Ontario's provincial government is putting more than a million dollars into two projects to help struggling mold makers and auto suppliers.
The investment, announced April 24, provides C$600,000 (US$592,000) toward a study by the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association of Cambridge, Ontario, to evaluate the software that toolmakers use and to determine if there are better alternatives or better training systems for existing software to help tool and die makers compete.
Another C$600,000 (US$592,000) will go to Canada's Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association of Toronto to research ways to cut costs at auto suppliers and provide information about those reductions throughout the industry.
``We're investing strategically to get car companies building in Ontario, sourcing from Ontario parts makers who, in turn, get their tooling designed and built here too,'' said Sandra Pupatello, economic development and trade minister, in a news release.
Ontario has about 250 tooling businesses and another 250 auto suppliers. Both industries have been struggling from slowdowns in auto production, more competition from China and other low-cost countries, increased demands from customers, and the rising value of the Canadian dollar, which has made it harder for Canadian firms to compete with firms in the United States.