‘EXCITING DAY FOR BORDENCARLETON’

McCain hands out $2 million left to the province in October 2014 when it shut down its production plant in P.E.I.

McCain hands out $2 million left to the province in October 2014 when it shut down its production plant in P.E.I.

Matt Silliker is looking forward to growth at Silliker Glass.

“We’ve got a little more than 20 employees right now, but we’re looking to grow to around 70 or 80,” said the company’s general manager.

On Monday, Silliker, as well as nine other recipients in the Borden-Carleton area learned they would receive a portion of the McCain Foods Adjustment Fund.

“It’s really cool to be receiving part of the grant. It’s exciting,” Silliker added.

Silliker Glass will receive $300,000 allowing it to purchase a second tempering oven.

“We’re looking to branch out more into the glass side of things, and this allows us to do so.”

On Tuesday, hosted the official government announcement regarding the fund with Premier Wade MacLauchlan as well as Borden-Carleton Mayor Dean Sexton.

“This is an exciting day for Borden-Carleton,” said Sexton to the crowd that had gathered.

The town of Borden-Carleton was also a grant recipient of $50,000, which it will use to set up plans for growing businesses and where they should be located in the town, where residential areas should form and how to connect the town to Gateway Village.

“We’re really excited and we hope this will allow the town to prosper,” he said after the news conference.

“I sat on the committee that went through the selection process of choosing the businesses. It wasn’t an easy task. We really wanted to distribute it fairly.”

The committee included representatives from the town, Innovation P.E.I., the Central Development Corporation, ACOA and McCain Foods.

The $2 million McCain Adjustment Fund was left to the province and selection committee in October 2014 when McCain shut down its production plant in Borden-Carleton. For nearly three years, the money has been in a trust fund left with Innovation P.E.I.

Another recipient of the fund is Atlantic Beef Products, which will receive $142,000.

“It’s great for us to be able to invest capital into the plant. It’s important to our growth,” said Russ Mallard, president of Atlantic Beef Products.

The funding will be used to help purchase added-value equipment.

“This will allow us to buy four different pieces of equipment that will give us the opportunity to grow as well as produce different products. We’ll be able to produce a ground beef product like you would see in a grocery store, diced beef, beef strips as well as a portion control product that businesses can buy if they don’t have a meat cutter in house,” explained Mallard.

Applying for the funding involved a detailed plan, he added.

“We came up with a business plan and outlined our objectives as well as what we could do with the money. Then we detailed the specific equipment and the volumes we could achieve and demonstrate how to get there.”

“We’re really excited and we hope this will allow the town to prosper. I sat on the committee that went through the selection process of choosing the businesses. It wasn’t an easy task. We really wanted to distribute it fairly.” Borden-Carleton Mayor Dean Sexton

MILLICENT MCKAY/JOURNAL PIONEER Mitch Townsend measures a pane of glass before laying it on a conveyor belt that will send it into the tempering oven. Silliker Glass was one of 10 recipients who receiving funding from the McCain Foods Adjustment Fund that was dispersed by the...

MILLICENT MCKAY/JOURNAL PIONEER Sarah Bennetto O’Brien, owner and operator of the Handpie Company, prepares a fresh batch of handpies. Bennetto’s company, as well as nine other recipients, received a portion from the McCain Foods Adjustment Fund after government dispersed the funds.