Eastern Ontario Business Journal | Fall 2021

KEY MARKETS

INVESTMENTS, EMPLOYERS AND STATS: AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE REGION

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POWER PEOPLE

A guide to the people who propel economic growth throughout Eastern Ontario; seven people across each of seven sectors.

THE LATEST NEWS

From campgrounds and sparkling water makers to distribution centres and sawmills, there’s lots happening in Eastern Ontario.

FALL 2021 2021 Vol. Vol. 01, 01, NO. NO. 02 02 FALL

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“

With the great connectivity my daily work, team meetings and client outreach can be done from my home office or on my back deck. My kids enjoy the small town life and I am never far from them.

”

- Bryan Stott Manager, Early Resolution and Stakeholder Outreach

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Moving to a small town while launching a tech start-up sounds like a contradiction, but for me, it makes a lot of sense. Rural life brings a lot of things into sharper focus. It’s very useful for picking out what’s important from the noise that you constantly experience in the city. Sometimes, having a little bit of separation allows you to see the bigger picture.

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- Emad Hanna President, CyberStockRoom.com

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I find myself to be much more productive, am fully engaged with my team and living in a wonderful small town in a heritage home. And I have boundless outdoor recreation opportunities, in all four seasons, just outside the door.

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- Emma Baird, Manager, Client Relations

KEY MARKETS

INVESTMENTS, EMPLOYERS AND STATS: AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE REGION

49 POWER PEOPLE

A guide to the people who propel economic growth throughout Eastern Ontario; seven people across each of seven sectors.

THE LATEST NEWS

From campgrounds and sparkling water makers to distribution centres and sawmills, there’s lots happening in Eastern Ontario.

FALL 2021 Vol. 01, NO. 02

eobj.ca

@obj_news

OBJNews

ottawabizjournal

ottawa-business-journal

INTRODUCING EOBJ

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The Eastern Ontario Business Journal is a new sister publication to the Ottawa Business Journal, building on its 25-year history of covering business communities both in the National Capital Region and beyond. The publication contains key data, contacts and industry trends from across Eastern Ontario. Explore the competitive advantages, market opportunities and major employers in various communities across the region on the following pages.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE FOCUS THE PEOPLE WHO HELP EASTERN ONTARIO’S ECONOMY TO THRIVE

PRESIDENT Michael Curran, 613-696-9491 publisher@obj.ca PUBLISHER Terry Tyo, 613-601-9734 terry@greatriver.ca EDITOR Jennifer Campbell, 613-291-2901 jenn@jenncampbell.ca

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DESIGN DEPARTMENT Regan Van Dusen, 613-696-9580 regan@greatriver.ca

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PRESIDENT Michael Curran

Transportation: These folks are the lifeblood of business Tourism: The physical and economic beauty of Eastern Ontario Technology: Innovators who build Ontario’s digital economy Restaurants, retail and services: Small business that build community Manufacturing: A major contributor to the Eastern Ontario economy

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Technology: David Ross has been involved with Ross Video, his family’s business, since he was a child. The business has grown by more than 100 times since he took over in 1991 and it has just broken ground on a $15 million expansion.

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Food processing: Seven souls make everything from beer to frozen egg products

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All content of Ottawa Business Journal is copyright 2021.

Great River Media Inc. and may not be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher. Publisher’s Liability for error: The Publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher’s liability for other errors or omissions in connection with any advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of monies paid for the advertisement.

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Eastern Ontario’s economy

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CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tanya Connolly-Holmes, 613-696-9487 creative@greatriver.ca

FINANCE Cheryl Schunk, 613-696-9490 cheryl@greatriver.ca

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04 Prospectus 05 The latest news from Eastern Ontario 08 Charles Enman on the people who power

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PROSPECTUS

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EOBJ is a step towards understanding regional economy

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As witnessed in this pandemic, there are powerful forces at work in our regional economy.

COVID-19 played havoc with supply and demand, making life unpredictable for manufacturers and exposing weaknesses in supply chains.

Also, billions in federal government cash handouts to people and businesses over the past 20 months — arguably the biggest monetary experiment in modern history — have raised the threat of sustained inflation that will seriously erode spending power.

While these macro-economic forces grab all the headlines, what’s easily forgotten is the role of risk-taking entrepreneurs who, through sheer will and innovation, create companies, create jobs and create real wealth in our communities.

This second issue of Eastern Ontario Business Journal is dedicated to them. In a first-of-its-kind undertaking, the editorial team at EOBJ spent weeks canvassing economic development officials and business leaders to create a “people power list”

across key sectors of the regional economy — food processing, manufacturing, retail, technology, tourism and transportation — as well as public-sector and non-profit leaders.

The result is a fascinating overview of people who drive economic growth in Eastern Ontario. These short profiles provide us with a glimpse of the diversity in these sectors and also the growth potential.

Why tackle this project featuring the region’s power brokers? Let me borrow (and paraphrase) the words of list-member David Robinson, the founder of Fractional Workspace in Kingston. “The biggest impact is connecting like-minded people who can often change each others’ lives.”

While it’s likely that business people in communities such as Kingston and Cornwall know the companies in their own backyards, I suspect there are many surprises when they zoom out and look across Eastern Ontario.

That’s the purpose of the power list. In fact, it’s the purpose of Eastern Ontario Business Journal — to keep our readers informed about remarkable companies,

Propelling Eastern Ontario’s businesses: Learn how entrepreneurs are gaining an inside advantage in this special marketing feature on page 24

business trends and, hopefully, encourage connections.

One final comment on this list: Any project of this type is imperfect from the outset. No list will ever be perfect or complete. Nevertheless, I think readers will agree that even an attempted list is better than no list. It’s likely that EOBJ will revisit this project down the road and we invite you to submit your nominations for a second roster of power brokers.

Have some feedback on the power list?

Email terry@obj.ca.

@objpublisher Michael Curran

THE INNOVATION CENTRE LE CENTRE D’INNOVATION

Aaron Markel, left, and Brad Cartier, right, opened Hammond Hill campground in August. Unlike most campgrounds, this one features a beer garden.

Campground with a beer garden HAMMOND — Brad Cartier and his business partner, Aaron Markel, have opened Hammond Hill campground, a welcome addition to camping options in Eastern Ontario. Their 62-acre property, about 20 minutes from Orléans, started welcoming guests in August. As much as possible, the partners used materials from the site for construction. They bought a small sawmill to transform the limited number of trees they cut down into fence rails, yurt foundations (the campground has a few rentable yurts) and wood chips for trails. Other eco-friendly initiatives include no-kill bug spray and a chemical-free Japanese process for treating wood. Hammond Hill also has an unusual campground attraction — a beer garden serving beer from Markel’s Broken Stick Brewing Company, which is located at the nearby golf course. Because they’re all on the same property, the craft brewery’s licence extends to cover the campground. “As far as we can tell, I think [we’re] the first campsite [in Ontario] that is offering draft beer onsite,” Markel says.

EDWARDSBURGH CARDINAL — Milan-based Prysmian Group, a European manufacturing giant, is beefing up its presence in Eastern Ontario with a multimillion-dollar expansion of its facility in Township of Edwardsburgh Cardinal. The company announced a $7-million plan to add a “world-class distribution centre” to its existing manufacturing plant in the town about 95 kilometres south of Ottawa on the St. Lawrence River. The company says the project will create about 15 new jobs in the region. As part of the investment, Prysmian plans to relocate its regional distribution centre from Brampton to Prescott.

Construction will start this year, and the new facility is expected to be in operation by the third quarter of 2022.

OTTAWA VALLEY — Fluctuating lumber prices, growing demand for shopping local and a drive among some woodlot owners to become more self-reliant are helping to propel a centuries-old tradition in the Ottawa Valley. Many Eastern Ontario farmers historically had their own onsite sawmills before the growing accessibility of commercial lumber reduced the popularity of backyard sawmills. But this corner of the logging and lumber industry is undergoing a revival. “A lot of people (are getting) back into personal sawmills,” says Darrell Sennett of Darrell’s Sawmill Sales, which sells equipment that turns felled trees into boards of wood.

“Lumber prices — and the lack of lumber — have boosted my business.” Sennett’s customers typically sell their lumber to the public or use it themselves for decks, fences or other purposes. He predicts the backyard sawmill trend will persist beyond the current period of high wood prices.

Quebec-based CMP to open assembly plant in Cornwall CORNWALL — Chateauguay-based CMP, a Quebec manufacturer, is setting up a 40,000-square-foot light assembly plant in Cornwall. The company has leased a building on Montreal Road in the Eastern Ontario city and plans to hire up to 25 workers at its new facility. “As we grow our business, the need for additional capacity for light assembly work has emerged,” CMP talent acquisition and recruitment strategy adviser Alexandra Keenan told choosecornwall.ca. The company designs and manufactures products for customers in a range of industries, including the telecom, security and medical sectors. CMP says it will be hiring mechanical assemblers, drivers and quality inspectors as well as shipping and receiving clerks at the Cornwall plant. The new facility will add to CMP’s growing presence in Cornwall. Last year, the company opened a 90,000-squarefoot warehouse and logistics centre in the Cornwall Business Park.

New inventory management software CHALK RIVER — CyberStockroom gives clients a visual approach to inventory management, allowing them to create a virtual map of their business and populate it with their products.

Creating a map-based approach to inventory management made sense to CyberStockroom president Emad Hanna, who said he has always been “a very visual learner” who likes to sketch things out when he is solving a problem. The flexibility of the software means the Renfrew County firm has a wide range of customers, including EMS, fire departments, police forces, Emad Hanna, warehouses, IT departments, labs and event president of Cyberstockroom production. It has even brought in big-name customers such as Roche, Hasbro Gaming and Nordex.

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DUNDAS — Just months after cracking the 1,000-employee mark, one of Eastern Ontario’s leading manufacturers is breaking ground on a multimillion-dollar expansion of its largest plant. The expansion is expected to create dozens of additional jobs. Ross Video is spending $15 million on the project, which was launched Aug. 5 and will see the existing facility expanded by 55,000 square feet.

The additional space will include two new production lines at the site in Iroquois, about 70 kilometres south of Ottawa on the St. Lawrence River. The Ontario government is contributing $3 million to the expanded plant, which is expected to create more than 40 new jobs.

$7-million distribution centre in Edwardsburgh Cardinal

Small sawmills surge

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Ross Video breaks ground on $15M expansion

EXECUTIVE BRIEFS

EXECUTIVE BRIEFS New housing in Cornwall

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CORNWALL — A downtown Cornwall property that’s been vacant for more than 20 years is about to be transformed into an apartment building, bringing more residents into the Seaway city’s historic urban core.

Construction is set to begin this month on the J.C. Godard Development Prime Square, a five-storey, 44-unit residential building with commercial space on the main floor. The total construction cost is estimated at $12.9 million. The development on the corner of Second Street East and Pitt Street has been a long time coming, said Mark Boileau, general manager of Cornwall Economic Development.

“This is located in the heart of our downtown, so the community has often asked questions of what the fate of that property would be,” he said. The new apartments will also increase Cornwall’s affordable housing stock, with units ranging in size from 418 square feet to 790 square feet and rents starting at $975 per month.

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Paul and Caitlin Rivett-Carnac (left) with their children and Paul’s parents.

Brewer taps in to sparkling new market KINGSTON — Spearhead Brewing Co.’s Josh Hayter has added a new product to his roster — namely, a sparkling botanical water called Akwa.

