Maple Leaf Distillers Inc. has bought a controlling interest in a Florida-based importer of wines and spirit-based cocktails, a move it says will help it gain a foothold in the lucrative U.S. market.

The Winnipeg-based distillery recently bought five million shares of New World Brands, which is a publicly-traded company on the Nasdaq exchange, for $500,000 US.

Costas Ataliotis, president and CEO of Maple Leaf, has assumed the same roles with International Importers Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of NWB. Essentially, International Importers will act as Maple Leaf's agent with distributors across all 50 states.

"The importer is the most important link between Maple Leaf and the U.S. market," Ataliotis said in an interview yesterday. "The product comes into the country via the importer, otherwise you can't sell it there. And having ownership of our importer gives us control of the vehicle we're using to go to the U.S."

Maple Leaf has already begun shipping part of its product line, including Chupa Chupa Tequila, Extreme Cocktails and creme liqueurs, across the border.

David Wolinsky, chairman of Protos International, Maple Leaf's parent company, said, "This deal allows us to control our own destiny in the U.S."

The impact of the new arrangement will also be felt at Maple Leaf's Winnipeg manufacturing facility, where two new bottling lines will be added to the existing three by the end of the month, boosting capacity by more than 60 per cent. A dozen new employees have already been hired, bringing Maple Leaf's total staff to more than 100, and the company is looking to fill another seven to 10 positions Ataliotis said.

He added he expects the new U.S. business will double Maple Leaf's current revenue of $10 million within the next year.

Protos bought in at the same time as its new business partner, Dr. Selvin Passer, a retired pathologist who has a seven-figure investment portfolio in private and public companies.

Passer met Ataliotis 18 months ago, when International Importers was in search of investors and Passer's family purchased 11 million shares of the company. Combined with Maple Leaf, the new partners own more than 45 per cent of the company, sufficient to be majority owners.

"We are joined at the hip," Passer said in an interview yesterday from Baltimore, home to one of his real estate investments.

"I'm very impressed with Costas," he added. "Before I invested, I came to Winnipeg and toured the Maple Leaf plant. I was impressed by the attention to detail, equipment and quality control. Having him as a strategic partner, we can't help but be a winner."

James Umlah, chief investment officer of Crocus Investment Fund, which has a 25-per-cent stake in Maple Leaf, said the International Importers deal and the vertical integration that comes with it is "fantastic" for the company.