RIIEO

About

The Rural Innovation Initiative for Eastern Ontario (RIIEO) provided competitive funding to local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) transitioning to the innovation track while accelerating regionally significant industrial SMEs through strategic investments in innovation capital. The initiative led to business growth, the creation and maintenance of high quality jobs, and the strengthening of industrial technology and talent here in Northumberland and across rural Eastern Ontario.

RIIEO was made possible with the support of the Government of Canada and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).

Impact Report

Across 42 projects:

The Rural Innovation Initiative for Eastern Ontario (RIIEO)

jobs impacted

new products or services commercialized

millions of dollars of follow-on sales

“The support from the RIIEO program has been critical in allowing us to upgrade and expand our warehouse functionality and storage capacity. The recent spike in demand for canned foods due to COVID-19 has significantly increased our needs from a production and storage standpoint (compared to normal times). We are in a much better position to meet this higher demand as a result of this project and the support received through RIIEO.”

Sprague Foods
Belleville, Ontario
NCFDC RIIEO Recipient

“The RIIEO program has 100% helped us through any COVID-19 business disruptions. Our flow of material has not been hindered as the workers are totally independent of each other. As an essential service we have been able to provide recycled vehicles to the steel mill with little disruption. Thank you everyone there for helping us with this project.”

Brighton Recycling
Brighton, Ontario
NCFDC RIIEO Recipient

“Through RIIEO we were able to capitalize on accelerated productivity through technology. Our saw is fully computerized which allowed us to support training over the phone. Normally we would expect training on the saw to last weeks. We had a sawyer up and running in two days.”

Kingdom Lumber
Peterborough, Ontario
NCFDC RIIEO Recipient

“We are in a better position as the RIIEO funding allowed us to expand our product offering which has allowed us to recover faster.”

Dynacast
Peterborough, Ontario
NCFDC RIIEO Recipient

“The equipment added as a result of the RIIEO funding has allowed us to more quickly ramp up production”

Graphic Packaging
Cobourg, Ontario
NCFDC RIIEO Recipient

“We have been deemed an essential business and have been running production including rush order parts for hospital beds on the new equipment as a result of the RIIEO project investment, which has positioned us better as the economy re-opens.”

Custom Plastics
Cobourg, Ontario
NCFDC RIIEO Recipient

“The RIIEO investment has increased our company’s use of technology in our manufacturing processes, and improved our overall production efficiency. We have also been able to increase our ability to maintain physical distance in manufacturing.”

Bubble Technologies
Chalk River, Ontario
NCFDC RIIEO Recipient

“The RIIEO program is an important accelerant for Team Eagle’s aerospace research and development. Given the serious impacts created by the COVID19 situation, Team Eagle has been forced to pivot and focus on resiliency, and therefore some of our RD priorities have changed. The flexibility of the RIIEO program and of the Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation team, have allowed us to reset our development work towards providing Team Eagle with a much clearer, more impactful post COVID-19 ‘recovery plan’. Thank you very much for your support, encourage and guidance and good health to all. Brighter days are on the horizon for us all.”

Team Eagle
Campbellford, Ontario
NCFDC RIIEO Recipient

“Our RIIEO project has positioned us and supported our innovation track for growth for our business in rural eastern Ontario by creating new technology, increasing services exports, and creating STEM jobs.”

Open Oceans App
Picton, Ontario
NCFDC RIIEO Recipient

“In these uncertain times, it’s reassuring to have the certainty of RIIEO funding support to advance critical projects needed to meet our anticipated uptick in business.”

Muskoka Cabinets
Alfred, Ontario
NCFDC RIIEO Recipient

“We are confident that the RIIEO funding support has enabled us to keep momentum going when the economy reopens. Thanks for all you are doing to support us.”

Hummingbird Chocolate
Almonte, Ontario
NCFDC RIIEO Recipient

“The support of RIIEO has allowed us to be more competitive in the marketplace especially during COVID-19. This crisis has put a demand on organizations to work remotely and rely on technology that we provide. Our business has actually grown during this crisis. Without the support or RIIEO, our business probably would have been “static” because we wouldn’t be in a position to offer the technology that this funding allowed us to develop. To us it has been a major improvement to the growth of our business and we have created jobs because of it. Thank you!”