“I just love it,” Hayter says. “I’m drinking six or eight cans a day.” Akwa is infused with citra and cascade hops. Akwa’s genesis was in his team’s conviction that drinkers often needed a non-alcoholic choice when facing a night of social drinking. “Sometimes, you just need a drink that’s sans alcohol — you’re camping with friends, say, and you’re the driver. You want something that doesn’t taste like beer, but has something of the ‘feel’ of beer.”

PHOTO BY BOB MCKEACHIE

New headquarters for St. Francis Herb Farm BARRY’S BAY — It may seem like a lofty goal for an herb producer based in a Renfrew County community that’s best known for its cottage country and lumbering heritage, but St. Francis Herb Farm is used to thinking big. The 33-year-old business is setting its sights on becoming the leading herbal production, distribution and educational brand in Canada. Helping St. Francis move in that direction is a new 33,000-square-foot headquarters in Barry’s Bay that’s expected to be completed this fall with a ribbon-cutting and site tours. It will be adjacent to its 52-acre certified organic herb farm. Onsite retailing isn’t part of the plan. The new state-of-the-art building will alleviate the cramped conditions the company currently faces, in addition to creating 12 new jobs and retraining 50 existing workers on the latest wellness product manufacturing systems. The project will consolidate St. Francis’s operations, which are currently scattered in several locations in Barry’s Bay and the surrounding area.

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EXECUTIVE BRIEFS

Tyler Harbers, ZipGrow’s manager of growing operations, works using the startup’s hydroponics equipment.

ZipGrow takes after its name

Doornekamp Lines expands service

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PICTON — A family-owned Eastern Ontario shipping firm is expanding its service along the St. Lawrence Seaway, looking to compete against rail and truck operators for customers moving cargo between Canada’s east coast and markets across Ontario. Doornekamp Lines announced plans for scheduled marine shipping service this spring, moving containers and bulk

cargo between Halifax and Picton, west of Kingston. The shipping operation is a spinoff of Doornekamp Construction, which refurbished the Picton Terminals in 2015. The Picton-Halifax service is targeting a range of products originating from around the world, including steel from the United Kingdom, bauxite and gypsum from Newfoundland and Turkey, sugar from Brazil, as well as farming and steel products. “Anything you could possibly move on water, we’re moving it,” said Ben Doornekamp, owner of Doornekamp Construction and Picton Terminals, adding that he expects the shipping lane to reduce transportation costs for businesses as well as cut greenhouse gas emissions.

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CORNWALL — Indoor farming is getting its moment in the sun or, more accurately, under LED lights. Cornwall-based ag-tech startup ZipGrow purchased a 20,000-square-foot building earlier this year, allowing it to more than double its footprint and produce even more sustainable growing systems. “We’re growing super fast,” says co-founder and president Eric Lang, a serial entrepreneur with a background in traditional farming methods. The company, launched in 2016, currently has a staff of 15. That’s expected to grow to 25 by the end of the year. ZipGrow has also launched a new partnership with food services and facilities management company Sodexo Canada. It will be introducing ZipGrow’s sustainable growing systems to clients in educational institutions, health-care centres, conference facilities and corporate food service centres, as well as remote mining camps that typically have limited access to year-round fresh food. “Our vision is to have your food coming from as close as possible,” said Sodexo Canada corporate sustainability manager Davide Del Brocco, who is a trained chef. “We enjoy making our areas as green as possible and using that urban space to connect us a bit more with nature.”

OVERVIEW

Small but

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Small towns, and a couple of cities, across Eastern Ontario are full of unsung entrepreneurs who are quietly growing companies of all sizes and powering the economy.

Meet 49 of them in this issue.

BY CHARLES ENMAN

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SKILLED WORKERS ABOUND

PHOTO BY ROBERT FAUBERT

John Robertson, president of EMT Industries including manufacturing; transportation; technology; food processing; retail, restaurants and services; civic and nonprofit; and tourism.

We hear it in the story of Anne VivianScott, president and CEO of Kinarm, in Kingston, which makes a complex robotic instrument that helps neurologists study different parts of the brain.

We hear it in the story of Yves Rochon, general manager of Magellan Aerospace in Haley Station, where the company’s thrust is to keep at the forefront of manufacturing technology, ensuring that Magellan can continue to provide parts for the most

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The Ottawa Valley, where Renfrew sits, has a surprising wealth of highly skilled workers, he says. The lifestyle offers opportunities aplenty for all kinds of recreation. People here seem more linked to each other than those in larger centres — and companies correspondingly enjoy more esprit de corps among their staff. The cost of living, especially housing, is relatively low.

“There are pros and cons to being anywhere, but I’d say the balance here really shifts toward the positive,” Robertson says.

It’s a story heard again and again in our profiles of players in a broad range of economic sectors in Eastern Ontario,

Tourism, above, is big business in Eastern Ontario, thanks to its beautiful natural landcape. Food processing, below, is also a going concern due to plenty of farming.

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TM Industries is a growing company in the town of Renfrew. The town is smallish, no doubt, having only a little more than 8,000 people. So ETM is going to be a smallish company, a kind of glorified mom-andpop operation, perhaps admirable in its aspirations, but possessing no great weight in the larger scheme.

Obvious, right? Actually, no. ETM is not a huge company, but it has 80-plus employees, makes millions every year and enjoys a customer base that circles the globe. In fact, 40 per cent of the company’s business is outside North America.

“We’re very diverse,” company president John Robertson says. “And in a number of ways, I’d say we vie for best in class. And we’re growing, right here in Renfrew.”

ETM Industries was founded in 1977 as a tool and die shop serving local industry, but has since evolved into an international business. Using computer programmable equipment, it provides machined and plastic injection components and assemblies to the aircraft, space, military, automotive, mining, telecommunications and medical industries.

“For a lot of manufacturers, we’re a onestop shop,” Robertson says, with a hint of pride in his voice.

An Arnprior native, Robertson travels widely and could easily decide to locate part of his business in some larger centre, but for him, the blandishments of distant places are faint.

“Sure, when looking to grow, we’ve looked at other areas, but it always seems a lot more sensible and cost effective to stay here, and grow organically, in Renfrew.”

Over 25 years of operation, Northern Cables has grown from zero to 216 employees, and now has three factories in Eastern Ontario.

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Sure, when looking to grow, we’ve looked at other areas, but it always seems a lot more sensible and cost effective to stay here, and grow organically, in Renfrew. — John Robertson, President of ETM

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10 At left, The Hunger Stop in Lanark County serves 290 hungry families from the area. PHOTO BY MIKE CARRACCETTO. At right, Lianne Ing works with Bubble Technologies Inc. colleagues to support radiation and explosives detection for defence, counter-terrorism and space exploration applications. PHOTO BY AMANDA WALKER

The lifestyle is a big attraction. You’re not living in a big city, but big cities are close at hand.

— David Wybou, business development officer for the County of Renfrew

“Compared to the rest of the province, I would say we in Eastern Ontario are more than holding our own,” says Alastair Baird, manager of economic development services and tourism for the County of Renfrew. “With our diversification, our mix of small and large industries, the network of colleges and universities that serve us, the superb transportation system that connects us to larger markets, the lifestyle — put it all together, and I think our strengths are growing.

“A lot of Canadian businesses have been coming here, and we’re even getting attention from a lot of foreign direct investors.”

Adds his colleague David Wybou, business development officer for the County of Renfrew: “The lifestyle is a big attraction.

You’re not living in a big city, but big cities are close at hand. With our lakes and rivers, you can really have a life that connects with nature. High-speed internet means you can work for a big company even while you enjoy a simpler rural life. What’s not to like?”

Wybou adds another highly attractive feature: housing prices. “We’re 40 per cent lower than Ottawa, and 70 per cent below Toronto,” he said.

WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE, INDEED?

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The upshot is that people come to Eastern Ontario because they like the balanced lifestyle, the openness and accessibility of the residents, the nearness of nature, the unhurried rhythm — all while knowing they make no sacrifices in terms of educational possibilities, access to truly sophisticated work and to the larger world if and when they choose, given the connected nature of the globe we share.

As John Robertson, president of ETM Industries says, “We’re happy and doing well here — and I can’t see us going anywhere else.”

Don’t miss out

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sophisticated aircraft, including the Lockheed Martin F-35.

At Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company in Vankleek Hill, Steve Beauchesne has co-founded one of Canada’s most successful craft breweries, an enterprise that has been showered with awards and has incidentally raised more than $2 million for charity.

Some amazing players are taking old methods and standing out prominently from their competitors. St-Albert Cheese, a co-op, has for decades been producing award-winning cheeses, especially cheddars, that are famous across Canada, a tradition that continues under director-general Eric Lafontaine.

Tourism is a big part of the regional economy, and there’s a wealth of successful enterprises that cater to the many visitors that come to the region each year. At Foresters Falls, founder Joe Kowalski runs Wilderness Tours, a whitewater rafting and kayaking resort that, for nearly 50 years, has welcomed intrepid visitors from around the world. Each summer, Calypso Waterpark in Limoges welcomes thousands of visitors, often entire families, to their premises, at the same time offering employment to 500 residents, most of them students.

Even among some outstanding civic and non-profit players, the work of CEO Joe McBrearty at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories in Chalk River stands out. When the site’s nuclear reactor was shut down in 2018, CNL managed to change its raison d’être in several ways, including a new mission to manage nuclear liabilities and site remediation at six nuclear sites throughout Canada. While giving up the production of energy, CNL has embraced enhancement of public safety.

These are only a few details from the exciting economic tapestry that Eastern Ontario has developed — a tapestry not fully appreciated beyond the region, though that is beginning to change.

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https://www.cornwall.ca/en/do-business/economic-development.aspx

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Margaret Hudson, president of Burnbrae Farms, has helped double the company’s size during her tenure. PHOTO BY MIKE CARRACCETTO

BUILDING ON AGRISTRENGTH

BY PAULA ROY

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Agriculture has been a backbone of the Eastern Ontario economy for generations and today, food processing has an equally important role in the region’s economic landscape. A vast array of firms are growing, harvesting, processing and transforming agricultural products and byproducts into food and drink items that find their way into homes and businesses throughout the province, across the country and even around the world. Innovation is more than a buzzword for these food processors — they are as passionate about growing and evolving their businesses as they are about making sure they are operating as ecologically sensitive and ethically minded enterprises. From expanding their product offerings to increasing the size of their operations and their workforces, these food processors are helping to put Eastern Ontario on the map as a dynamic region offering excellent employment opportunities in this thriving sector.

The entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm shared by the seven individuals profiled here goes a long way to explaining the success they have achieved with their companies, some of which are relatively new startups while others are longstanding family businesses whose stewardship they have taken on.

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FOOD PROCESSING

FOOD PROCESSING DANY GAGNON

OPERATIONS MANAGER AT OLYMEL With deep roots in the food processing industry for more than 100 years, Olymel is one of Canada’s fastest-growing, diversified agrifood businesses. The company’s busy Cornwall facility produces sliced bacon and bacon products for major national grocery store chains, restaurant groups and distributors in Canada and 65 countries around the world. Operations manager Dany Gagnon plays a pivotal role in charting strategic direction, planning the activities for this and several other plants, managing all aspects of production, including finance, quality assurance, health and safety. Gagnon was initially drawn to the food processing sector due to the job security it offered, then began to appreciate the opportunities for advancement as he worked his way up from the production line to team leader, foreman and now senior management. Self-described as results-oriented, he enjoys the opportunity to apply the successes achieved in Cornwall to additional plants in Quebec, implementing workflow efficiencies, a more targeted vision, better structure and an enhanced workplace culture.

