Taking Care of Business 

Economic development news from
Sarnia-Lambton, Ontario, Canada


 

Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership

October 08, 2014

 

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In this issue
Don't miss - Entrepreneurs - Linking Generations
Investment advisors get first-hand look at Sarnia-Lambton
Your opinion is requested...
Money helps projects happen
Economic development news
Your Sarnia-Lambton Business Directory listing is always free!
Our contact information
Upcoming Business Week event!

For more info and to register -www.sarnialambton.on.ca/documents/LINKING.pdf

Entrepreneurs - Linking Generations 
- 
This fun morning event will focus on two distinct types of entrepreneurs.  
It will kick off with a continental breakfast, before splitting into two parallel sessions:

Breakout session one - Thinking of selling your business in the future?  Experienced entrepreneurs can learn more about succession planning and marketing their business (or product/ service) to a different generation.
Guest speaker Mark McNabb, Skylight Films and Video

OR

Breakout session two - Considering Entrepreneurship? Young aspiring entrepreneurs will hear about entrepreneurship programs and support services available to them, as well as the benefits of buying an existing business.
Guest speakers Anja Christiensen, The Cube, Lambton College, and Tiffany Roschkow, Futurpreneur Canada

The morning will conclude with a combined facilitated session that will help participants engage with the "other" generation, share ideas, and build relationships that could translate into business transactions.

Don't miss this informative session!
Tickets $30.00

8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Lambton College Residence & Event Centre
1457 London Road, Sarnia

Entrepreneurs - Linking Generations is brought to you by the Sarnia-Lambon Economic Partnership, with sponsorship by Futurpreneur Canada (formerly CYBF) and The Cube.

Check out the full slate of Business Week events at  http://slbdc.com/events/.

 

Investment advisors get first-hand look at Sarnia-Lambton  - Sarnia-Lambton's industrial parks, research centres, local industries and businesses and, of course, its beautiful waterfront were all highlights of a recent investment tour hosted by the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership.
Beekeeper shows hive at Munro Honey

 

A group of 15 site selection advisors, realtors, and investors gathered in Sarnia-Lambton on September 16 and 17 for a busy one and a half day "Sarnia-Lambton Discovery" tour. The event promoted Lambton County as a location for industry and investment, and also highlighted the area's varied economic sectors. 

 

Twenty local industries and organizations participated in the tour. "We are grateful to our local company representatives, who were wonderful ambassadors for us; meeting with our visitors, touring them through their plants, and discussing their businesses and the benefits that their Sarnia-Lambton locations provide," said Economic Partnership GM George Mallay. "Their testimonials were a powerful marketing tool, and also a great example of the sense of community we have here."

 

Mallay commented that the variety of economic sectors thriving in Sarnia-Lambton was an eye-opener for some of the guests. "We are well know for, and proud of, our chemical and refining industries," he noted, "But the goal of this tour was to also emphasize other local sectors that are thriving in Sarnia-Lambton."

 

During the tour guests were able to get "up close and personal" with a hive of bees at Munro Honey and Meadery, one of Lambton's food manufacturers.

 

Sarnia-Lambton's Hybrid Chemistry Cluster, agricultural sector, an array of creative businesses, advanced manufacturing, and manufacturing and training for the defense industry were all highlighted during the tour. 

Economic Partnership wants your opinion  - The Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership and partners are embarking on a number of new initiatives, and they are looking for input from Lambton County residents! 
 

Making exporting easier is the goal of a community-wide effort to gather information to identify the opportunities and challenges associated with exporting goods and services from Lambton County. 

 

Sarnia-Lambton businesses that export or are considering exporting will be asked for their opinions to help identify needs, concerns, and opportunities related to exporting, and to ease the exporting process. 

 

If you are a Sarnia-Lambton business owner or representative and you receive a letter from the Economic Partnership asking for your participation in this exporting survey, we hope you will help by joining in, so that we can work to increasing the ease and benefits of exporting from Lambton County! 

 

You can also participate by contacting reception@sarnialambton.on.ca, or calling Jeanny Leung at 519-332-1820 / 1-800-972-7642, extension 230. 


 

Residents to be asked for input on internet connectivity - The Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership and the Southwest Economic Alliance (SWEA) are joining forces to reduce gaps in local access to the internet, and to learn how to better use information communication technologies for making a living, communicating, and training.

 

An upcoming 10 minute online survey will gather information about local use of the internet, and will also gather information on internet accessibility in Lambton County.

 

All Sarnia-Lambton residents, business people, farmers, health care and social agencies, and community groups are invited to participate in this short survey. 

 

Contact jason.goldsack@intelligentswea.ca, or call the Economic Partnership at 519-332-1820, extension 239. You can help improve internet connectivity in Lambton County!
$$$ helps projects happen - The "bottom line" when it comes to economic development is creating jobs. As Lambton County's economic development agency the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership works hard to attract jobs for today, as well as laying the groundwork for the jobs of tomorrow. But it all takes money.

To help stretch its budget, the Economic Partnership undertook an aggressive search for project dollars and the efforts are paying off, with the organization receiving over $340,000 in external funding. The money is being used to initiate the following projects, which will help shape the future of Sarnia-Lambton's economy:

Food processing - An initiative to attract food processors to the area is underway, in part because of $47,500 obtained from Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. 

Bio industries - A collaboration with  Bioindustrial Innovation Canada to promote Sarnia-Lambton's attributes as a location for bio-based industries was made possible with $22,250 of funding from the Invest Canada Community Initiatives fund. 

Fostering entrepreneurship - The High School Entrepreneurship Outreach initiative, through the Ontario Youth Entrepreneurship Fund, recently provided $25,000 so that the Economic Partnership could create a series of video interviews with local young entrepreneurs. The videos will be used to encourage local high school students to consider entrepreneurship as a career choice.

Helping creative industries - Sarnia-Lambton's creative industries are the focus of a $248,450 initiative funded by the Province of Ontario. The 18 month project will identify opportunities in creative industries such as information technology and the performing arts, and attempt to match them with entrepreneurs and funding.
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Recent Sarnia-Lambton economic development news -  200 more jobs at Atelka's Sarnia contact centre - new and previous applicants asked to apply on site ....Alvinston farmer first Canadian producer of 100% naturally-grown edamame ..... Lambton College launches entrepreneurship incubator ..... New housing starts up in Sarnia .....  Applied research proves mutually beneficial for Lambton College and Feher Machine ..... Product levels growing at Sombra bio-diesel plant ..... Making exporting easier the goal of new community effort ..... BioAmber betting on Sarnia ..... Study launched examining potential for refinery in Sarnia-Lambton ..... Click HERE for more Sarnia-Lambton economic development news. 
Do you run a Sarnia-Lambton business?  Are you taking advantage of your free listing in the Sarnia-Lambton Business Directory? 
 
Contact Jeanny at the Economic Partnership, 519-332-1820 (toll free 1-800-972-7642) to make sure your company has a free up-to-date listing in this popular online directory!

Check out the Business Directory at www.sarnialambton.on.ca/main/ns/14/doc/4/lang/EN. 
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Telephone 519-332-1820
Toll free 1-800-972-7642