Soft Landing Program

Let us connect your growing business with our mature forestry cluster, and with the resources it needs to scale

Land in our region and benefit from

Forestry Resources

Integrate into a cluster which boasts 12 Sawmills, 2 Pulp mills, 2 Engineered Wood Facilities, 1 Newsprint Mill, 2 Wood Pellet Mills, 2 Biomass Power Plants, and numerous supply chain supports. The region produces a sustainable abundance of underutilized fibre with over 1 million m3 of hardwood.

A Place to Land

Get situated by making use of office and meeting space at the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre

R&D Support

Develop your product and technology by leveraging the resources and expertise at Lakehead University and Confederation College. Whether using the University’s services through its world-class wood research labs, or through the College’s advanced manufacturing and prototyping facilities, the Soft Landing brings robust supports for product development and adaptation.

Connections & Market Access

De-risk your expansion in North America through direct access to experienced advisors, forestry stakeholders, and industry leaders. The Soft Landing Program grows your business by facilitating access to investors, first customers, and government supports. Get situated by making use of office and meeting space at the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre

Let us help your business scale in our forest

If you are interested to learn more about this program and how your business could fit into our cluster, please connect with us to receive a preliminary fit analysis

Preliminary Fit Analysis

What's included:

Market Intelligence Review

  • Confidential third-party assessment of the North American market landscape.

Fibre Supply Assessment

  • Overview of regional forest resources.
  • Characterization of available residual fibre streams.

R&D Support Identification

  • Relevant analytical laboratory services.
  • Prototyping and product-development facilities.

Transportation and Logistics Overview

  • Summary of infrastructure and access, including road, rail, and air.

Labour Force Profile

  • Review of labour force skills, demographics, and forecasts.

Scaling Supports

  • Assessment of applicable public and private funding programs.

Contact:

Graham Bracken,
Project Coordinator, Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre
graham@nwoinnovation.ca
807-768-6682