Gagnon notes he has been proud of his role in executing improvements at Olymel Cornwall to increase the plant’s stature in the larger company. It’s now one other plants wish to emulate.

MARGARET HUDSON

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PRESIDENT OF BURNBRAE FARMS

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Margaret Hudson grew up on her family’s farm in Lyn, near Brockville, and was involved with the business from childhood. After earning a degree in business and environmental science, to which she later added an MBA, Hudson became president of Burnbrae Farms in 1990. This sixth generation family-ownedand-operated company is one of Canada’s leading egg farmers, with farms, grading stations and processing operations across the country. She shares in her family’s pride in propelling the business forward, maximizing their products’ nutrition and accessibility, increasing operating sustainability and expanding Burnbrae’s efforts in corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. In addition to C-suite duties, Hudson sits on a number of boards that help shape Burnbrae’s work environment. She has championed many successful product launches that transformed the egg category and helped to more than double Burnbrae’s size by adding such products as nutritionally enhanced eggs, free run and organic eggs, packaged hardboiled eggs and a range of liquid and frozen egg products. In 2020, Hudson received the Golden Pencil Award for lifetime achievement, the highest honour in the grocery industry. As egg consumption in Canada continues to grow, she says Burnbrae will continue to pursue more innovations.

PAUL RIVETT-CARNAC

PRESIDENT AND CEO OF ST. FRANCIS HERB FARM

St. Francis Herb Farm is a leading Canadian-owned herbal company that’s been family-run for more than 30 years, focusing on working with nature to understand, nurture and extract healing compounds. Paul Rivett-Carnac has been involved in the business since his youth and served in positions of increasing responsibility in compliance, quality assurance and operations prior to assuming his current roles as president and CEO, allowing him to leverage his MBA from Carleton University. He drives corporate vision and strategy while working closely with the senior leadership team and a staff he respects and values highly.

His passions are people development and continuous improvement, appropriate given the company’s mission to empower people on their wellness journey through education and effective plant-based medicine. The business is experiencing significant growth and evolving its structure for better execution in inventory control, quality management, marketing and customer service. Recent investments in R&D are yielding dividends, strengthening St. Francis Herb Farm’s leadership position within herbal medicine in Canada by developing various dosage forms and optimizing extraction capabilities. The company’s new 33,000-square-foot facility in the Ottawa Valley will allow it to amalgamate operations and continue to grow, innovate and export.

OMID MCDONALD CEO OF DAIRY DISTILLERY

An engineer by training, eclectic entrepreneur Omid McDonald founded three successful companies prior to establishing Dairy Distillery in 2018. Inspired by a visit to a U.S. craft distillery, McDonald subsequently learned of waste in the dairy industry and figured out a way to transform milk sugars into top-quality vodka. The Almonte company’s flagship product, Vodkow, became an instant best-seller. As CEO, McDonald describes his role as that of a co-ordinator for the thriving company that has grown from three to 23 employees in two years. His contribution to the company’s success stems from constantly thinking about ways to move forward. He made the decision to start producing hand sanitizer at the outset of the pandemic; since then, he has doubled the size of the distillery to allow the team to continue making hand sanitizer in addition to spirits. McDonald says his biggest business accomplishment has been consistently seeing things through to completion, noting that it’s easy to have an idea, but bringing a product to market is completely different. He’s previously done it with medical devices and two kinds of software and now he’s working on an even bigger application for dairy waste by transforming it into ethanol for fuel.

FOOD PROCESSING STEVE BEAUCHESNE

CO-FOUNDER OF BEAU’S ALL NATURAL BREWING CO Steve Beauchesne is the co-founder of Beau’s, a family-run organic Canadian craft brewery in Vankleek Hill. In 2016, Beau’s started an employee-share program through which 135 of 150 employees own a small share of the company.

Since 2006, Beau’s has won more than 125 national and international awards for beer-making, sustainability and more. Armed with a bachelor of commerce degree plus experience as a business planner, Beauchesne says the idea of starting a company was irresistible to him, an ardent craft beer lover and home brewer. As CEO, he’s the company’s visionary and cheerleader, making sure the team has the resources to get the job done. He loves making a positive impact; to that end, Beau’s has raised more than $2 million for charities, communities and the arts and has been instrumental in helping other breweries get started, including one in Rwanda. Two recent accomplishments include launching Canada’s only certified organic carbon-neutral beer and being named as “Best for the World” by B Corp (having previously become certified as Canada’s first B Corp brewery). Beau’s has been named the official brewer of Porter Airlines and it’ll soon launch a new brew for Porter in addition to other new beers.

— Omid McDonald, CEO of Dairy Distillery

DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF STALBERT CHEESE Founded in 1894, St-Albert Cheese is one of the oldest co-operatives in Canada and is owned by dozens of Eastern Ontario dairy producer families. In 2013, the co-op was completely destroyed by fire, but the company successfully rebounded by building a new and larger factory, which has enabled St-Albert to gradually increase production capacity. St-Albert Cheese is one of Prescott-Russell’s largest employers and continues to play a vital role in the community.

Director general Eric Lafontaine has been with the company for 25 years, having started in the accounting department, then progressing onto roles of increasing responsibility before assuming his current position in 2013, just 34 days before the aforementioned fire. Having been raised in the region, Lafontaine describes the co-op as always holding a very special place in people’s lives, which in turn fuels his passion for his job. One of his focus areas is working on new projects to grow the business, while also helping employees be more successful and maintaining a workplace with an excellent, often jovial, atmosphere where team spirit flourishes. St-Albert continues to refine its cheese-making operation to make it more efficient and to produce a broader range of products, including its award-winning aged cheddars.

SHERRY KARLO

CO-FOUNDER AND OWNER OF KARLO ESTATES

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From childhood aspirations of becoming an artist to a successful career in advertising, Sherry Karlo’s tenacity and esthetic sensibilities have always served her well. As co-founder, owner and vintner of Prince Edward County’s Karlo Estates winery, she leverages those talents, plus years of accumulated business, branding and wine experience. She works with the winemakers to curate and develop the products that form Karlo’s portfolio, currently at 24 wines structured to suit many tastes and price points. While her vineyard time is limited to busy seasons such as spring pruning and the fall harvest, Karlo relishes the meditative quality of those tasks — a contrast to working with the financial team, budgeting for future investments and executing the company’s 25-year plan. She saved the winery from financial ruin after her co-founder winemaker, CEO and husband Richard Karlo, died from cancer, resulting in a spoiled 2014 vintage. Then, in 2020, with the advent of COVID, she had to pivot to virtual tastings and an outdoor tasting area with live music. Those moves are two accomplishments of which she is justifiably proud. She also instigated creating the world’s first vegan-certified wine, and Karlo’s green philosophy will be an integral part of the planned development of an inn and event space.

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McDonald says his biggest business accomplishment has been consistently seeing things through to completion, noting that it’s easy to have an idea, but bringing a product to market is completely different.

ERIC LAFONTAINE

International Gateway Bridges to U.S. Port of Johnstown Full Rail Service ___________________ Business & Industrial Parks Serviced Land Unserviced Land _____________________

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for Small Business

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Yves Poirier, left, and his brother, Marc, serve as president and vice-president respectively of Minimax Express Transportation in Cornwall. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

THE LIFEBLOOD OF BUSINESS

BY CHARLES ENMAN

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If goods can’t be delivered in a timely and efficient manner, customers are less satisfied and the manufacturer loses business. And if manufacturers can’t find competitively priced ways of getting their goods to customers, they become less competitive in the economy. In short, transportation is essential. Eastern Ontario, fortunately, is well served by its transport and logistics firms. Here, supply chains operate smoothly, adding another facet to the relatively low-cost business environment enjoyed by companies and residents alike.

Across the region, large international businesses are setting up warehouses. Trucking companies compete ferociously to serve the many manufacturers — steadily increasing in number — that call the region home.

Add in the superb transportation infrastructure — highways, rail services, airports — that facilitates easy shipment of goods to the region’s huge commercial catchment area that boasts 20 million customers within a 450-kilometre radius, and you begin to understand why the regional economy continues to grow.

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TRANSPORTATION

TRANSPORTATION JOHN HUBBARD

TERRY WILLS

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PRESIDENT OF WILLS TRANSFER

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Terry Wills was born to become the president of Wills Transfer in Brockville.

When he joined the company, in 1979, he was part of the third generation of his family connected to the business.

He’s enjoyed every minute of it. “Working with people, both in our organization and in our clients’ organizations, to build relationships, teams and logistics solutions is a passion of mine,” he says.

In 1976, he graduated from Carleton University with a bachelor’s in commerce, accounting and economics. In the later 1970s, he spent four years with Ernst & Ernst in Toronto as a chartered accountant.

Wills Transfer is a third-party logistics company that partners with clients to provide warehousing, material handling, transportation — or, as Wills puts it, “that whole inventory thing right up to delivery, the point at which a business transaction is completed.”

Wills believes his biggest contribution has been the company’s purpose statement, which focuses every single employee’s commitment to enhancing the customer’s success. He calls this “the single biggest game-changer in my whole career.”

VICE-PRESIDENT OF GIANT TIGER As vice-president of distribution centre operations for discount store Giant Tiger, John Hubbard led the team that designed and built the company’s 600,000-squarefoot distribution centre that opened in Johnstown in 2018. The project included fully automated order picking, the company’s first use of such technology.

Hubbard joined the company in 2006, after serving in management positions for several other companies. He had earlier earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing, accounting and human resources at Concordia University, and a bachelor of business administration from the University of Ottawa.

For Hubbard, the lure of a career in business operations is “the continuous change, adaptation and fast moving pace.” He also credits the company’s quality mentoring and training. He expects to enjoy his biggest challenge yet — staying current with the rush of new technologies in the industry.

CLAYTON JONES

Working with people, both in our organization and in our clients’ organizations, to build relationships, teams and logistics solutions is a passion of mine.

— Terry Wills, president of Wills Transfer

PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CREWS AND JONES RAIL INDUSTRIES Clayton Jones, president and CEO of CREWS and Jones Rail Industries in Kemptville, has sometimes been called a railway tycoon of Eastern Ontario.

Jones Rail Industries, founded in 2007, provides maintenance and repair of tracks and locomotives. CREWS (Canadian Rail Equipment Works and Services), founded in 2012, provides railcar storage and switching services to large rail companies.

Jones earlier spent two decades working for CP Rail and the Ottawa Central Railway.

His biggest accomplishment has been building the company’s railyard in Johnstown. The yard, on which work began in 2016 and is ongoing, accommodates railcar storage and loading. “But our expansion is continuing,” Jones says. “We plan to expand into three or four places in Ontario and, down the road, into Quebec and a couple of other provinces.” He won’t give details, but says an announcement will be coming later this year.

YVES POIRIER

PRESIDENT OF MINIMAX EXPRESS TRANSPORTATION

Minimax Express, headquartered in Cornwall, is an LTL specialist — “less than load” — meaning it delivers small shipments for clients in Ontario and Quebec.

“Our priority is simple,” Yves Poirier says. “We deliver goods on time and with no incidents.”

Minimax is a Poirier family business.

Father Paul Poirier founded Minimax in 1991 and is chairman of the board.

Brother Marc Poirier serves as vicepresident.

Just getting out of high school, Poirier earned a commercial pilot’s licence, but decided that career was not for him.

He then got a business diploma from Algonquin College before joining the family business. “I grew up in trucking and learned a lot of it around the supper table at home.” His father has worked in trucking for nearly six decades.

The family’s achievement has been “to grow a business from nothing to 130 trucks and 200 trailers with five service centres in Ontario and Quebec in three decades,” he says.

