Source: http://www.wtca.org/locations/world-trade-center-winnipeg/news/title-true-north-strong-and-free-trade

In partnership with the Government of Manitoba, the WTC Winnipeg helped organize a highly successful B2B delegation to the True North Free Trade Forum (March 25-31, 2021). Over 60 delegates from Manitoba were able to participate in this unique opportunity.

Aimed at strengthening business ties across Canada to support economic recovery, build domestic supply chains, and provide business opportunities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the forum brought together over 900 participants to exchange ideas and explore new business.

The event put a spotlight on the energy, life sciences, healthcare, and food and beverage industries to highlight emerging and important topics such as technology, supply chain, logistics and transportation.

The forum featured two days of live streamed events and webinars focused on the interprovincial and regional trade issues and opportunities. It also offered B2B opportunities via curated buyer-seller meetings in the highlighted sectors.

Growing interprovincial trade is an important domestic opportunity and steppingstone for Manitoba companies as they grow towards international trade. “The Manitoba government was pleased to partner with our provincial colleagues and the business community to offer an innovative approach to trade development during the global pandemic,” said Ralph Eichler, Minister of Economic Development and Jobs. “Our interprovincial trade relationships are more important now than ever. These types of activities that highlight our domestic strengths are essential as we recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and position Manitoba and Canada for economic success.”

“As the Strategic Partner for Trade for the Province of Manitoba, we were delighted to be able to participate and support this important initiative, which a was greatly appreciated by the participating companies,” recounted Mariette Mulaire, WTC Winnipeg President & CEO.

Friday, February 18, 2022 – WINNIPEG, MANITOBA – The board of directors of the World Trade Centre Winnipeg announced that it is taking steps towards an enhanced partnership with The Winnipeg Chamber Commerce and a restructuring of its leadership team.  The goals include sharing of space, services and finding efficiencies towards better serving the Manitoba business community. As part of this restructuring, Mariette Mulaire is stepping down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective March 1, 2022, and remaining as President through April 29, 2022. 

The World Trade Centre Winnipeg board of directors expects to announce an interim CEO in the near future.

“While I have mixed feelings about moving on, I am excited about the future of the World Trade Centre Winnipeg and the board’s vision of an enhanced working relationship with The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has been a partner and advocate for this organization since the very beginning,” said President and CEO Mariette Mulaire. “I am very proud of what we have accomplished since securing the World Trade Centre license ten years ago. We have been providing bilingual advice, counsel and services to thousands of companies, organizations, and individuals.  It has been inspiring to work with partners in the public and private sector to support Manitoba companies in their growth.”

“The past two years have presented challenges and opportunities for us all,” said Fiona Webster-Mourant, Chair of the WTC Winnipeg board and President, Manrex Limited. “The board and the World Trade Centre Winnipeg leadership team led by Mariette Mulaire took this time to reflect on its future, and how it could better serve Manitoba business given changes to the economic development ecosystem. We believe the time is right for a renewed leadership structure and an enhanced collaboration with The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.  This will allow us to better serve our clients, the Manitoba companies seeking support on their journey.”

“On behalf of the board of directors, I want to thank Mariette for her devotion to this role and the organization over the past ten years, as well as her tremendous service to the Manitoba business community.  Mariette’s legacy will be long-lasting and her impact on the World Trade Centre Winnipeg and economic development in Manitoba will endure. We wish her all the best in her new endeavours.”

“The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce is excited to be entering into an enhanced partnership with the World Trade Centre Winnipeg,” said Loren Remillard, President & CEO of The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. “In sharing office space, services and collaborating further on programs and services, collectively we will deliver even greater value and impact to businesses as we shift to recovery through to growth.

On behalf of The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, I also want to thank Mariette for her exemplary vision, leadership and service, representing our city and province on the world stage, including seven years on the executive of the World Trade Centre Association and three as a vice-chair. Mariette has built a community asset of which all Manitobans can be proud.

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Media contacts at World Trade Centre Winnipeg:

André Brin                                                           Boutaina Berrado

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[email protected]                [email protected]

T +1 204.289.4085                                            T +1 204.289.4107

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The World Trade Centre Winnipeg was founded in April 2012 by the owners of the World Trade Centre license, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and l’ANIM (Agence nationale et internationale du Manitoba). The Centre serves as an information portal for Manitoba entrepreneurs. A member of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) and the Western Canada Business Service Network (WCBSN), the WTC Winnipeg is a bilingual private sector-led organisation that serves as the strategic partner for trade for the Province of Manitoba. Our core objective is to work with Manitoba companies to grow and to increase their confidence in international trade, providing them with training, tools and a network of contacts essential to compete locally, nationally and internationally.

