Nedc Enews February 2009

Inside: • Niagara scientists develop avian radar system • New use for former CanGro facility in St. David's

Keeping You Informed on Economic Development News in Niagara Canada

VOLUME 11 • ISSUE 1

Tradeshow boosts awareness, interest for local manufacturing companies Niagara Development Corridor partners hosted the second annual Niagara Industrial Buyer Seller Tradeshow at the Fallsview Casino Resort on February 19. Representatives from more than one hundred companies across Niagara and southern Ontario exhibited a range of goods and services in an effort to increase trade and awareness of Niagara's strong industrial sector. The day’s opening address was given by St. Catharines MPP, the Honourable Jim Bradley, Minister of Transportation. The Honourable Michael Bryant, Minister of Economic Development and Government House Leader was the featured luncheon speaker. Bryant spoke of the government support for businesses across Ontario, noting that the province is providing much needed loans and grants to many businesses in order to stimulate the economy. He also mentioned Ontario’s significant efforts in the Niagara region, specifically $2 million to the Fort Erie Economic Development and Tourism Corporation and a $1.9 million contribution to Niagara Economic Development Corporation to apply to various business initiatives. “We are very appreciative of the support our corporation and Niagara businesses are receiving from the provincial government,” notes Patrick Gedge, CEO of Niagara Economic Development Corporation. Throughout the day, various workshops were held on innovation and efficiency, opportunities for supplying to the oil sands

Niagara Economic Development Corporation

Ontario's Economic Development Minister, the Honourable Michael Bryant (inset) addresses attendees to the 2009 Niagara Industrial Tradeshow at the Niagara Fallsview Casino on February 19, 2009. The day-long tradeshow was aimed at promoting networking between local manufacturing and industrial companies. in Alberta, and how to access new program funding for marketing and training. This is the second year the Niagara Buyer Seller Industrial Forum was presented by the communities of the Niagara Development Corridor Partnership and many private sector and public sector partners. The Niagara Development Corridor Partnership is comprised of a team of area municipal business development organizations which includes the cities of Niagara Falls and St. Catharines, Welland Development

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Commission, Port Colborne Economic and Tourism Development Corporation, Fort Erie Economic Development and Tourism Corporation, and the Niagara Economic Development Corporation. www.niagaracorridor.com

E-News • February 2009

Peace Bridge to boost truck processing abilities A fifth truck-processing lane at the Peace Bridge will be constructed thanks to a $2 million grant from the Government of Canada. The additional lane and inspection booth will help reduce the number of trucks backed up on the three-lane bridge, allowing a smoother flow of traffic.

BizPaL welcomes St. Catharines, Welland The City of St. Catharines and Welland have been added to Industry Canada's BizPaL online service. BizPaL simplifies the business permit and licence process for entrepreneurs, governments, and third party business service providers. Easy and convenient, BizPaL provides Canadian businesses with one-stop access to permit and licence information for all levels of government. The service’s primary goals are to slash document research time and help entrepreneurs start up faster. For government, BizPaL provides the assurance that business clients will have the information they need to meet all permit and licence requirements quickly and efficiently. It also provides a way to improve the service experience for business clients, while gaining a competitive edge over other jurisdictions. BizPaL is currently being run as a project by Industry Canada in partnership with several provincial, territorial and local governments. The BizPaL service is tailored specifically to each partner’s needs and business base and is expanding rapidly across Canada. www.bizpal.ca

Port Colborne’s “Strategic Border Gateway” gains attention of U.S. magazine Port Colborne has been identified by Business Expansion Journal as a strategic border gateway. The U.S.-based-publication's January 2009 Logistics and Warehousing issue included a half-page overview of the city and highlighted many unique advantages for the port and the community, which included several key infrastructure components such as canal access, range of port facilities, a public grain elevator, and short-line rail connections. www.portcolborne.com www.bxjonline.com Niagara Economic Development Corporation

Niagara scientists develop avian radar system When Pelham based Accipiter Radar Technologies Inc.’s engineering team developed its sophisticated tracking radar, the targets they had in mind were small, fast boats and low-flying aircraft used by terrorists and smugglers. In 2003, U.S. Navy scientists seeking better radar solutions for tracking birds at Navy airfields became aware of Accipiter’s high-performance and cost-effectiveness and made the connection that the technology would apply to birds as well as it did terrorists. Accipiter Avian Radar has since been installed at Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force bases from Alaska to the Carolinas including Elmendorf Air Force Base where a tragic crash due to a bird strike with a flock of Canada Geese killed an entire crew of 24 in 1995 and raised awareness of the risks of bird-aircraft collisions. The recent high-profile crash of U.S. Airways flight 1549 into the Hudson River has generated public interest in the risks of bird strikes to aircraft and the initiatives that may be used to reduce the risk. It has also raised the profile of Accipiter where development of avian radar systems is continuing at a rapid pace at the company’s Niagara Research and Development facility. The Accipiter® system already permits seamless integration of multiple radars into a single display to cover large areas and remote control and viewing from any location with network access. The development team will continue to introduce

