Two St. John�s companies have received funding from the province�s Business and Market Development Program to help market their products internationally. iSYS Corporation of St. John�s will receive $8,000 to market in the United States its new photography software for automated colour correction and the detection of blurred images, while NuWay Kitchens Limited of Paradise will receive $9,000 to help market its kitchen cabinets in the United States and the Caribbean.

"The development of new products and services in Newfoundland and Labrador requires that our companies must look increasingly beyond our shores to generate sales. Finding new markets and earning a niche in those markets can be costly and time-consuming, which is why we have the Business and Market Development Program," said the Honourable Trevor Taylor, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

iSYS will receive funding to help it attend the Photo Marketing Association 2007 Trade Show in Nevada to promote its new automated image editing software. Its flagship product PixFix� Red-Eye, licensed for use in photo kiosks, minilabs, and laboratories around the world, earned iSYS the Manning Innovation Award for innovative Canadian companies in 2006.

"Our company is in discussions with industry leaders such as Sony and Hewlett Packard and it is important for us to show a strong presence at international shows and events," said iSYS Vice-president of Business Development John Guzzwell. "The Business and Market Development Program allows us to put more of our resources into research and development while still promoting our company to an international audience."

NuWay Kitchens will receive funding to update its Web site so that international clients will be able to design their own kitchen units online. It will also help the company participate in a major trade show and convention which are linked to its target markets in New England, the Southern U.S. and the Caribbean.

The Business and Market Development Program is designed to provide new entrepreneurs and expanding small businesses with funding to help them acquire the necessary expertise to pursue new business ideas and new markets for their products or services. The program is intended to support new growth opportunities in the economy, such as value-added manufacturing activities and export-oriented opportunities.

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Media contact:
Lynn Evans
Director of Communications
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
709-729-4570, 690-6290
LynnEvans@gov.nl.ca

2007 05 29                                  10:15 a.m.