New Equipment and Training on the Horizon for Colchester Company

New technology and employee training will help a Truro-based packaging and woven fabrics manufacturer increase efficiency and productivity, and enter new markets.

Premier Darrell Dexter announced today, Feb. 10, that Engineered Coated Products L.P. will receive $52,590 from the province's Productivity Investment Program (PIP) to buy modern equipment and train employees on new technology.

"Investing to help Nova Scotia businesses become more productive and competitive is a critical part of jobsHere, Nova Scotia's plan to grow the provincial economy," said Premier Darrell Dexter. "The Productivity Investment Program is a flagship of the plan and gives local companies like Engineered Coated Products access to funds that will help them become more innovative, modern, and competitive."

PIP's Capital Investment Incentive will provide $32,345 for the company to buy new equipment that will find defects before the packaging material has left the production line. The new technology will help Engineered Coated Products become more efficient and expand its customer base by offering products currently serviced by competing polyvinyl choride-based products. The company will use $20,245 from PIP's Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive to train eight of its industrial electricians on the new technology and software.

"The nature of our business requires us to ship packaged materials all over the world," said Kevin Publicover, Engineered Coated Products L.P. controller. "The new equipment and training will help us provide a higher quality finished product to our customers and enter new markets."

Engineered Coated Products L.P. is a division of Intertape Polymer Group Inc., a leader in the packaging and woven fabrics industry. The company manufactures resin-based woven products including construction fabric, housewrap, haywrap, lumberwrap, and synthetic roof underlay.

The Productivity Investment Program encourages Nova Scotia businesses to become more productive, innovative and globally competitive through two financial incentives: the Capital Investment Incentive and the Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive.

In its first year, $14.6 million has been committed in PIP funding for more than 220 projects at over 180 Nova Scotia companies.

For more information on jobsHere and the Productivity Investment Program, visit http://jobsHere.novascotia.ca .