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SiliCycle inc. is set to conquer markets, backed by Société générale de financement (SGF) and Innovatech Québec
Québec, November 20, 2001 - Mr. Gilles Baril, Minister of Industry and Trade and Minister of State for Regions, Mr. Claude Blanchet, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Société générale de financement du Québec (SGF), Ms. Francine Laurent, Director and Chief Executive Officer of Innovatech Québec and Mr. Hugo St‑Laurent, President and Chief Executive Officer of SiliCycle inc., today announced that SGF Chemical Inc. is investing $1.45 million and Innovatech Québec $650,000 in SiliCycle inc.’s equity. With this investment, the company will be able to increase production capacity and underpin market penetration.
SiliCycle is a leader in chromatography, a technique for separating or purifying chemicals. The process is mainly used for chemical analysis and purification of high‑added‑value products. For instance, the pharmaceutical industry uses chromatography to remove traces of impurities from active ingredients. SiliCycle plans to continue its expansion by developing and marketing six product lines for this market.
"Innovatech Québec and SGF are two of our major instruments of economic development that help to make innovative companies like SiliCycle inc. a success. What makes the difference is closely monitoring the situation and lending a helping hand: that is the Quebec government approach to developing regional projects. With its outstanding expertise and fully integrated best business practices, SiliCycle inc. is assured of a prominent position on the international market", announced Minister Baril.
"Our partnership with SiliCycle will allow world‑class expertise to be developed in Quebec in the fine chemical sector, which is a strategic niche in this field," said Mr. Claude Blanchet. "SiliCycle is in the forefront of the chromatography industry, indeed it is the only worldwide manufacturer to hold a patent or licence in all spheres of chromatographic separation. The company is therefore ideally placed to further penetrate this lucrative market, which it estimates at $1 billion," he ended.
"We like the SiliCycle team", added Francine Laurent. "The people are young and upbeat, and most of them are under thirty. And they certainly deliver the goods. Innovatech Québec has invested in SiliCyle on two previous occasions, and both times the company expanded. It intends to keep on growing and is in a position to do so." She ended as follows: "Hugo St‑Laurent, President of SiliCycle, views his company as a seed that will eventually burgeon into a multinational –and the idea is very appealing!"
Mr. Hugo St‑Laurent declared: "We will continue to develop our market niche, the wonderful world of specialized silica. Each one of our ultra‑pure silica gels, mesoporous silica and functionalized silica gels either outperforms existing products or revolutionizes the chemical industry by making new applications possible. Growth in the silica gel and by‑products market is estimated to exceed 5% per year. With the financial backing of SGF Chemical and Innovatech Québec, we will now capture an additional share of this market."
SiliCycle inc. is an industry leader in chromatography. The company manufactures and markets specialized silica gels, commercializing some 250 high‑performance products across North America. Serving over 400 pharmaceutical, chemical and university clients, SiliCycle is located in Quebec and employs 36 people.
(www.silicycle.com)
Innovatech Québec is a Québec government venture capital corporation specializing in pre‑startup and startup financial assistance to technology‑intensive companies.
The mission of the Société générale de financement du Québec is, in cooperation with partners and under conditions of normal profitability, to carry out economic development projects. Since its restructuring in 1998, SGF has generated investments of close to CAN 4.4 billion and created over 19,400 direct and indirect jobs in projects that have reached the operating stage, without counting the thousands of jobs created during the construction stage. As at September 30, 2000, the consolidated assets of SGF ran at over CAN 2.3 billion. SGF has 53 international partners carrying out operations in Quebec.
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Information :
Sylvie Brousseau
Director of Communication
SGF
Anne-Marie Laurin
Press Attaché
Cabinet of Minister Gilles Baril
Hugo St-Laurent
President and CEO
SiliCycle inc.
Pierre Roy
Vice President – Industrial technologies
Innovatech Québec
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