The Story Behind OSELA and PME MTL Ouest-de-l'Île

Founded in 2011, OSELA is a fine example of success. This local, Lachine-based company shines internationally thanks to its niche offer of laser optical solutions for industrial machine vision, life science, and research and development applications.

Although the company has now carved out an enviable place for itself in its market, it had to overcome many challenges in its early days, particularly with regard to financing. Like many start-ups, convincing an investor to finance its business venture required patience and a lot of persistence. After knocking on many doors, it was at PME MTL Ouest-de-l'Île (formerly Développement économique Ouest-de-l'Île – CLD) that its founder and president, Nicolas Cadieux, met the contact he needed to move his project forward.

Our financing expert, Jean Archambault, is very familiar with the market for technology start-ups and their financing and was able to appreciate the potential that OSELA’s business model offered. Thanks to this collaboration, the company obtained its initial investment, which got the ball rolling. This financial partnership had a ripple effect and convinced others to join in on the adventure. And they didn’t regret it.

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Since then, the company has had a string of successes: 75% of its sales are outside Canada and the company now has a sales office in Germany to serve its European customers. When asked about OSELA's success, Nicolas Cadieux attributes it to the firm’s business model:

“Our offer is very personalized and our manufacturing environment flexible. The technologies that we develop and commercialize are also used in our own production process to manufacture custom-made products, which represent 80% of our sales.”

In 2020, OSELA continues to stand out thanks to the development of its new optical technologies, and the PME MTL Ouest-de-l'Île team remains available to help the company navigate its many projects.

To learn more about our financing option, check out our loans and subsidies page.