July 1, 2001

Thomas & Simone Mérey, Canada Case Company Limited, Brighton
Nominated by Trenval Business Development Corporation

In eight short years, Thomas Mérey has built up Canada Case Company from a handful of people making closet and shelf organizers to an operation employing 75 full-time and 15 part-time staff.  This year, the company expects $12 million in sales of a product line, which ranges from shopping carts to clothes dryers and barbeque accessories.  Trenval BDC, which helped finance the company's start-up in 1993, later provided two more loans - one toward cash flow and then for expansion of production.  Canada Case's production facility has expanded by 12,000 square feet to 30,000 sq. ft.  The company's exports have grown from one-third of its total production to three-quarters of annual sales.  The company has widened its customer base to include Home Hardware, Cashway and IKEA.  A remarkable entrepreneur, Thomas Mérey has led his company from modest beginnings to a 100-employee enterprise that is a major player in Brighton's economy.