The company has even established a division called MX Logistics, which can ship goods anywhere in the world.

TRANSPORTATION BOB GAUTHIER

PRESIDENT OF SEAWAY EXPRESS Seaway Express in Cornwall is a trucking company that has decided to do one thing and do it surpassingly well.

In 1990, the year Bob Gauthier and wife, Linda, founded it, Seaway Express had only one five-ton truck and the simple goal of serving Eastern Ontario and part of Quebec.

“We created a really strong market niche,” Gauthier, still president of the company, says. “And doing that one thing for three decades allows you to become really good at what you do. We don’t want to be a carrier that goes everywhere.”

Gauthier worked in the transportation business from the time he left high school. “Transportation and trucking were always in me. There was always something challenging, something new.”

His greatest accomplishment is to have moved up from that single original truck to a fleet of 25 trucks and 50 employees.

He insists he didn’t do it alone. “Every company has the same equipment and trucks — what makes the difference is to get good people, treat them well, and let them shine.”

Testifying to that approach’s success is a slew of awards from business groups, trucking organizations and the transport ministry.

ARON WINTERSTEIN,

— Bob Gauthier, president of Seaway Express

BEN DOORNEKAMP

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OWNER OF DOORNEKAMP LINES In a kind of corporate Houdini act, Doornekamp Construction has turned itself into a seafarer. The Odessa-based firm has created Doornekamp Lines, a scheduled maritime shipping service that moves containers and bulk cargo between Halifax and Picton, just west of Kingston. That cargo may have originated anywhere on the globe.

“Shipping on the water is cheaper than shipping on land, and it’s far better for the environment,” says Ben Doornekamp, whose family owns the construction company and its maritime shipping sibling.

Doornekamp Construction bought the Picton Terminals site in 2014 and retrofitted the port to store thousands of containers. The company fleet includes two container ships and two tug boats. In the past two years, it has shipped $30 million worth of goods. If regulations permit, the company hopes to soon begin shipping cargo to cities along the Great Lakes. And if combining construction with maritime shipping seems a stretch too far, Doornekamp doesn’t mind. “We’re trying to diversify as much as possible,” he says. “We’re never going to be an all-eggs-in-one-basket company.”

Aron Winterstein knew from his early years he wanted to manage an airport. As far back as 2004, he got a diploma in aviation management from Georgian College. He then managed a number of small, remote airports in northern Ontario, and spent a decade working as an airport zone supervisor for the transport ministry, before finally becoming airport manager in Kingston in 2019.

His time in Kingston has been eventful.

His biggest accomplishment has been helping staff adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. A major problem was the suspension of flights by Air Canada, the only major airline flying into Kingston.

Winterstein says the airport will be redefining itself after the pandemic.

The first order of business will be to reestablish air service to Toronto and then to expand the number of routes coming into Kingston.

“We’re very confident that the future will be bright,” he says. “Finding a new airline partner will open up new opportunities.”

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Transportation and trucking were always in me. There was always something challenging, something new.

MANAGER OF THE KINGSTON AIRPORT

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TOURISM Joe Kowalski, owner of Wilderness Tours, works seven days a week during rafting season. PHOTO BY ROBERT FAUBERT

VIEWS AND VISTAS THAT DRAW PEOPLE

BY KIMBERLEY FALK Eastern Ontario is home to some of the most scenic parks, picturesque waterfronts, historic towns and cities and overall attractions. All are beacons to tourists. Not only does the tourism industry — made up of more than 7,000 companies — help to show off to visitors all that Eastern Ontario has to offer, it also provides thousands of jobs each year, contributes to the economic growth of each area and the province and has become the livelihood of many entrepreneurs and business owners. Some of its towns depend on tourism to grow and prosper.

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TOURISM

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TOURISM JOE KOWALSKI

OWNER OF WILDERNESS TOURS Joe Kowalski loves working seven days a week during the rafting season and believes Wilderness Tours helps drive the tourism industry in the Ottawa Valley. The whitewater rafting and kayaking resort also facilitates the practical side of the Outdoor Adventure program at Algonquin College.

The reason high adventure sports have grown so popular, Kowalski says, is that “life is not as dangerous as it used to be, so people still have that genetic code for adventure and innate desire to test themselves.”

Kowalski is excited to pass the paddle on to his two children when it comes time to retire. The Ottawa River, he says, is Canada’s “claim to fame” and he has been driven to protect as much of it as possible from development. He’s continued to purchase waterfront over the past five decades, saving 5,000 acres of wilderness while providing more space for guests to explore.

MEGAN KNOTT

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TOURISM KINGSTON

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Tourism Kingston has evolved under Megan Knott’s leadership after she took on the role of executive director in 2019. Three years ago, Tourism Kingston expanded the range of services it covered by adding the film industry as a major component, in addition to traditional tourism draws such as restaurants, hotels, parks and attractions.

“Tourism communities were once built on iconic pieces, but there’s been a shift in the way people consume travel,” Knott says. “It’s now about the vibe and localized experience — to live as locals do.”

Tourism Kingston wants to create content and experiences that give people that type of contact.

Knott and her team are working closely with community partners on expanding and revamping the waterfront to encourage more people to use it, and on product development related to infrastructure improvements.

“We are curators of content more than anything,” Knott says. “We tell the story of locals so people get a unique idea of why to come to Kingston.”

CHRIS HINSBERGER

OWNER OF BONNECHERE CAVES

After working at the Bonnehere Caves from the age of 12 until he was 22, Chris Hinsperger left his hometown of Eganville to pursue other goals. But he returned to the small Ottawa Valley town in his 30s for an opportunity to work at the Bonnechere Caves again. He is now co-owner of the 15-acre property after purchasing it with his wife, Valerie, in 1996.

“People enjoy connecting with nature,” Hinsperger says. “It’s a nice reminder that we are part of a big picture. We connect our business with the community around us.” He enjoys uniting with the athletic and sports community as well as musicians, poets and writers. “Even though we are a geological area, every time you have a beautiful space, it’s easy to connect to the arts community.”

The Bonnechere Caves have become a host for underground dining events and concert series. Hinsperger is a huge supporter of tourism in the area and has been involved with the Ontario Highlands Travel Trade Initiative. He’s also a member of the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association. As owners of the caves, Hinsberger and his wife sponsor the Tour de Bonnechere bike event, Paddle and Fiddle Bonnechere and others.

DALE DEANE

GENERAL MANAGER, SHORELINES CASINO THOUSAND ISLANDS

Dale Deane, general manager of Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands in Gananoque, has been working in the gaming industry since 1994. Originally from Windsor, Deane settled in his role at Shorelines in 2018 after spending years working with casinos across Eastern Canada. Not only does Shorelines Casino help with tourism in the region, working with businesses and providing job opportunities to boost the local economy, it also gives back through the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation’s PROUD initiatives. “My team donates thousands of hours of community service and dollars to helping local charities each year,” Deane says.

Throughout Deane’s gaming career, he has been part of the leadership team in the opening of seven properties — from Ontario to Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. “I’ve had the pleasure of bringing casino gaming to several communities, helping to create jobs and bring dollars directly and indirectly to those communities.”

TOURISM SANDRA NADEAU

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS AT CALYPSO WATERPARK Each summer, Calypso Waterpark, located between Cornwall and Ottawa, hires more than 500 people, most of them students, to take on the many aquatic, lifeguard and other employment opportunities. It’s a big part of summer jobs for the area, says Sandra Nadeau, the park’s senior director for marketing and communications. “They come back year after year and friendships and fun are part of the experience.”

Nadeau says Calypso has contributed greatly to economic development over the past decade.

“Ten years ago it was a quiet region and now we have the park that helps other businesses around the area make more money and to be able to survive in this region.”

Building relationships with key partners in the region is important to Eastern Ontario tourism.

After the pandemic took all of the park’s revenue for several months, it was “important to come back to a new normal and think about development and to offer new and different activities while remaining always in the area to make [Eastern Ontario] a destination,” Nadeau says.

HOLLEE KEW

GENERAL MANAGER AND CEO OF THE ST. LAWRENCE PARKS COMMISSION

I am happy to say that I was in some way instrumental in much of what you see in this facility.

I was there during it all. I have worked with the animals, run the operations, and now lead this facility.

— Thomas Harder, executive director of the Aquatarium

THOMAS HARDER

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE AQUATARIUM

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Thomas Harder has been working in the animal care industry for nearly 30 years and has been helping to grow the Aquatarium, a non-profit charity located in Brockville, for the past nine years. The Aquatarium is an interactive museum with live tanks that house many water creatures, including river otters.

“Where I sit now was just recently a polluted piece of waterfront property. Now it is a hub of activity,” says Harder, who is originally from Virginia, but is happy to be a Canadian citizen and call Brockville home.

“I am happy to say that I was in some way instrumental in much of what you see in this facility. I have worked with the animals, run the operations, and now lead this facility,” he says. Harder attributes the Aquatarium and Tourism Brockville’s success of volunteers. The Aquatarium is currently working on a capital campaign that will bring new exhibits to the museum.

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As the general manager and chief executive officer of the St. Lawrence Parks Commission (SLPC) since 2018, Hollee Kew leads a team that acts as an important economic driver of Eastern Ontario. Established in 1951 as a federal-provincial agreement to safeguard the historical importance and scenic beauty of the area, the SLPC has grown to include leisure and historical attractions, and it acts as operating partner for tours of the Kingston Penitentiary. Today, SLPC covers more than 200 kilometres along the St. Lawrence River and provides 600 jobs to those who serve its 600,000 annual visitors.

“We have a driven focus to advocate for the revitalization of our park’s infrastructure,” Kew says. “We are also taking steps to make sure that we are connecting with various communities in the region in an inclusive and collaborative way.”

These connections include delivering cultural sensitivity training on, for example, the Muslim community, and partnering with Indigenous communities to integrate their histories into SLPC experiences.

— SPONSORED CONTENT —

LEFT: Blue Whale Hintze Hall Natural History Museum in London, UK. BELOW: Scott Runte, CEO, Launch Lab.

R T N E C NO I TAV O N N I E H T Eastern Ontario’s O I T A V O N N I ’ D ER TN EC EL EASTERN ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL FALL 2021 XXXXXX 2021

business catalyst

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Launch Lab’s Amplify program gives companies access to serial entrepreneurs who help growing companies focus, plan and scale.

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eter May likens Launch Lab’s Amplify program with giving him an experienced board of directors.

“You have people to bounce ideas off of,” May says of the help he’s received from the regional innovation centre known as Launch Lab, which is made up of seasoned entrepreneurs who offer business advice and services to new and established entrepreneurs at the helm of small- to medium-sized enterprises.

May’s company, Research Casting Inc., has been an Amplify client of Launch Lab for three years, a service for high-growth clients.

May’s assessment is exactly what Scott Runte likes to hear. As CEO of Launch Lab, his goal is to position Amplify to be a catalyst for business growth.

“When I’m talking to people about

what Launch Lab is trying to do, it’s all about being a catalyst and a voice for innovation in Eastern Ontario,” says Scott Runte, CEO of Launch Lab. “The core of Launch Lab’s activity in the region is to assign our business advisers to companies in need to help them as they’re growing.”

“We typically start off with a client by assigning one of our entrepreneurs-inresidence [EIR] to support their growth,” Runte says. “And when we see clients that have high growth potential, we find an accelerated mentorship program can be the catalyst they need and that’s Amplify.”

“We insist on a rigorous strategy,” he says. “We want to use Amplify to help companies put in place a solid management structure.”

