Local software solutions company receives $1 million from NOHFC

The Createch Group will receive $1 million dollars from the Northern Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) in order to establish a software solutions and development centre.

The announcement was made by Minister of Northern Development and Mines and NOHFC chair Michael Gravelle at Createch’s headquarters on Queen Street Friday morning.

“This investment is really going to help us hire some talent,” said Bill Polnick, director of I.T. and Development for The Createch Group. “Anytime you’re starting up a business from scratch, it takes some time to train, do your market research and really understand where you’re going to focus your attention, so it’s allowed us to hire many of the great employees that you see here today.”

The company – which offers a service known as the Municipal ERP to assist small to medium sized municipalities with cloud-based and mobile technology – intends on recruiting more staff and looking at ways of expanding its system to suit the needs of larger municipalities, and to eventually expand across Canada.

“Really that’s what that investment’s done, is really given us the time and the opportunity to lay the foundation properly so that we can be successful in the years to come,” Polnick said.

It was also announced Friday that Alert Technologies Inc. will receive $250,000 from the NOHFC in order to develop its ‘alert rock bolt monitor’ - a monitoring system for the mining industry.

Alert Technologies Inc. president Hugh MacDonald says the money will be used for engineering and design costs, patent expenses, and testing facilities of its bolt monitor system.

“Right now we’re in the prototype stage, the final stages of developing a usable prototype so that it can be actually tested in the mine and any bugs or deficiencies can be adjusted, then we want to take to the final build and begin to supply the market,” MacDonald said.

The Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre will also receive just over $124,000 from the NOHFC in order to start up a ‘micro-grant program’ to help northern farmers and food producers purchase equipment.