A funding boost for a Leamington company.
Competitive Green Technologies has received just under $500,000 from the federal government.
Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield made the announcement Friday morning on behalf of Lawrence MacAulay the Minister of Agriculture and and Agri-Food.
MP @LloydLongfield is in Leamington today making a funding announcement on behalf of Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay. The funding amount is $499,000 and goes to Competitive Green Technologies. #cklw @AM800News pic.twitter.com/tBCGJJ4BMe
— Rob Hindi (@rhindi800) November 16, 2018
Company President Michael Tiessen says the money has been used for research and it also helped develop new biocomposite material derived from agricultural waste.
He says receiving the funds has been a game changer.
"A lot of people will have the mentality of bleeding edge versus leading edge and we don't subscribe to that theory," says Tiessen. "We believe Canada needs to be innovative and that is what our company is based on is innovation."
The company was started five years ago and works with the University of Guelph.
This was the second investment it received from the federal government.
Tiessen says the company started out with four employees but now has 17.
It has been developing biomass based alternatives for the automotive industry as well as food packaging.