HAMILTON — The Ontario government is investing nearly $860,000 in Coreprint Patterns through the Ontario Together Fund. The investment will help the family-owned-and-operated business manufacture critical components for COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for hospitals and labs across the province.
Currently, there are no made-in-Ontario sources for these important components, which are difficult to acquire due to high demand globally. Strengthening an Ontario supply chain will increase the availability and stability of these critical supplies. A reliable, local supply chain of these perishable components will reduce the need to stockpile items that expire.
Innovative projects like Coreprint Patterns is why Ontario has invested an additional $50 million in the renewed Ontario Together Fund in 2021–22. The Fund will continue to support local innovators and businesses to further enhance Ontario’s domestic supply chain capacity, promote Ontario’s MedTech ecosystem and build up our manufacturing sector to ensure the province is well-prepared for future challenges.
“Through the Ontario Together Fund, our government is making targeted investments in domestic businesses with the ideas and solutions to help us through this pandemic and put us on the path to economic recovery,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “Coreprint Patterns’ manufacturing of vital and in-demand components for COVID-19 testing is an example of Ontario innovation at its very best. Ontario manufacturers continue to enhance our resilience to any challenge while strengthening our health care system and the economy.”
The renewed Ontario Together Fund is focused on supporting homegrown manufacturing and innovation to combat COVID-19 and providing other goods critical to the health, safety, and security of Ontarians beyond this pandemic. It is doing so under the following strategic pillars:
Strengthening Ontario’s domestic manufacturing capacity.
Supporting homegrown technologies and innovative solutions.
Strengthening Ontario’s MedTech ecosystem.
“I commend Coreprint Patterns for responding to our government’s call to produce the critical supplies needed to protect Ontarians in the fight against COVID-19,” said Donna Skelly, MPP for Flamborough-Glanbrook. “Coreprint Patterns is one of many businesses in Hamilton that have offered innovative solutions to the problems created by the pandemic.”
Coreprint Patterns’ is a family-run business whose current core business is mold making. These are predominantly for floor mold castings, match plates castings, investment castings and injection molded plastics, as well as machining with a focus on castings.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a deficit in local production of biomedical labware. Under the guidance of Dr. David Bulir of St. Joesph’s Hospital and Joyce Seto of Ontario Health we have identified specific items in critical need,” said Jonathan Hornell-Kennedy, Owner and Operator of Coreprint Patterns. “With support from Dr. Stephen Veldhuis of the McMaster Manufacturing Research institute, Oliver Kehrls of Niigon Machines and the team at Elliot Matsuura we have been working to produce these items. With great thanks to the aforementioned parties, Coreprint will leverage the funding from OTF to bolster the local industry surrounding the production of these critical items while creating good jobs in our community.”
Healthy people are essential for a healthy economy. With vaccines distribution continuing to increase, hope is on the horizon. Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy provides the resources necessary to finish the battle with COVID-19, building on our government’s record investments to protect health and jobs during the global pandemic.