Fossil mammal skeletons at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC. Peter May says Amplify has helped push him toward diversification.

“The experts are very helpful,” he says.

“We meet once a month and go over

where we’re at and what the future looks like.”

May was concerned that Research Casting had been pigeonholed as a dino-

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Brachiosaurus skeleton at the Museum dur Naturekunde in Berlin, Germany.

saur- building company as its dinosaur sculptures are well-loved features in many museums, including the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the Natural History Museum in London. It also has produced dinosaurs for museums in Germany, Japan and at Universal Studios and Disney.

But the company also has a bronze and aluminum factory and it has its own touring dinosaur exhibits that it could put more time into marketing. Capitalizing on the other aspects of the business is what Amplify has been helping the company do.

“The strength of the company has always been dinosaurs,” May says. “But

with the diversification, we hope the other divisions will become as successful as that aspect. Successful business doesn’t happen overnight. It takes many years to build a network.”

To become involved in the Amplify program, the client intake process is flexible.

“If your company applies or is referred to Launch Lab, we’ll go through a series of initial conversations to find out where you’re at, what your internal capabilities are and what your growth potential is,” Runte says. “Clients typically come to the program through a referral from our entrepreneurs-in-residence, but there are occasions when companies knock on our

door and become Amplify clients almost right away. This was the case with Research Casting Inc. I think in all cases, as companies begin to work with us under Amplify, they come to realize the benefit of what a cross-functional advisory team can provide when you have expertise around the table, helping you drive your strategic decision-making.”

Runte likes to say that if you don’t know where you’re going, any road gets you there, but that’s not the way to succeed in business. A road map is essential for success.

Amplify is also ideally suited for companies that have raised some venture capital.

“When you’re a company that’s just raised some funding, you have the responsibility of managing that money to drive your growth. We’re all in a race to make our customers our No. 1 investor.

Amplify really is set up to help companies realize that objective and to give them every chance to be successful.”

To qualify for Amplify, clients must be generating revenue and experiencing the potential for accelerated growth; they must agree to monthly meetings and quarterly business reviews and they must be willing to put a plan in motion, be accountable to it and adjust when necessary.

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We want to use Amplify to help companies put in place a solid management structure. –Scott Runte, CEO of Launch Lab

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— SPONSORED CONTENT —

Launching digital leads

Digital Lead Generators has a goal of finding entrepreneurs customers while they sleep.

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W

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hen Launch Lab kicked off its Digital Main Street program to help businesses go digital, more than 200 businesses in Eastern Ontario took advantage of the service, much of which was subsidized by government funding during the pandemic. With that much uptake, Launch Lab officials knew it was a service they should extend.

Enter Digital Lead Generators, a forpay service from Launch Lab that invites Eastern Ontario businesses to consult experts on digital marketing and sales.

“For many of Digital Main Street clients, it was ‘let’s improve your company’s digital performance, in terms of your website — making it more of an online sales channel. “That was all supported by the federal government provided by FEDEV (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario). Now we’re putting a shingle up and saying ‘Let’s turn small business websites into lead-generation engines.’

We’ll improve your web presence and your branding so prospects looking for your solution or services online can easily find you.”

The program just launched in the beginning of August and the Launch Lab team has already generated some wins for its clients.

“We have a pipeline of clients that’s growing,” says Stephen Beamish, director of marketing for Launch Lab . “It’s proof that post-pandemic, we’re seeing a lot of people becoming more comfortable with

digital, so we need to make sure that the brands of these businesses are shining through. When our clients are sleeping, their prospects should be searching the web and finding them. They wake up in the morning and have clients who want to talk to them.”

Beamish says when you think about the old way of doing business — whereby people walk down Main Street and look in windows — what he’s trying to achieve isn’t much different.

“My goal is to get them to open that door and step inside,” he says. “Any digital presence that helps that person stop and say ‘I should talk to these people’ is what we want.”

Clients who sign on to the program start with a free discovery session with the Digital Lead Generator team from Launch Lab, to determine what their biggest challenges are and what they’re looking to improve. Many of them have a website, but they don’t know what to do with it, or they’re not getting much traffic and don’t know how to attract it.

“We help them pop up on Page 1 of Google,” he says. “We do all the social media, build digital newsletters, nurture their customers, build lead-generation campaigns and, for those who want to spend money, we can suggest Google and social media advertising. We understand that very well.”

The other attractive part of the program is that some of the students who were hired on contract for the Digital Main Street initiative have now

Stephen Beamish, director of marketing, Launch Lab.

170

Number of jobs current Amplify clients are supporting

been hired full-time as Digital Lead Generators.

“From their previous work, these graduates have learned about the specific challenges these businesses face and they’ve become better at understanding them. Ultimately, we’re selling a benefit.”

The program varies in length

$25M Total annual revenue generated by current Amplify clients

according to the needs of the client, but most engagements run one to two months, after which clients can expect improved web traffic, resulting in more qualified leads and an overall improved digital presence that expands their addressable market. The costs tend to run between $3,000 and $5,000.

THE INNOVATION CENTRE LE CENTRE D’INNOVATION

POWERED BY LA UNCH LA B

— SPONSORED CONTENT —

GETTING AMPED UP: These three companies credit Amplify with much of their success.

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Kyle Dine, founder and CEO, Equal Eats

EQUAL EATS Kyle Dine has a lot of food allergies: He can’t eat peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, seafood and mustard.

“I went to Morocco and basically ate protein bars the whole time,” Dine says.

So the lover of travel, whose wife is celiac and therefore can’t consume gluten, decided to do something about that dilemma. Enter Equal Eats, a company that offers printed cards detailing one’s particular allergies and dietary

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ENERGY TECH SOLUTIONS Darcy Day had been a plumber for 20 years when he discovered a niche that needed to be filled and he jumped at the chance. To improve energy efficiency, mechanical rooms in buildings such as high-rises, factories and schools are all required to insulate their pipes according to building codes and Day saw that there weren’t enough contractors doing that work. Day approached a construction colleague — Ben Elliott — and they decided to launch Energy Tech Solutions. In four years, the company has grown from one employee to 10 and it has doubled its client base year over year.

“We started off very small,” Day says. “Now, we’re one of the biggest competitors in the Ottawa Valley.

Valley Heartland, which supports businesses within Lanark County and North Leeds by providing access to capital and financing, helped early on and that organization introduced the partners to Launch Lab. “Early on, a lot of the banks don’t like to talk to you,” Day says. “Launch Lab’s Amplify program was a game-changer for the business.”

Since then, Launch Lab has helped Day with everything from business structure and financials to marketing.

“They’re wizards when it comes to business operation,” Day says. “These guys eliminate problems before they happen. They set you up for scenarios and situations. Most companies don’t look forward. They take the trial and error out of everything.”

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SWEATERGANG COMPANIONS Sweatergang Companions started out in 2013 as a Smiths Falls company that provided companionship for seniors who were suffering the effects of isolation — or trying to prevent it.

Today, it serves all of Eastern Ontario and is rapidly expanding outside those borders. And, it has grown from one employee — founder and CEO Christine Wilson — to 130.

Wilson says she owes much of her success to the services she accessed Christine Wilson, founder and at Launch Lab, specifically the Amplify CEO, Sweatergang Companions program for companies that are seeing some success and ready to grow.

“They mentored me, provided marketing advice and gave me contacts I wouldn’t have been able to access,” Wilson says.

She points to an example: She was debating about whether to continue with a corporate model or pivot to franchising.

“I had a call with the first person to franchise Harvey’s — he brought Harvey’s to Ontario,” she says, adding that the contact was initially made by Launch Lab CEO Scott Runte. “That contact I would never have been able to get on my own.

In the end, we decided to go with the corporate model.”

The Amplify program also helped her scale and structure her business.

“Business owners are often not good at everything aspect of running a business”Wilson says. “I was comfortable with the fundamentals of what the company would do and how it would operate. I was passionate about the services I was providing. However, there were areas that I needed guidance on and Amplify helped me understand and implement processes that set me up for success in the future.”

As for the name of her company? Wilson says she wanted a name that people would find comforting and reassuring, just like a sweater when it’s cold.

“Sweatergang Companions is really a group of caring and compassionate individuals who impact people positively,” she says.

restrictions, or a digital card to keep on your phone.

Dine creates fully customized cards with 500 allergens available in 50 languages— printed on plastic wallet-sized cards— that diners can hand to staff when they’re exploring menu options. This is particularly important in foreign countries where there’s a language barrier, something Dine knows all too well after having an anaphylactic reaction to an allergen because of a communication breakdown.

With a growing awareness and understanding of food allergies around the world, the company has an interesting niche that has attracted the attention of the Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Guardian, The New York Times and the Martha Stewart Show. But the pandemic dealt it a blow when everyone on the planet stopped travelling and eating in restaurants. Yet, over the summer of 2021, as restrictions started to ease, business started to ramp back up. During that period, Launch Lab has been there to help.

“I’m very new to the program,” Dine says of Launch Lab’s Amplify. “I’ve only met with its experts a handful of times, but I feel there’s support there for the future. As an entrepreneur, the buck stops with me, which is fine, but to have people to talk to about strategy is very helpful. In short, there’s someone above me, who holds me to another standard. I also hold myself to a high standard, but I’m aware of my blindspots.”

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EASTERN ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL FALL 2021

Pridham’s Auctions & Appraisals celebrates a decade of fine art expertise in the capital

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2021 marks a significant milestone for Pridham’s Auctions & Appraisals, as the company celebrates its 10th year as a wellestablished and thriving business in Ottawa.

Robin Pridham, president of the auction house, has been an industry leader for the last 35 years. He is a graduate of the oldest auctioneer’s school in North America, Reppert’s Auction School (Indiana, U.S.), and a member of the National Auctioneers Association. Pridham’s specializes in selling valuables such as fine and decorative arts, Canadiana, silver, jewelry, as well as militaria.

Pridham says he is proud of the work his company has achieved in the last 10 years, particularly the high level of trust he and his team establish with their clients.

Surrounded by leading department experts, Pridham and his team consistently conduct thorough research, follow a rigorous appraisal process and record market trends to ensure fair pricing.

The high standards Pridham’s holds assures clients that they will receive a fair appraisal and positive experience when visiting the local auctioneer.

Operating from its 4,000-square-foot gallery on Lancaster Road, Pridham’s sources rare works of art and fine objects from estates and individuals who wish to sell their pieces to the international art market.

“We are a fine art auction house with an international reach. We pride ourselves on that. We have clients in all major cities in the world,” says Pridham.

The company’s increasing

Robin Pridham, president of Pridham’s Auctions & Appraisals

international reach has also allowed the local team to continuously expand over the past decade. Even throughout the last 18 months, Pridham’s hired new employees to keep up with the growing demand.

The local auctioneer and appraiser has handled several notable sales over the years, including the sale of a Jean Paul Riopelle painting for $80,000, a Louis XV Small Québec pine armoire to an Ottawa Museum for $106,000 and a Picasso drawing, which sold for $60,000.

Recalling these successes Pridham mentioned, “our track record is an important part of our business model. It comes from trust, and by doing exactly what we say we’re going to do.”

When asked what 10 years of business in Ottawa meant to him, Pridham expressed that it was a reminder of his team’s evolution and development. More personally, it was a symbol of personal perseverance and his resolve to create real relationships with clients

Louis XV Small Québec pine armoire

Jean Paul Riopelle painting

that are built on a foundation of mutual trust. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, especially during an unprecedented period of economic uncertainty, feels like a serious graduation and a reminder that Pridham’s is well positioned to be Ottawa’s top fine art auction house.