new features driven by specific needs of the wildlife control personnel who use the systems to improve aviation safety. “We, at Accipiter Radar, have great respect for the challenging work done by wildlife control, air operators, and safety personnel at airports worldwide, and are proud to be able to assist them with the development of new radar based tools” commented Dr. Tim Nohara, President & CEO. Accipiter Radar Technologies Inc. offers the world’s most advanced, tracking surveillance radars using affordable PC-based processing to the Homeland Security and Aviation Safety markets worldwide. The Accipiter® product family encompasses the complete wide-area radar surveillance solution including target data acquisition, storage, management, analysis, distribution and visualization. Accipiter has won the business of the world’s most demanding customers including the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, every branch of the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies on both sides of the U.S./Canada border. Accipiter is a subsidiary of the experienced and respected Canadian defence contractor, Sicom Systems Ltd. and boasts one of the top radar engineering teams in North America with over 175 combined years of military radar development experience. www.accipiterradar.com

Enrolment swells at Niagara College

2009-2010 Niagara Canada Business Directory

Niagara College is experiencing a record increase in enrolment for winter 2009. Enrolment in the January start programs increased by 34 percent over the previous year. The provincial average was 10 percent. The college also had the largest enrolment jump in Ontario for fall 2008. www.niagaracollege.ca

The 2009-2010 Niagara Business Directory will be available in March. Published by the Niagara Economic Development Corporation, this comprehensive information source provides valuable contact and corporate information on more than 2,800 Niagara manufacturing and professional services businesses. The directory is available in both print and electronic formats. Reserve your copy today by calling 905.685.1308. www.niagaracanada.com

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E-News • February 2009

Greenhouse Growers’ Directory & Buyer’s Guide The Niagara Economic Development Corporation has released the 2009 Ontario Greenhouse Growers’ Directory & Buyer’s Guide. Now in its 16th edition, this popular and widely circulated publication continues to be a mainstay to the greenhouse industry and is a widely accepted resource book of reference for Ontario. Over 5,000 copies are distributed to all sectors of Government, Trade & Industry Associations, and the wider buyer and seller community throughout Canada and overseas upon request. The response this year to the Ontario Greenhouse Growers’ Directory and Buyer’s Guide has been extremely positive despite the difficult economic situation facing many greenhouse operators and supply industries to this sector. As popularity of the directory becomes more evident, the usefulness of this tool in marketing the Ontario greenhouse industry both into the U.S. and internationally continues to be evident. Invitations for inclusion in the directory included assistance from Flowers Canada Ontario and the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers through solicitation to their members in promoting greenhouse products. Both Associations as well as Greenhouse Canada magazine supported the Ontario Greenhouse Growers’ Directory & Buyer’s Guide by making a direct appeal to growers and business sup-

Former CanGro facility home to new food processing company An investment by the Province of Ontario will help to bring new life to a Niagara-on-the-Lake plant that was closed down in 2008. Niagara Natural Fruit Snacks Inc. received $884,570 to use a breakthrough technology that will produce healthy and nutritious all-natural products that are comparable in taste with artificially flavoured, sugarbased snacks. "This project will help create local jobs and allow us to utilize breakthrough technology to produce innovative fruit products that are safe, healthy and nutritious," said Niagara Natural Fruit Snacks Inc. President John Boot. Nine full-time positions and potential sales of $2 million are anticipated in the first year of operation. The investment will also create a market for process grade locally grown fruit. "I am pleased to see the former CanGro plant is once again processing locally

pliers on their websites during the preparation for the 2009 edition. On behalf of the industry, NEDC participates in numerous tradeshows and events

grown fruit," said St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley. "This innovative technology used by Niagara Natural Fruit Snacks will create a new value-added product from our local fruit, while providing new opportunities for our local growers." The funding is part of the Rural Economic Development Program which invests in community-based projects in the areas of improved access to health care services; revitalized communities and downtowns and enhanced skills training. "By supporting a new business and employer in the previously vacant CanGro plant, we are ensuring the region's agricultural industry continues to be sustainable, profitable and continues to grow into the future," said Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor, "This venture will help develop a stable secondary market for locally grown fruit."

in order to help profile Niagara companies, especially small and medium size enterprises. www.niagaracanda.com www.flowerscanadagrowers.com

The Niagara Economic Development Corporation thanks the following community sponsors for their ongoing support.

E-News is a publication of the NIAGARA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Phone: 905.685.1308 • Fax: 905.688.5907 • Web: www.niagaracanada.com

Niagara Economic Development Corporation

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E-News • February 2009