September 2014
Peter May, who founded Research Casting International Ltd. in 1987, based on experience gained from collecting, preparing, casting and mounting dinosaur fossil bones at the Royal Ontario Museum and the Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology, has been named “Entrepreneur of the Year”. Mr. May was nominated for the award by Trenval Business Development Corporation, from which he received a loan in June 2013.
Research Casting International Ltd. received the prestigious Award out of many nominations from across the province. Mr. May was honoured at the Annual Conference of the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations. Over 250 guests and delegates from Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) recently met at Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville, for the event. Many of the CFDCs had nominated successful businesses they had assisted with business counselling and loans. Trenval Business Development Corporation is one of 61 CFDCs across Ontario.
Located in Trenton, Ontario, Research Casting International Ltd. operates out of a new 50,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility that can accommodate dinosaur, mammal and reptile fossil restoration, casting and mounting commissions, and other museum exhibit projects of any size and complexity. RCI is one of four businesses in the world that have the capability of producing museum quality exhibits.
The company started off as a side business for Mr. May, until he decided to quit his job and run the company full-time, “to do something I love.” The business was registered in 1987 and relocated to Trenton in 2007, where it has cemented itself within the Quinte Region as a unique manufacturing business. “We looked at the area…we looked at the quality of life up here and we polled our staff…..80% of our staff wanted to move.”
Research Casting International Ltd. has 20 full-time employees with a variety of skills, including welders, artists, sculptors, computer technicians, blacksmiths and business advisors. Expansion and growth opportunities with upgraded technologies have allowed the business to further diversify into new markets, including 3-dimensional scanning/printing/routing, exploration playgrounds and rockwork.
“Peter has put a team together that has a multi-disciplinary scope of talents”, says Glenn Kozak, Executive Director, Trenval Business Development Corporation. “We’re glad to be part of his expansion and his most recent success. Peter is now doing projects globally again, for the likes of the Smithsonian and Shanghai Museum,” he adds.
Early in 2014, RCI signed a multi-million dollar contract with the coveted Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., to refurbish dozens of fossil skeletons. This contract will allow RCI to upgrade the current facility for climate control and security. A contract with the Shanghai Natural History Museum is also underway for RCI to prepare marine fossils and mountings that will be viewed in this world-class museum. Another future project is the development of a Quinte Region Natural History Museum, which will potentially see thousands of visitors learn of the area’s history, as well as see, first-hand, the activities of RCI through windows for public viewing, along with arranged tours of the facility.
According to Mr. May, “Trenval has been very good at helping us out.” Mr. Kozak returns the compliment: “Peter is the best in the world at what he does.”
Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) offer free business counselling, loans for start-up and expansion of small business, strategic planning on local projects, and community economic development in rural areas. Each CFDC is locally managed by a volunteer Board of Directors, funded with the support of the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan through FedNor and FedDev Ontario. To learn more about Community Futures Program in Ontario or the OACFDC, go to www.oacfdc.com.
Photo: Peter May of RCI Ltd. (centre) received the “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award at the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations Conference recently. On hand for the awards ceremony were Carmen DeMarco of FedNor, Amber Darling of Trenval BDC, Mr. May, Glenn Kozak of Trenval BDC and Jeff King of FedDev Ontario.
For more information about the Trenval Business Development Corporation, contact:
Glenn Kozak, Executive Director
Trenval Business Development Corporation
P.O. Box 610, 284B Wallbridge-Loyalist Road
Belleville, ON K8N 5B3
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Phone: 613-961-7999
For more information about Research Casting International Ltd., contact:
Peter May, RCI Ltd.
15 Dufferin Avenue, Trenton, ON K8V 5C6
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Phone: 613-394-7007
For more information about the Community Futures Program or the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations, contact:
Mary Alderson, Member Services Coordinator
Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations Inc. (OACFDC)
300 South Edgeware Road, St. Thomas, Ontario N5P 4L1
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Telephone: 519-633-2326, ext. 124
Toll Free: 1-888-633-2326, ext. 124
Fax: 519-633-3563