The Electric City Unveils New Start-up
PETERBOROUGH, ON – November 15, 2023 – Peterborough’s history of being the ‘Electric City’ has been ignited once again as Community Futures Peterborough introduced its new client, ARC Motor Company, to the community and national media today.
“The passion, drive, and commitment to sustainably innovative technologies are all demonstrated through the leadership team at ARC,” says Devon Girard, Executive Director of Community Futures Peterborough. “We are so excited to reveal this company and its commitment to sustainability to the world.”
Based in Peterborough, Ontario, ARC is a green-tech start-up that transforms and upcycles iconic classic cars into modern and powerful electric vehicles. ARC is dedicated to producing electric vehicles with the latest technology to drive better performance and contribute to a future with net-zero emissions. Headed by CEO Sloane Paul, the first woman in North America to establish such a start-up, ARC is redefining the intersection of tradition, innovation, and environmental consciousness. Community Futures Peterborough helped launch ARC with a sizable business loan.
“Not only are we grateful to the team at Community Futures Peterborough for providing us with a critical loan, but also for their invaluable expert advice and guidance,” says Sloane Paul, Founder and CEO of ARC. “Their mentorship has been instrumental in steering us—as a start-up—along the right path.”
ARC Chief Operating Officer, Tom Chep adds, “With the support of Community Futures Peterborough, we are poised to make a meaningful impact on our community’s future.”
Raised in the south end of Peterborough, Chep and Paul, the brother-sister team of ARC, have been eager to create jobs and invest in their hometown. Chep successfully engineered the restoration of the company’s first car, a 1974 Ford Bronco, into a fully electric vehicle using upcycled lithium-ion batteries.
“Rebuilding classic cars with clean technology is a new and exciting way to drive the future of net-zero transportation,” says the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. “Supporting entrepreneurs like Sloane and Tom so they can bring their incredible ideas to Canadians is exactly how our government will grow the economy and fight climate change.”
As a start-up company, qualifying for lending from traditional banks became challenging, until Community Futures Peterborough could step in and provide lending options.
“Small town businesses create very big ideas,” says Bryan May, Member of Parliament for Cambridge and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. “ARC Motor Company is an example of how great ideas get off the ground with the right supports. Our government works with businesses and the organizations like Community Futures Peterborough that support them, as they find new and innovative ways to contribute to a strong economic future for Ontario and all of Canada.”
In February 2023 the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, announced an investment of nearly $40 million over the next three years for southern Ontario’s trusted network of CFDCs to continue on their path of growth in the rural communities they serve.
About Community Futures Peterborough
Community Futures Peterborough has a mission to support small businesses with flexible financing in the City and County of Peterborough. It has invested more than $41 million in more than 1,100 small businesses since 1985, creating or maintaining more than 4,100 jobs in the City and the County. Community Futures Peterborough is a not-for-profit organization funded by the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), as part of the Community Futures Program (CFP).
About FedDev Ontario
For 14 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth, and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our pivotal projects, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Media Contacts:
Devon Girard, Executive Director
Community Futures Peterborough
devon@cfpeterborough.ca
Mobile: 705-957-3641
Edward Hutchinson, Press Secretary
Office of the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
edward.hutchinson@feddevontario.gc.ca
Sloane Paul, Founder and CEO
ARC Motor Co
Sloane@arcmotors.com
Mobile: 416-797-0528