MONTREAL -- The federal government said two aerospace companies based in Quebec -- Avior Integrated Products Inc. and Techniprodec Ltd. -- will receive a combined $1.38 million in repayable funding to help improve productivity. The move comes as Ottawa and the province work to strengthen the sector's position in the aerospace industry with several announcements at the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain. Avior will receive a $1 million loan from the government on a $5.5 million investment to boost capacity for the production of wing structures, fuselage and cockpit components, the government said on Wednesday. The money will be used to improve the plant, upgrade existing equipment and buy new specialized equipment. The initiative will add 75 jobs, 50 of them at its operations in Granby, Que. where it manufactures parts for companies like Boeing, Bell Helicopter Textron and Bombardier. The firm specializes in the manufacture of hybrid structures made from metal and advanced composite materials. Meanwhile, Techniprodec will get a $375,000 loan on a total investment of $750,000 that will help the company acquire specialized equipment for helicopter parts and landing hear components for Messier Dowty and Heroux-Devtek (TSX:HRX). About six jobs will be added to the Montreal-based company. The announcement comes a day after two other aerospace companies made commitments to build their operations in Montreal over the next three years, creating about 480 jobs. Tech Mahindra, a division of India's giant Mahindra Group, said it will open a head office in Montreal that will oversee its North American business. Washington-based LTA Corp. is making a $90 million investment to open a facility in the city that will construct a new airship that handles oversized loads. The Quebec government gave more than $1 million grants to local aerospace companies RTI Claro and Sinters America, that will create more than 10 jobs at each company.