Visit pridhams.ca to find out more about Pridham’s suite of services

TECHNOLOGY Lianne Ing, vice-president of Bubble Technology Industries, works with a team to support radiation and explosives detection for defence, counter-terrorism and space exploration applications. PHOTO BY AMANDA WALKER

INNOVATION AT THE FOREFRONT

BY KIMBERLEY FALK Innovative technology is not just the domain of Ottawa’s “Silicon Valley North.” This mature industry, whose roots are in Ottawa, has grown beyond the capital’s borders and now finds itself in enclaves all over Eastern Ontario.

As the future of the region, and indeed society, becomes increasingly fuelled by technology, Eastern Ontario boasts many advantages and key players.

Whether global powerhouse Ross Video or defence darling Bubble Technology Industries Inc., technology in Eastern Ontario is a going concern. In short, the region is home to many innovative and tech-savvy leaders using their creative minds and teams to drive change, improve productivity and encourage sustainability.

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TECHNOLOGY

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TECHNOLOGY TERRY O’REILLY

PRESIDENT AND CEO OF PRICEDEX SOFTWARE INC.

DAVID ROSS

CEO AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF ROSS VIDEO David Ross has been involved with the family business, Ross Video, since he was a child. His family moved to Iroquois from Montreal when the company was only one year old. “My biggest business accomplishment is without question the transformation of Ross from a small tech business to the global powerhouse that it is today,” says Ross, who will soon be able to claim that Ross Video has grown to more than 100 times its size since the day he took over in 1991.

Although Ross Video continues to grow, he’s maintained its small company feel. “We have the processes and quality of a global company, but we’ve kept our focus on people and have a high standard for how we all treat each other,” Ross says.

“It’s been quite a run and we’re not done yet,” says Ross, who is overseeing an expansion that will double the size of the factory in Iroquois and add more jobs for the community.

Pricedex Software Inc. develops and supports the leading product information software systems in the automotive and heavy-duty aftermarket business space in Brockville. “We have no Canadian customers, so we are a 100 per cent importer of money into the Canadian economy,” says O’Reilly, who adds he is proud of his part in turning an almost insolvent company into one that has enjoyed modest but continuous success and stability for more than 20 years.

The Pricedex team strives to be an active contributor to its community, moved to action through the “tremendous respect and admiration we have for other business leaders in this community who also serve and support, in various ways, the overall quality of life here,” O’Reilly says. “We are moved by the genuine belief that communities are what we make them.”

LIANNE ING

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VICE-PRESIDENT OF BUBBLE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES INC.

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Initially from Deep River, Lianne Ing has been with Chalk River’s Bubble Technology Industries since 2003. “BTI develops advanced technologies to support a number of important radiation and explosives detection missions in defence, counter-terrorism and space exploration,” Ing says. “As a result, our work supports public safety and the advancement of science.”

Although being a small business means “there are always more things on the to-do list than there are hours in the day,” Ing advocates for small businesses on the board of directors of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, volunteers and engages with her community and mentors the next generation of professionals in her field. Her greatest accomplishment is securing BTI’s first contracts with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “That was not an easy feat for a small Canadian company, but we were able to demonstrate our capabilities in research and technology development.”

We have the processes and quality of a global company, but we’ve kept our focus on people and have a high standard for how we all treat each other.

— David Ross, CEO and chairman of the board of Ross Video

TECHNOLOGY SAM KHAN

VICE-PRESIDENT OF ISTORM

CEO OF LAUNCH LAB

Launch Lab Kingston is the first regional innovation centre in the Ontario Network. The lab provides strategic business advice to rural and urban companies starting, growing and scaling their businesses. A team of advisers from different backgrounds works together to engage with the next generation of entrepreneurs. CEO Scott Runte has lived in Eastern Ontario his whole life and has spent several years innovating in and around Ottawa and the 401 corridor.

“The impact that Launch Lab has had on 100-plus companies from Cornwall to Belleville dwarfs any of the individual success I may have,” says Runte. When faced with a challenge, says Runte, “you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. That’s part of what makes a successful entrepreneur.”

Launch Lab now has a renewed mandate with the province to continue to support Eastern Ontario innovation. “It’s an opportunity to continue being a catalyst and a voice for innovation.”

Our goal is to address the gap that’s inhibiting the development of better therapeutic approaches.

— Anne Vivian-Scott, president and CEO of Kinarm

ANNE VIVIAN-SCOTT

PRESIDENT AND CEO OF KINARM

BOARD CHAIRMAN OF SIGMAPOINT TECHNOLOGIES

SigmaPoint Technologies is an original equipment manufacturer of prototypes, supply chain management and design review. The organization contributes to the local economy by offering annual scholarships for up to 10 students each year and hiring eight to 15 university students every summer.

Tom Kaneb, the board chairman, grew up in Cornwall and has been in the area most of his adult life. He dedicates his time to entrepreneurial activities as well as being on the board and an investor in Fieldless Farms, an indoor farming operation in Cornwall.

One of Kaneb’s greatest accomplishments was raising $12 million, six times more than any previous campaign, for the Hospital Capital Campaign in 2006, which he cochaired with his wife.

Kaneb continues to be active in the community and is heavily involved with the Cornwall Innovation Centre, now known as CREATE. “We’re hoping to build a local Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry branch of the Angel Network, which will give local businesses an opportunity to access resources and funding that hasn’t been there before.”

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Anne Vivian-Scott leads a team of 10 who are all seeking to help neuroscientists answer questions about how the brain works. The Kinarm, which spun out of Queen’s University in 2004, is a complex robotic instrument that studies different parts of the brain.

“There are very poor tools to understanding whether the brain is healthy or not,” Vivian-Scott says. “Our goal is to address the gap that’s inhibiting the development of better therapeutic approaches.”

There are now 120 Kinarm robotic instruments in 16 different countries serving hundreds of customers. The company is now pushing for its instrument to become a registered medical device and a tool for supporting brain injury and diseases in mainstream clinical care.

Vivian-Scott, who is originally from the Toronto area, applauds the many programs available to Queen’s students to help them stay in the area upon graduation. She says her biggest accomplishment is “being able to work with really smart people who can solve tough problems.”

TOM KANEB

EASTERN ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL FALL 2021

Sam Khan has been an entrepreneur in residence for Invest Ottawa and Launch Lab and is on an Innovation Board (DDIQC) at Queen’s University — and that’s what he does in his spare time. His day job is as vice-president of operations and business development at iStorm, a media and digital marketing company located in Kingston. iStorm also focuses on custom software development in online gaming, tourism, human resources, consumer products and other industries.

“The biggest challenge is aligning client expectations with budgets … and keeping your reputation intact,” says Khan, “I’ve mentored close to 300 companies at Launch Lab/Invest Ottawa over 12 years to scale their business and generate more than $15 million a year in sales and customer transactions for clients.”

Khan has a soft spot for Eastern Ontario. “I want the [whole] area to survive and prosper. The only way we can do that is if we keep the community engaged and allow people to build businesses that can scale within the area and create jobs.”

Currently, Sam is personally is advising and helping raise investment capital for a carbon boat manufacturer who is creating the first electric compulsion system for a luxury boat. “It’s basically like a Tesla in the water,” Khan says. The company plans on having a showroom for the boat located in Eastern Ontario. The company currently has manufacturing in Arnprior. .

SCOTT RUNTE

SOUTH DUNDAS EASTERN ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL FALL 2021

Where You Belong

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New housing development: 185 Unit Dutch Meadows subdivision.

Industrial/commercial growth and unique manufacturers: Ross Video, Kavo Kerr, Evonik.

No development charges and low tax rates

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Availability of land: New fully serviced industrial park, land cost $24,000 per acre.

Strategic location with three Highway #401 interchanges

South Dundas Economic Development Services • www.southdundas.com Email: rhunter@southdundas.com • Phone #613-543-2673

SOUTH DUNDAS

André Pommier, owner of Pommier Jewellers, is at the helm of his family’s company, which was founded in 1937.

PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

SMES MAKE EASTERN ONTARIO

BY KIMBERLEY FALK

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Entrepreneurship propels Canada’s economy, which is made up largely of small- and medium-sized businesses. The same is true of Eastern Ontario’s economy. Each day, small businesses deliver goods and services to their customers, creating relationships and impacting their communities through charitable work. Each economy depends on the hard work and dedication of these entrepreneurs.

Small businesses across Eastern Ontario, from retail stores to restaurants, proved their resiliency by surviving the lockdowns of a pandemic. They pivoted and found creative ways to continue to serve and support their customers and communities. Small businesses — everything from a landmark jeweller to a family-owned bed and breakfast — make up more than 70 per cent of Canadian jobs.

EASTERN ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL FALL 2021

RESTAURANTS, RETAIL & SERVICES

RESTAURANTS, RETAIL & SERVICES JANET CAMPBELL

OWNER OF MRS. MCGARRIGLE’S FINE FOOD Mrs. McGarrigle’s Fine Food shop has been in business since Janet Campbell began selling handmade mustards in 1988. Since then, it has grown and evolved to include fine foods, specialty items and products made by local farms and artisans in the Merrickville area. Its wholesale product line has won awards and expanded to more than 300 stores.

For the past 10 years, Campbell has focused on local products. “I like mentoring people just starting out,” she says. “I’m excited about new food and entrepreneurs and I’m proud to have them in my store.”

Campbell’s daughter, Hailey, has come back to work in the store, assuring the founder that the business will go on when she retires. With a staff of 10 people, Campbell believes she’s created a little community within the store. Recently, Mrs. McGarrigle’s has introduced charcuterie to go with cheeses from local makers as well as subscription boxes featuring local producers. Campbell is most proud of her olive oil selection, which she sources herself while taking small groups on tours to Italy.

Janet Campbell, left, owner of Mrs. McGarrigle’s Fine Food, is now working alongside her daughter, Hailey, who guarantees a succession plan for the business.

LIISA AND ROBERT SALZMANN

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OWNERS OF CLYDE HALL BED & BREAKFAST

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“Clyde Hall is such a unique property and is considered by many to be the crown jewel in the quaint village of Lanark,” say Liisa and Robert Salzmann, coowners, who responded to our questions together by email. The two left jobs at a five-star hotel in Toronto five years ago to start their new venture.

Clyde Hall is more than just a B&B to the Salzmanns. Dedicated to supporting the community, the business donates to the local museum and hosts high tea each year. The Salzmanns served more than 1,200 people prior to the pandemic as part of the CFUW heritage house tour and helped to raise more than $40,000.

The pandemic was a huge challenge for Clyde Hall’s owners. “It was scary, but we were determined to make Clyde Hall a destination that people want to come to.”

Since reopening in June 2021, Clyde Hall remained at near-full capacity throughout the summer.

ROB MCINTOSH

OWNER OF ROB MCINTOSH UNIQUE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

What began as one store in Cornwall Square in 1979 had, at one time, grown to become 33 shops across Canada, with 16 pages in the Sears Wishbook by the year 2000. Success, yes, but it became too much of a good thing for owner Rob McIntosh and his family, who sell everything from chocolate and coffee to collectibles and games.

“There is a Rob McIntosh joke that we opened and closed 65 stores in 15 years,” says McIntosh. “After downsizing to our one 23,000-square-foot location in Lancaster, the excitement became how to provide a quality, fun and energized retail experience.”

McIntosh is proud of his Scottish Canadian roots and is a major supporter of the community of South Glengarry. “Enthusiasm and energy in a business translate into enthusiasm and energy in the community,” says McIntosh, who is a significant employer in the area.

