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FONDACTION INVESTS IN MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING WITH THE INJECTION OF $2.1 MILLIONS IN AVERNA

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Montreal, September 5, 2006 – Fondaction, the Development Fund of CSN promoting collaboration and job creation in Quebec, has invested 2.1 million dollars in Averna Technologies Inc. and its subsidiary company Averna Vision & Robotics Inc. These companies offer quality control and productivity automation through emerging technologies supplied by their partners such as National Instrument and Fanuc Robotics.
The funds injected by Fondaction will primarily support the growth and marketing efforts of the subsidiary Averna Vision & Robotics Inc. The company previously experienced a strong success with its deburring solutions and advanced surface inspection solutions. These state-of-the-art solutions recently earned Averna the 2006 Excellence in Technology of the Year Award bestowed annually by Frost & Sullivan.

In parallel to this investment, Averna wishes to announce the nomination of Eric Beauregard as President and Chief Executive Officer of Averna Vision & Robotics Inc. and the promotion of Jean-François Dupont as Vice-President, Engineering. Pascal Pilon, President and CEO of Averna will still preside at the President of the Board of Averna Vision & Robotics Inc.

Established since 1999, Averna now counts a team of 100 employees. Its Head Office is located in Montreal, and also holds offices in Ottawa and Toronto. Since 1999, Averna built hundreds of test, data acquisition and visual inspection systems as well as manufacturing process monitoring and management. Clients of Averna belong to such industries as telecommunications, aerospace, transport as well as various industrial and manufacturing businesses. Their major clients include GE, Harris, Alstom, Thales, IBM, CN, Timken, the Canadian Space Agency and Phillips.

The firm counts on the expertise of its team of engineers and on the fruits of their efforts in research and development to strengthen its competitive advantage and pave the way to its expansion. Proligent™, Averna’s flagship product, has been conceived to significantly reduce the development and deployment costs of automating manufacturing processes.

About Fondaction:
Established in 1996, Fondaction invests in private equity towards the development and preservation of jobs in the province of Quebec. Its net worth, which amounted to 442 million dollars as of May 31, 2006, comes from the retirement savings gathered from more than 64,000 shareholders. It is the financial partner of over one hundred companies including partner and specialized funds. It gives special attention to companies engaged in participative management processes, social economy and that are environmentally conscious. www.fondaction.com

Source: Fondaction CSN
For more information:
Suzanne La Ferrière, Communications Officer, Fondaction (514) 525-7041