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Taking Care of Business
News for the Sarnia-Lambton Business Community
From the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership
Sarnia-Lambton, Ontario, Canada
August 21, 2013
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 Bi-National Blue Water Regional Collaboration Conference - The Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership is pleased to join with partners on both sides of the Ontario / Michigan border to present this important conference, taking place October 2, 2013, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Double Tree by Hilton, Port Huron.
The conference will foster cross-border dialogue about economic issues that impact trade, transportation, investment, and job creation in the Blue Water region of Ontario and Michigan.
Areas of discussion will include: Bi-National Agri-Food Production; Strategic Approaches to Immigrant Attraction; Regional Logistics Solutions; Green Chemistry Innovations; and Joint Marketing.
Conference organizers are: the Government of Canada; US Department of Commerce; St. Clair County Michigan EDA; University of Guelph; I-69 International Trade Corridor; Canadian Studies Center Michigan State University; Southwest Economic Alliance; Middlesex County; Michigan Department of Transportation; Michigan Economic Development Corporation; Michigan State University; George Morris Centre; St. Clair County Community College; East Michigan Council of Governments; and the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership.
Click HERE to register for the Bi-National Blue Water Regional Collaboration Conference.
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Business Enterprise Centre hits the road - To make the services of the Business Enterprise Centre of Sarnia-Lambton (BEC) more readily available to all residents of Lambton County, BEC business counsellors are "setting up shop" in locations throughout Lambton County. In addition to the Sarnia office, BEC business counsellors are available at a number of County locations to meet with and offer free consulting services to new and existing business owners, and those who are contemplating starting businesses of their own. These free consulting services provide assistance with questions relating to any pertinent small business or business start-up, including: starting a business; registering a business; buying an existing business; and building a business plan.
Locations and times for the mobile Business Enterprise Centre include: Petrolia Library on the fourth Monday morning of each month; Plympton-Wyoming Municipal Office on the fourth Thursday morning of each month; Enniskillen Township office on the second Wednesday morning of each month; Brooke-Alvinston Municipal Office on the fourth Tuesday morning of each month; and the Dawn-Euphemia Municipal Office on the fourth Tuesday afternoon of each month.
Additional locations will be announced soon.
Call 519-332-1820 or toll free at 1-800-972-7642 to schedule an appointment with a small business counsellor at any of the mobile locations or at the Business Enterprise Centre's office in Sarnia.
The Business Enterprise Centre provides free down-to-earth-confidential consultations on all aspects of starting or expanding a business. It operates within the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership, with offices at the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park, 1086 Modeland Road, Sarnia.
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Community branding moving ahead - A whopping 1,313 Lambton residents participated in the recent community branding survey; providing valuable input for the research underway to create a unique brand for all of Sarnia-Lambton. Project consultants, North Star Destination Strategies, noted that Lambton's response was the second highest they had received in over 120 communities they have worked with.
Winners of the prize draws from the survey respondents were: Rebecca Martin (Rebecca's Place Hair Styling of Petrolia), who won the "Explore Lambton Weekend for Two"; Bev Walkling of Sarnia won a gift basket courtesy of Manleys Basics; and Stu Begg (Enterprise Pressure Containers), was the recipient of a "Golf Package for Two" at the St. Clair Parkway Golf Course.
Asked what she like most about Lambton County, Rebecca quickly responded, "The water!". Bev appreciates all the green space and walking trails; and Stu, a resident since 1967, noted that he really couldn't think of just one thing - he likes everything about Sarnia-Lambton!
A huge "thank you" to everyone who participated in the survey. The information gathered, along with a great deal of additional research, will be used to "drill down" to the unique positive quality that sets Lambton apart from its competitors. Originally scheduled for a summer conclusion, to accommodate the wealth of information that has been gathered, the community branding project is now expected to be completed later this year.
Partners in the community branding project are: Arts Community; Blue Water Bridge Authority; Community Round Table; County of Lambton; Grand Bend and Area Chamber of Commerce; Lambton College; Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation; Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce; Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership; Sarnia-Lambton Local Immigration Partnership; Sarnia-Lambton Real Estate Board; Sarnia Lambton Work Force Development Board; and Tourism Sarnia-Lambton.
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Sarnia-Lambton Industrial Alliance (SLIA) goes East - and West - This alliance of Sarnia-Lambton manufacturing, machine shop, engineering, and environmental service companies is working hard to promote their services to North American markets. Representatives were in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in July to learn more about, and meet with representatives of, some of the $100 billion in major capital projects that have been announced for the Atlantic provinces. They are optimistic that there are real opportunities that will come for local businesses through these new contacts.
SLIA will be heading out again in November, this time in the opposite direction, for the National Buyer / Seller Forum and the Alberta Supply Chain Management's Annual Conference in Calgary. It is expected to draw 800 supply chain executives, and representatives of the Industrial Alliance will be working the event to promote the services of the Industrial Alliance companies. SLIA member companies are encouraged to consider attending this very promising event. Learn more at www.supplychainforum.ca.
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 | | 270 foot tower on way from Kel-Gor in Sarnia to NOVA Corunna site earlier this year |
Oversized load corridor - Earlier this year both the City of Sarnia and the Township of St. Clair gave their support to the Sarnia-Lambton Industrial Alliance's (SLIA) efforts to verify the best oversized load route from the fabrication shops in Sarnia, Corunna, and Brigden to the Port of Sarnia. Both municipalities agreed to provide staff support in investigating and verifying this important transportation link. SLIA is continuing efforts to obtain financial support for a phase 2 study of the cost of required infrastructure improvements to this route, as well as to have a qualified independent consulting firm verify the potential business and employment gains that would be expected from the establishment of such a route. Provincial, Federal and private funding sources are being pursued in this regard.
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Economic Partnership's Promising Prospects - Traditional chemistry, energy, and biobased projects are among the sectors represented by the 17+ firms looking for sites that the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership is currently working with; with total estimate capital expenditures topping $5 billion. Most of the projects would create between 35 - 70 direct jobs, with a spinoff of 3,500 indirect and 6,000 construction jobs for the area.
Competition for these industries is strong; with the US gulf coast and overseas locations in direct competition for traditional chemical plants.
Many of the biochemical companies we are working with are start-up operations that are reliant on external funding to proceed to construction phase.
A number of our key prospects have visited Sarnia-Lambton to learn more about the sites, infrastructure, feed stocks, transportation links, labour, lifestyle, and more that our area provides. We continue to work with each of these companies to ensure that every piece of information on Sarnia-Lambton is in their hands prior to their site selection decision.
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Recent Sarnia-Lambton economic development news - Solar roof top project for St. Clair industrial park ..... BioAmber secures loan to build Sarnia plant ..... New tower part of $250 million upgrading for Corunna plant ..... KmX operating in Sarnia for one year ..... Click HERE for more economic development news from Sarnia-Lambton.
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Telephone 519-332-1820
Toll free 1-800-972-7642
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