Tag Archives: force

Gemplus Picks Montreal

Gemplus chose Montreal as the site for expansion of its North American production. The company will hire some thirty people over the next three years, increasing this number to about one hundred employees by the year 2000. It is preparing to invest 20 million dollars in this major expansion project.

Founded in 1988, this company specializes in semi-conductors and chips used in the communications technology sector. In 1996, Gemplus had sales valued at 600 million dollars. It invested 15 million dollars in research and development and 80 million dollars to expand its production. Gemplus is now a world leader in chip cards, with a market share of nearly 40%.

When asked to speak, Minister Pierre S. Pettigrew said: “Montreal was chosen because of its bilingualism and the dual cultural presence of Anglo- Saxon and French elements. It provides an entry into North America, Europe and Asia, which shows how important the affinities among languages, cultures and business are.”

After restating the key initiatives taken by the Government of Canada to encourage Canadians to develop the skills required in the science and technology sector, Minister Pettigrew added: “Montreal was selected because of the high standard of its schools and universities, which provide training for the specialists and technologists the company needs so badly. Montreal is also well-known for the stability of its labour force.”

The Minister of Human Resources Development outlined a range of programs and projects which encourage skills acquisition by Canadian workers. Last August, for instance, Human Resources Development signed a $84,81 0 contract with Gemplus under its Youth Internship Program, as a result of which 15 technicians and engineers were hired as programmer analysts.