Source: Martin Cash with the Winnipeg Free Press
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/business-is-resin-ating-575303292.html

When the Oak Bluff Hutterite Colony started EcoPoxy a few years ago, it did so purposefully.

It wanted to get into a niche business that was going to be environmentally friendly and did not rely on the increasingly thin margins that agricultural commodity producers increasingly endure.

The company uses only bio-based content in its resins, avoiding all the petroleum ingredients that many other resins use.

Only a few years later, EcoPoxy has become a global business. Jack Maendel, the company’s CEO said EcoPoxy is shipping its coating and casting epoxies around the world and after its purchase last year of the assets of the Composites Innovation Centre out of bankruptcy, it has a fully equipped R & D lab. The company is putting the final touches on some new resin compounds using Prairie commodities instead of the imported palm oil it now uses.

In addition to industrial applications, EcoPoxy sells its epoxy varieties and colour additives to many artisans around the world who use it to create all sorts of distinctive furniture and housewares.

“I think we ship to just about every country other than North Korea,” he said.

But the ins and outs of international trade was not something he or anyone else from the colony had any real experience in, other than some modest sales to the U.S. in previous agricultural ventures.

“We didn’t know what we didn’t know,” is the way Maendel puts it.

Now, he attributes much of their international trade savvy to the World Trade Centre’s Trade Accelerator Program.

After taking the trade accelerator program (TAP) with the World Trade Centre, Maendel said he was enlightened about logistics options in moving product around and dealing with the requirement of brokerage, customs, duties and taxes in different jurisdictions.

“I didn’t realize we needed to take steps to protect our intellectual property or our brand around the world,” he said. “It was very important to be able to understand so we could organize the company to be able to operate internationally the way we do now.”

And Maendel said it’s EcoPoxy’s policy to share what they’ve learned about international trade to its customers.

“If we can teach others what we know we all win,” he said. “The things our customers do is amazing. They create incredible works of art.”

EcoPoxy helps its growing customer base market their products outside Canada through simple social media posts or sharing with them connections it’s made through the WTC.

One of those customers, Lynn & Liana Designs out of Steinbach, now ships its cheeseboard and serveware products — more than 100 different products — made with local maple wood (also imported acacia) uniquely combined with colourful EcoPoxy all around the world.

Founder Evan Funk was once an employee of EcoPoxy so he knew the potential of the product.

When he quit EcoPoxy to work full-time at his own family business most of its sales were of the wholesale variety to retailers across the U.S.

“We purposefully targeted the U.S. market when we started,” said Funk.

Now, through the WTC, his company has access to reams of leads. For instance, if it wants to find customers in France it can order up a list of 100 appropriate gift stores France, free of charge.

Sales at both EcoPoxy and Lynn & Liana have increased during the pandemic, likely at least partially because of the fact that people are spending more time at home pursuing craft and artistic pursuits.

That has created the need for even home-based businesses to get at least a working knowledge of international trade fundamentals.

Mariette Mulaire, the CEO of World Trade Centre Winnipeg, said the TAP curriculum has successfully transitioned to online delivery with the various experts who present in different areas like legal and marketing fully transitioned to online presentations.

She said the most valuable overall element of the program is getting the potential exporters to commit. It’s short term pain for long-term gain.

“The bottom line if they get an export plan in their hands,” she said. “It forces companies to stop and think about their strategy and then they can check to make sure everything makes sense legally or that they have the people with the right skill sets they need.”

With new intakes for October and spring 2022 now being accepted the TAP program has barely skipped a beat.

It’s worth the trip to Nunavut

Just ask Todd Burns. The Winnipeg-based CEO of Cypher Environmental, a provider of environmentally-friendly road stabilization and dust suppression products, was hired to build a couple of roads in Rankin Inlet by a mining company a number of years ago. He knew immediately that he’d be back.

“I was going to the airport after a meeting at the mine and we made a sale to the airport that day,” he said.

