Scierie Dion & Fils to Boost Its Competitiveness with $10 Million Financing
from Fonds de solidarité FTQ

MONTREAL, Nov. 11 /CNW Telbec/ - Consolidating its leadership in Québec's hardwood milling industry, Scierie Dion & Fils Inc. today announced the
launch of two major projects, funded by $10 million obtained through the C
ompetitiveness Solution, a financial product offered by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ ("Fonds"). The first involves enlarging the sawmill at Saint-Raymond de Portneuf while the second involves the purchase of cutting-edge equipment. 

Scierie Dion & Fils will use the new equipment, designed by another Fonds partner, Équipements Comact, to set a up a new sawing line for smaller pieces of wood, thus increasing hardwood production from 40% to 60% of total output.

"Scierie Dion & Fils has an unbeatable track record in milling operations and forest management, achieved as a result of a sustainable development approach and a very sound financial structure. With its recent acquisitions, the company is among the few in the industry to have succeeded a vertical integration. In fact, the woodland properties it owns will guarantee its supply and the new equipment will optimize its primary processing activities. As well, Scierie Dion & Fils recently partnered with a secondary processing company. Young, dynamic and ambitious, the management team can quickly get its growth projects off the ground," said Gaétan Morin, executive vice-president of investments at the Fonds de solidarité FTQ.

"The Fonds' financing to enlarge our building and buy new equipment will set us apart and give us real added value. Now we'll be able to cut smaller pieces of wood that previously had to be reduced to chips.   And we'll be able to saw both hardwood and softwood, which few sawmills can do. Our company has grown a lot in the last two years thanks in large part to the Fonds' team," said Scierie Dion & Fils president  Jean-François Dion.

FSC-certified¹ in 2007, Scierie Dion & Fils and Société de Gestion d'actifs forestiers Solifor s.e.c. (created by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ) purchased a massive swath of timberland from  AbitibiBowater. Early this year, the company also purchased AbitibiBowater's sawmill in St-Raymond and made another important investment by taking a minority stake in two secondary processing companies specializing in hardwood flooring, Les bois de planchers PG and Bois Franc Model. 

Competitiveness Solution
The Competitiveness Solution is a financial product created by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ to help its partners with their growth projects. Offering unsecured loans of $2 to $10 million, it is a more flexible solution for business owners that includes a capital repayment holiday of up to 2 years and an amortization period of up to seven years.

¹ FSC (Forest Stewardship Council): A certification system based on good forest management standards to ensure the survival of our forests.

About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ helps drive our economy. With net assets of $7.3 billion as at May 31, 2010, the Fund is a development capital investment fund that channels the savings of Quebecers into investments in all sectors of the economy to help further Québec's economic growth. The Fund is a partner, either directly or through its network members, in 2,052 companies. With its 577,511 owner-shareholders, it has helped, on its own or with other financial partners, to create, maintain and protect 150,133 jobs. For more information, visit www.fondsftq.com.

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