Two local firms will receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from a provincial program to upgrade their equipment and create new jobs.

91原创 MLA Andrew Mercier and 91原创 East MLA Megan Dykeman announced that Cloverdale Fuel and Weldco-Beales Manufacturing will receive the money from the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund.

Cloverdale Fuel will receive up to $830,000 for new equipment to process biomass fuel and to move their production process away from using fossil fuels. Cloverdale Fuel collects wood waste from the forestry sector and turns it into biofuel for universities, hospitals, and cities to generate power and heating.

Weldco-Beales designs and makes custom heavy equipment attachments for the construction industry, as well as for forestry, mining, road maintenance, and oil and gas firms. It will get up to $343,000 for new advanced automated equipment that will reduce manual production processes. That will allow the company to design and create new product lines, which is expected to create 14 jobs.

The money is the latest in a series of announcements from the Manufacturing Jobs Fund, which has a $180 million budget to invest in companies around the province.

The fund is aimed at upgrading the equipment and machinery of B.C. manufacturers in a way that boosts productivity and creates jobs.

"Supporting long standing local businesses like Cloverdale Fuel Ltd., who have been operating for nearly 80 years, benefits the whole community," said 91原创 East MLA Megan Dykeman.

"Having 29 good, manufacturing jobs between two local projects is great news for people in 91原创," said Andrew Mercier, MLA for 91原创.