“There was a massive opportunity up north. All of the roads up there are unpaved. But it wasn’t until I got up there that I saw the opportunity. There is infrastructure there and there are people in all of these communities that have common needs. I thought if we can solve the challenges of getting our products up there and proving that they’re cost effective, then it’s a win-win.”

There are dozens of communities in Nunavut and elsewhere in the north with airstrips and virtually none of them are paved.  That means they all require dust control and stabilization products. 

“That represents a huge opportunity for us,” he said.

(For the uninitiated, dust is a safety issue at airports as it can get into the moving parts of airplanes and cause visibility problems. And every time dust blows away, it means part of the runway is literally being carried away by the wind and will need to be replaced eventually.)

Mariette Mulaire, president and CEO of the World Trade Centre, said while many Manitoba companies focus most of their efforts on the U.S. market, they’re missing out on revenue streams from the many opportunities in Nunavut. In fact, companies in other jurisdictions, including Quebec, have been more aggressive in courting business there than some of their Manitoba counterparts. Part of the problem in the Keystone province has been a lack of vision, she said.

“We are taking steps towards forming the strategy that we need,” she said.

One of the challenges for northern communities is finding the right people to fill the growing number of job vacancies. Colleen Smook, mayor of Thompson, said recruitment is the toughest part for her and other boosters of the city.

“Once people get here, they love it. It’s a great place to raise your family. It’s all about the quality of life we have to offer,” she said. “Our education system is second to none. Our high school band program has gone around the world.”

When Manitoba companies hear about opportunities in Nunavut, they should think “California Gold Rush.”

Canada’s newest territory might only have a population of about 40,000 but experts predict over the next 40 to 50 years, its Kivalliq region will become the wealthiest part of the country, a breakfast meeting was told on Thursday.

“That should say everything,” says Mariette Mulaire, Winnipeg-based president and CEO of the World Trade Centre. “Just hearing that should be enough to say, ‘okay, pay attention and look north.’ There are enough resources there to make our heads spin.”

Indeed, Nunavut has an abundance of mining, including gold, copper and diamonds.

Mulaire says Nunavut is already doing some trading with Manitoba but attempts to grow it further aren’t for a lack of effort from up north.

“They’re saying, ‘where are the Manitoba companies?’ They’re willing to trade. They’re coming here for health and other services that they need,” she said.

“Manitoba companies need to be aware (of the opportunities). Be the first one in, don’t be the last one in.”

Mulaire says the next Northern Perspectives Trade Show & Conference, which will be held in February in Winnipeg, should be circled on virtually every local company’s calendar, she said.

Don’t let Nunavut’s population fool you as the size of its economy is disproportionately higher.

Its GDP is forecast to grow at 6.1 per cent this year, compared to nearly four per cent for Canada, but its economy is expected to go to the moon next year with GDP growth of 13.6 per cent.

According to Statistics Canada, Nunavut’s population — the youngest and fastest-growing in the country — could hit 54,000 by 2043. (That’s just 22 years from now.)

But there are challenges for Mulaire and other business facilitators as so many Manitoba companies focus the bulk of their efforts on the U.S., the biggest economy in the world.

There are also challenges accessing Nunavut. Flying is expensive, rail lines are still undergoing repairs and trucking is limited to communities connected to the south by roadways.

Marc Cool, general manager of Arctic Gateway Group, which owns and operates the rail line from The Pas to Churchill, knows the critical role that trains plays in the northern economy. First on his agenda, though, is reestablishing credibility in the market since the rail line to Churchill was washed out by a flood in May 2017.

“Reliability is what needs to be first and foremost in all of the work that we do, with the end goal of having 100 per cent reliability and functioning 365 days a year. It needs to be 100 per cent bulletproof,” he said.

Nunavut’s population, which is overwhelmingly Inuit, is also getting increasingly wealthy.

“Consumer spending patters have changed. We ship more PlayStations (up north) than we ever have,” said Gary Bell, CEO of Calm Air. “We’re seeing e-commerce and other things starting to make their way up there with Canada Post and Amazon.”

Costs can sometimes be prohibitive, he noted, because the trade is all-too-often one-way.

“We’d love to see goods travelling in both directions. Our freight goes one way but we’re empty coming back. The consumer pays for that round trip. We’d like to see more goods produced in the north come to the south, then we could lower the price of all goods going in both directions,” he said. The “Looking North and Talking Trade — A Discussion of Business Opportunities in Nunavut” event was held at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.