Kirkland high-tech firm lands federal funding
A West Island-based high-tech company has received $500,000 in financial support from the federal government.
Reflex Photonics in Kirkland was officially granted the sum Thursday by local MP Francis Scarpaleggia, on behalf of Navdeep Bains, the federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister of Canadian Economic Development (CED).
The company develops, manufactures and exports industrialgrade electronic optic/photonic components for the defence, aerospace, telecommunications and data centre markets, as well as equipment manufacturers.
“For sustained and inclusive growth, the Canadian economy needs business to invest in their futures through research and development, the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment and the commercialization of their products,” Scarpaleggia said. “A highperforming and forward-looking enterprise, Reflex Photonics is contributing to the economic growth of Montreal and Canada and creating jobs for the middle class.”
The government funding, through the Canadian Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED), will help expand production capacity to increase sales and exports, said Michel Hamel, vicepresident of finance for Reflex Photonics. “It allows us to purchase some machinery that is going to make us more competitive,” he said.
“Actually, it’s machinery we needed to upscale our production. This type of financing is really helpful for small companies because it is not easy to get financing for small companies.”
Hamel said the funding is more like a loan (at zero per cent) than a grant, and is to be paid back over five years. Hamel said the production expansion has helped the company consolidate more than 24 existing jobs and create about 14 new ones.
David Rolston, co-founder of Reflex Photonics and a graduate of Riverdale High School in Pierrefonds, said he was pleased to see the company expand its West Island operations.
“I grew up in the West Island and still live here,” said Rolston, 46, the company’s chief technology officer who holds a PhD in electrical engineering (photonics) from McGill University. He started the company about 16 years ago in the basement of his Beaconsfield home.
Scarpaleggia said the West Island is becoming a hub creating specialized for high-tech companies. He said industrial park zones in Baie-d’Urfé and along Highway 40 employ hundreds of people in high-tech industries.
“We have a very strong industrial base here,” said the MP for Lac St. Louis.
Scarpaleggia said companies like Reflex Photonics are worthy of government investment funding through the CED.
“They’re 99 per cent export driven, they’re doubling their sales every year and they’re following the textbook model for innovation and manufacturing,” Scarpaleggia said.