When asked what the future of Rob McIntosh Unique Shopping Experience will be, McIntosh responds, “I personally have no idea, but it will be fun.”

Enthusiasm and energy in a business translate into enthusiasm and energy in the community. — Rob McIntosh, owner of Rob McIntosh Unique Shopping Experience

RESTAURANTS, RETAIL & SERVICES NICK GILMOUR

OWNER OF GILMOUR’S MARKET

Gilmour’s Market in Harrowsmith provides the surrounding communities with a one-stop place to shop for meats and other products from local farmers and businesses. With another location in Belleville and a growing investment company on his hands, Nick Gilmour has grown his business on community partnerships, sponsorship and excellent customer service. Giving back to the community is a huge part of what Gilmour’s Market is all about. “Our role as business owners and entrepreneurs is to give back and to support the communities that support us.

“Our business is important to the community because we offer quality and convenience to a rural area,” says Gilmour, who enjoys “starting businesses in areas that I know are under-serviced and against the common consensus of where a business could be successful, then watch that hard work pay off.”

Gilmour’s investment company is Nick Gilmour Inc., which helps individuals who want to get into business.

DAVID ROBINSON

FOUNDER OF FRACTAL WORKSPACE

Fractal Boutique Workspace and Social House opened in the west end of Kingston in 2019 and has become a hub for small businesses and freelancers to meet, collaborate and work in a welcoming environment.

“The biggest impact we have had since opening Fractal is connecting like-minded people with other like-minded people who can often change their lives,” says founder David Robinson, “Working as an independent can often be lonely and seeing how members make new friends and colleagues is beautiful.”

Growing up in Sharbot Lake while working for his family’s business taught Robinson the true value of community, family and business. Robinson’s proudest moments have been raising his twins while starting his own business venture. The plan is to become a B-Corp, which measures success by the amount of positive impact it has on the stakeholders. “Business as a force for good is something I believe in.”

Our business is important to the community because we offer quality and convenience to a rural area.

— Nick Gilmour, owner of Gilmour’s Market

OWNER OF WELLER PHARMACY

Pommier Jewellers dates back to 1880, when the Pommiers, a family of watchmakers, optometrists and jewellers, moved from France to Montreal. After moving from Rockland, the Cornwall location has been operating since 1937 and was passed down to André Pommier in 1986.

Pommier considers jewelry-making his “magical work,” but his love for helping people makes it about more than just the jewelry. “I’m a great jeweller, but I’m an even greater person to listen and have empathy for people,” says Pommier. Pommier has grown the family business into more than he ever thought it would be. The store has become a landmark in the community, giving back to other businesses and donating pieces to the graduation classes of the high schools each year.

Pommier Jewellers has also grown in the pandemic. “People rely on our store for more than jewelry. People want an experience.”

Much of this success, Pommier says, is a result of Cornwall’s strength through the pandemic thanks to unused savings from vacation funds, as well as his amazing staff, the booming demand by Canadians for Pommier’s certified Canadian gold and diamonds and the company’s striking ability to adapt its traditional business model amid the pandemic.

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As a frontline community, clinical and compounding pharmacist, certified immunizer, health-care management consultant and the owner and manager of Weller Pharmacy, Tarek Hussein’s impact on the community reaches much further. Amid Hussein’s many active roles within the City of Kingston, he is the 2021 chairman of the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce.

Hussein has been a pharmacist for more than 25 years and considers his roots to be in changing people’s lives every day. “Our clients see us as a community hub as we deliver unparalleled customer experience beyond just dispensing medications,” says Hussein, who’s especially proud to have delivered more than 1,775 COVID-19 vaccinations within 100 days.

“Weller Pharmacy is the first pharmacy in Ontario designated as a sustainable business and a living wage champion,” says Hussein. The pharmacy is dedicated to diversity in the workplace and was awarded the Greatest GHG Reduction Emissions Award in Kingston by reducing its carbon footprint by 21 per cent last year.

OWNER OF POMMIER JEWELLERS

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TAREK HUSSEIN

ANDRÉ POMMIER

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aA Fflexible LEXIBLE

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Our flexible products allow you to create pods that meet the needs of the environment and offer its occupants a place to do their best work.

Sahiza Hossenbaccus, general manager of SnapCab, examines specs with a colleague. PHOTO BY ROB MOOY

A GREAT ECONOMIC DRIVER

BY CHARLES ENMAN

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The manufacturing sector is one of the greatest drivers of all western economies. In Ontario at large, for example, it contributes 12 per cent of GDP — with only real estate, rental and leasing ahead, and only by one percentage point.

In Eastern Ontario, there are players that are on the leading edge in manufacturing sophistication and innovation. There are smaller players as well — not always relying on vanguard technology, but highly innovative and creative in their execution of product design and function, who are finding the world their oyster as they search for markets.

More than 47,500 people are working in the manufacturing sector in Eastern Ontario, and the 12 post-secondary institutions in the region have more than 15,300 students enrolled in engineering, mathematics and science disciplines, as well as in applied skills programs for trades and technology. A new cohort of manufacturing workers is rising.

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MANUFACTURING

MANUFACTURING SAHIZA HOSSENBACCUS

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GENERAL MANAGER OF SNAPCAB

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Sahiza Hossenbaccus has crossed wide divides of culture and geography to become an important player in the world of manufacturing in Eastern Ontario.

Hossenbaccus is the general manager and CFO of SnapCab, a Kingston-based company that produces a line of stand-alone office pods that provide private workplaces for offices, industrial workplaces and even the health-care sector.

Hossenbaccus was born in Mauritius, a small island nation off the east coast of Africa. Always seeking personal and professional growth, she pursued accounting studies in the United Kingdom before moving to Canada in 2002. Once here, she earned her CPA and MBA designations.

All this was brought to bear at SnapCab, which provided her with “the ideal platform to participate in the scaling up of the business.”

Hossenbaccus regards the company’s response to the COVID pandemic as one of its greatest achievements during her tenure.

“We pivoted from meeting room pods to stand-alone offices,” which helped with social distancing. The company, in concert with the Kingston medical community, also developed the “SnapCab Care” — a mobile exam room that allows medical workers to test patients at a local COVID-19 assessment centre.

GUY ROBICHAUD

FOUNDER OF LAMINACORR For Guy Robichaud, founding Laminacorr, one of the largest independent corrugated plastic products manufacturers in North America, brought to fruition a lifelong dream.

In his late 20s, Robichaud trained as an industrial engineering technician and was working his way up the ladder at a large corrugated plastics manufacturer, but feeling dissatisfied. He had always wanted to run his own business and be his own boss. Though it was difficult, he and his wife raised the initial funds on their own. In 1998, they founded Laminacorr Industries, currently located in the Cornwall Business Park.

There have been bumps in the road. The company faced potential ruin in 2008 when the financial crisis devastated sales and amplified the weight of company debt. For two years, it was touch and go. But there’s been a remarkable uptick in the company’s fortunes and sales have doubled in the last five years.

Robichaud’s remaining ambition, now that he’s on a roll, is to acquire a company in the United States.

He and his wife “hope to leave a successful company to our daughters.”

If you can truly focus on common goals and aspirations, the possibilities are endless.

Establishing a common bond and developing trust is paramount to success.

— Dan Mellen, General manager of KI Canada

YVES ROCHON

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AT MAGELLAN AEROSPACE Yves Rochon has worked for 37 years at the Magellan Aerospace site at Haley Station, where, for the past seven years, he has been director of operations. He graduated from Algonquin College in 1984 as a mechanical engineering technologist and was soon working at Magellan.

He has had many roles at the company, including quality technologist, technical sales representative, planning manager and production manager. “This variety of roles has enabled me to become a very well-rounded business manager,” he says. One of his main responsibilities is to ensure that the plant remains at the forefront of evolving technology. As far back as 10 years ago, Magellan was incorporating 3D printing into its production process. Its parts are in the most sophisticated aircraft, including the Lockheed Martin F-35. A major challenge going forward will be continued adaptation to leading edge technologies, including 3D printing of metals, which Rochon says could completely revolutionize half the processes used in the plant.

DAN MELLEN

GENERAL MANAGER OF KI CANADA

In his 12 years as general manager of KI Canada in Pembroke, the world’s sixth largest producer of office furniture, Dan Mellen has worked to improve plant operations from all perspectives. His biggest accomplishments, shared with staff, are remarkable improvements in manufacturing efficiency (nudged up from 70 per cent to the high 90s), improved quality control and a safety record that now sees the company get an annual rebate from its insurer. In recent years, KI Canada, more often than not, has been chosen as plant of the year within the KI Corporation, which also operates several factories in the United States and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Mellen’s management philosophy explains the accomplishment: “If you can truly focus on common goals and aspirations, the possibilities are endless. Establishing a common bond and developing trust is paramount to success.”

Mellen acquired his management chops through working with a range of manufacturing companies in Ontario and Saskatchewan. Along the way, always wanting to boost his communicative reach, he acquired a conversational command of Japanese and Spanish.

MANUFACTURING JOE OLENICK

GENERAL MANAGER OF IVACO ROLLING MILLS Joe Olenick of Ivaco Rolling Mills in L’Orignal has steel-working in his blood. He’s a “third-generation steel worker” who began working as a mechanical engineer in a steel plant outside Pittsburgh 46 years ago. His career path took him through two other plants, in increasingly responsible management roles, until Ivaco recruited him in 2000. Something must have worked because Ivaco, with annual production of close to a million tons, is an industry leader in the production of hot-rolled wire rod of a quality Olenick says is unsurpassed in North America.

The company’s biggest achievement during his tenure has been the upgrade of the steel plant itself, completed in 2016. New equipment and processes ensured significant reduction in pollutants and noise as well as lower cost of production. The energy saved each year could provide power for 26,000 homes.

The company strives to be “a good corporate citizen,” Olenick says. This is seen not only in emission reductions, but even in the colour the company chose for the exterior of the plant — “a nice blue, like water, to give a tranquil look.”

His philosophy is to seek excellence in everything. “My father used to say, ‘If you’re doing it, do it well enough so you would put your name on it‘.”

CYNTHIA SEGUIN

TODD STAFFORD

PRESIDENT OF NORTHERN CABLES

As Northern Cables celebrates its 25th year of operation this year, president Todd Stafford can look back with satisfaction on a quarter century of business growth. The company’s biggest accomplishment is “going from zero to 216 employees and three factories in 25 years.”

The company’s six principals had worked previously for BICC Phillips Cables, which closed its Brockville plant in 1996. At Phillips, Stafford worked as a unit manager and process engineer. When the six decided to create Northern Cables, they were starting truly from scratch, with no plant, no machinery and no customers — three downsides that were not totally daunting because, as Stafford says, “You can’t do anything in this world without power.”

Today, the company operates around the clock, manufacturing four million metres of armoured cable each month for industrial and commercial customers.

It’s been quite an ascent for a man who, four decades ago, was working as an electrician in Saskatchewan.

The company remains on a strong upward trajectory. Besides introducing new products, it plans to expand aggressively with the addition of a fourth facility in a couple of years.

Throughout this difficult period, we dismantled a good section of the plant and ‘remantled’ it with new equipment, sometimes with assistance from technicians in Italy instructing us over Zoom.

— Cynthia Seguin, General manager of Alexandria Moulding

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GENERAL MANAGER OF ALEXANDRIA MOULDING In her 20 years at Alexandria Moulding, the last five as general manager for Canada, Cynthia Seguin has seen great growth in the company, which is the largest manufacturer of solid wood and composite mouldings in Canada, and has significant operations in the United States. In her student days, Seguin had no thought of working for a wood plant. Her training was in chemical engineering. Her early years in the company were mostly in quality control, not management. “But this company provides an abundance of opportunities,” she says.

