC, One Red Maple has now launched in North Bay, Sudbury, and Kingston as our test markets."
Cuna Railway Innovation Inc. provides railway services such as inspection, maintenance and snow clearing. The company will invest over $370,000 with an injection of $67,607 in NOHFC funding to purchase specialized equipment and train staff to expand its range of services.
Alex McCulloch, Cuna's president stated the company "appreciates the support from the province with our ongoing growth strategy. We are using the funding in order to strengthen our asset base and, in turn, our position in our industry."
Andrew Naylor, Cuna's general manager of operations represented the company at the NOHFC announcement. Naylor said there is a lot of buzz in the railway industry in the north, in light of the plans to reintroduce passenger rail to northeastern Ontario.
"The funding is going to help us grow by buying newer and better equipment to help grow our expanding workforce, especially with the great announcement Thursday about the new trains and getting the Northlander back up in service," said Naylor. "We're hoping with this growth, we can be part of that project in the future. We can build it, we can maintain it, and we can service it."
In 2021, the Ontario government launched new and improved NOHFC programs — like Invest North — that support more projects in rural northern communities and make it easier for more people and businesses to apply. The programs target existing and emerging markets, provide more work opportunities for Indigenous people and address the skilled labour shortage in the North.
The NOHFC promotes economic prosperity across Northern Ontario by providing financial assistance to projects — big and small, rural and urban — that stimulate growth, job creation and skills development. Since June 2018, the NOHFC has invested more than $578 million in 4,935 projects in Northern Ontario, leveraging more than $1.87 billion in investment and creating or sustaining over 7,870 jobs.
