Kellie Leitch, Member of Parliament for Simcoe-Grey, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
This funding through FedDev Ontario's Prosperity Initiative will enable AGNORA Inc. to implement a $7.42 million project to research, develop and produce new lines of architectural glass products.
"Thanks to this funding, AGNORA will establish itself as a major player in the North American market for producing high-end architectural glass," said Dr. Leitch. "Investments in jobs and growth like this one demonstrate our government's commitment to helping companies become more innovative, competitive, and productive."
AGNORA currently produces some of the largest format architectural glass in North America at 130 by 240 inches, or 10.8 by 20 feet. The funding will allow the company to expand its plant, buy new equipment and software, as well as construct a research and development laboratory. This will result in higher quality glass production and more energy-efficient products to support LEED certified building projects.
These improvements will not only position AGNORA to better compete in the North American market against European producers, it will allow local access to products that were only available overseas, which will dramatically reduce the lead time for these products.
"With the FedDev Ontario support, AGNORA will be a world-class manufacturing facility leading in the fabrication of Jumbo Architectural glass products," said Richard Wilson, President, AGNORA.