As general manager, Seguin has been able to lead a significant expansion project in the Alexandria plant even during the pandemic. “Throughout this difficult period, we dismantled a good section of the plant and ‘remantled’ it with new equipment, sometimes with assistance from technicians in Italy instructing us over Zoom,” she recalls.

The company has launched new products and streamlined manufacturing processes. But Seguin counts one of her major achievements as simply keeping the plant open and productive during a time of frightening health risk. “All the employees were giving, and motivated, and making their best contributions.”

THERE ARE ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES IN SDG COUNTIES Live and work where the quality of life is high, and the cost of living is some of the most affordable in the province. Our job options are bountiful. Come discover SDG Counties.

Looking to invest or start a new business, contact: Tara Kirkpatrick, SDG Counties, Manager of Economic Development tkirkpatrick@sdgcounties.ca

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For more info go to www.sdgcounties.ca

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Don’t miss out Join the EOBJ mailing list at eobj.ca.

A powerful new resource for entrepreneurs in Eastern Ontario

Tammy Parent, manager of the Lanark County Food Bank, helps look after 290 hungry families in the area. PHOTO BY MIKE CARRACCETTO

THE CORNERSTONE OF COMMUNITY

BY KIMBERLEY FALK Eastern Ontario is a diverse and unique area full of non-profits, charities and educational institutions. The area boasts a total of 12 schools of higher learning. From small community services to large non-profits, its non-profit organizations play their own role in driving economic and social change and development. Whether this be through dedicated health care in a hospital setting or exceptional education at one of the nation’s top universities, these organizations are advancing Eastern Ontario’s goals and creating cornerstones for building strong communities.

EASTERN ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL FALL 2021

CIVIC AND NON-PROFIT

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CIVIC AND NON-PROFIT PATRICK DEANE

PRINCIPAL, QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY, KINGSTON Born in South Africa, Patrick Deane came to Canada to pursue a human rights and constitutional law degree. He studied English instead, igniting a passion for teaching, which evolved into a career path of administrative leadership in higher education. As the principal of Queen’s University since 2019, Deane understands its importance to the community and he’s worked to build relationships to maximize the university’s impact on the community economically and socially.

Deane seeks to make higher education accessible to all those who can benefit from it.

“Everyone who can benefit should have access without barriers. Diversity has to be much more pronounced,” Deane says. “I am fortunate to be leading this institution at this time. There’s so much potential for change.”

Deane is excited to bring people back to the rewards of in-person study while being mindful of the new responsibilities in-person learning requires.

JEANETTE DESPATIE

EASTERN ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL FALL 2021

PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CORNWALL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

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Serving a catchment area of close to 100,000 residents, Jeanette Despatie leads a team of staff and physicians who strive to provide patient-centred health care to those in need, be it a newborn or a palliative patient. Despatie has spent most of her career within the health-care field.

She became chief executive officer at Hotel Dieu Hospital in 2000, which she later merged with the Cornwall General Hospital to become the redeveloped Cornwall Community Hospital (CCH).

“Thriving communities need accessible, quality health care, and CCH is an essential player in the delivery of health care in our communities,” Despatie says. “I believe it is extremely important for a hospital to have the confidence of its community. That’s why I work to ensure we educate our community on our services. It’s important that people know they can receive the same quality care at CCH as they would expect at a larger centre.”

Thriving communities need accessible, quality health care, and CCH is an essential player in the delivery of health care in our communities.

— Jeanette Despatie, president and chief executive officer, Cornwall Community Hospital

JAMIE BRAMBURGER

MANAGER OF COMMUNITY AND STUDENT AFFAIRS, ALGONQUIN COLLEGE

Jamie Bramburger has been working at Algonquin College for 23 years within student services, alumni relations, fundraising and more. Bramburger always puts his community first and believes that partnership and collaboration are key.

Bramburger is a promoter of all things Algonquin College, Pembroke and the Ottawa Valley.

“I love my community and I love my work,” Bramburger says. “I see every day how the college changes lives and that is what drives my passion.”

Bramburger played a large role in the development of the Pembroke campus of Algonquin College, which opened in 2021. There are now five private residences in Pembroke. “The advocacy, planning, media and fundraising changed the face of Pembroke as 1,000 full-time students are now welcomed each year.”

Through his active volunteerism and his extensive work with the community, Bramburger’s path led him to become a member of the board of directors of United Way East Ontario.

“The work the United Way has done has shone through during the pandemic,” he says.

CIVIC AND NON-PROFIT GLENN VOLLEBREGT

PRESIDENT AND CEO, ST. LAWRENCE COLLEGE Glenn Vollebregt has been president and CEO of St. Lawrence College’s three campuses since 2003. He has a strong history of senior leadership at the academic, municipal and private-sector level. Vollebregt is passionate about the economic development and success of these educational communities, seeing and nurturing their link to the academic success of his students. Among Vollebregt’s many accomplishments, he has increased enrolment to an all-time high of 10,000 and international student numbers have jumped from 85 to 2,000. The importance he puts on time with his family and a work-life balance is the example he tries to set for all who work at SLC. Vollebregt has recently been reappointed to serve a third term in this job.

JOE MCBREARTY

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CANADIAN NUCLEAR LABORATORIES

TAMMY PARENT

MANAGER, LANARK COUNTY FOOD BANK, CARLETON PLACE

Col. John Vass is commander of the 4th Canadian Division Support Group (4 CDSG) as well as the Garrison Petawawa Commander.

Responsible for the delivery of institutional support to all Canadian Army units throughout Ontario, Col. Vass and his team play a huge role in many different areas, including maintenance, supply, information technology, human resources and more. “In my role as garrison commander, I am the de facto mayor and act as the Canadian Armed Forces senior representative to the local community.”

Col. Vass was born in Kingston and grew up in a military family. Having graduated from high school in Petawawa, he considers the community his home. Col. Vass has continued to deepen the relationship of the garrison with the town and the county.

“We maintain open lines of communication to ensure we have a united front. This was paramount as we navigated the challenges and limitations of the COVID-19 environment.”

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A typical day for Tammy Parent means maintaining stock and handling client intake and volunteers at the Lanark County Food Bank. But that’s not the whole picture. In her role as manager, she has done so much more for the 290 hungry families of Carleton Place and its surrounding region.

After the pandemic hit, the food bank was forced to change the way it did things. “We were able to continue to provide a personalized service for clients by spacing out volunteers and the flow of traffic,” says Parent.

To be able to help people to go home feeling good and compliment the volunteers are what Parent believes sets their organization apart. “They’re more than just a number on a list,” says Parent.

The food bank, under Parent’s leadership, provides multiple services to the community, including home delivery, cooking classes and the Hunger Stop Academy for youth teams to learn about hunger. Its new volunteer-run garden will provide fresh produce to clients.

COMMANDER 4TH CANADIAN DIVISION SUPPORT GROUP

EASTERN ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL FALL 2021

Growing up in a small town near Baltimore, Maryland, and having worked previously with the U.S. Nuclear Submarine Force for 30 years, Joe McBrearty believes accountability and having a sense of purpose have always been important.

McBrearty became CEO of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories last year. In 2018, the Chalk River campus’s nuclear reactor was shut down. McBrearty and his team discovered ways to revitalize and reimagine the facility with its 3,400 workers, and change its mission and purpose. The campus became one of the world’s largest facilities dealing with nuclear cleanup and the environment. It also re-entered the market with ways to help and treat people diagnosed with cancer.

After the pandemic hit, “we answered a mission from the federal government to design, test and take to market an MVM ventilator within a few months. These didn’t touch the nuclear world,” says McBrearty. “Our people and company’s ability to respond to desperate needs was key. They came forward to protect and take care of our people.”

COLONEL JOHN VASS

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— SPONSORED CONTENT —

How homebuilders are responding to the work-from-anywhere trend

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ew communities can offer residents the opportunity to live in a resort-style home, in the heart of a vibrant neighbourhood surrounded by nature trails and tranquil landscapes while still maintaining their career. However, at Lépine’s developments in Carleton Place and Renfrew, residents can check all of those boxes — and more.

FIND A LÉPINE APARTMENT NEAR YOU Looking to transition to a premium apartment? Lépine Apartments has several locations across the Ottawa region for you to explore.

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An office with a view

• • Johanne’s Court development in Carleton Place.

Similarly, the nearby scenic pond, lush trees and ample greenspace provide a serene environment to spark creativity and recharge.

A new home awaits As growing numbers of professionals, families and retirees look to escape the city and find a new home in a quieter, more rural community, both are wellsuited to welcome residents of all ages.

“A lot of people have considered moving to a rural community but were afraid to give up the amenities and luxuries they were accustomed to in the city,” says Lépine. “Lépine Apartments locations are always strategically located. You have all the shops, restaurants and recreational

opportunities you need in one community.”

Whether you’re in search of a new backdrop for remote work or an upgrade from your current house, Lépine Apartments can help you find your next home.

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Howard Grant (Barrhaven) Johanne’s Court (Carleton Place) The Lépine Lodge in Renfrew Les Terrasses Francesca (Overbrook) Saint Émilion (Kanata) The Normand (Kanata)

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EASTERN ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL FALL 2021

In addition to providing professionals with the option of a quiet home office, units are designed to include comfortable and stylish living space.

The large suites feature panoramic windows and high ceilings, which highlight the open-concept layout.

Natural materials such as wood floors and ceramic tile are also featured throughout, giving the space a calming esthetic.

“Our goal is to provide a space where residents want to live, work, play and relax,” says leasing agent Cindy Massicotte. “These are great communities to build a future in.”

Tenants also have access to several on-site amenities.

Each complex is equipped with a professional fitness centre and yoga studio as well as underground parking and lounge areas for residents to enjoy.

Lépine Lodge in Renfrew will include a saltwater pool as the project expands.

While the spacious apartment units provide ample workspace, the professionally landscaped courtyard in the centre of the Johanne’s Court development can also be used for brainstorming or as a change of scenery.

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Local Love Making a Difference United Way Leeds & Grenville funded

agencies helped 26,500 clients last year. Together 50 United Way Leaders* donated over $200,000.

Thank you to all our Leadership donors for your generous support.

Leadership Challenge Grant This year, a generous donor, in our community, has stepped forward to provide a Leadership Challenge Grant opportunity to encourage the increase of Leadership gift giving.

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New Leadership Donors

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Consider becoming a new Leadership donor to Double the Impact of your generous gift.

•

A first-time donation of $1,200 or more, to the United Way Leeds & Grenville, will be matched to a maximum amount.

•

Increase your gift to $1,200, this year, and your gift will be matched dollar for dollar.

Renewing Leadership Donors If you are already a Leadership donor and are considering a donation increase, of at least 10%, the Leadership Challenge Grant will match the full amount of your donation – (up to a maximum amount).

Double the Impact!

For more information about Leadership giving and our Leadership Challenge Grant, contact us at info@uwlg.org

United Way Leeds & Grenville

42 George Street, Brockville ON K6V 5V7 Tel: 613-342-8889 www.uwlg.org

Leadership Giving Levels Transformational: $100,000+ Philanthropist: $25,000 - $99,999 Platinum: $10,000 - $24,999 Gold: $5,000 - $9,999 Silver: $2,500 - $4,999 Bronze: $1,200 - $2,499 *For a copy of our Leadership Honour Roll see our Annual Report by visiting www.uwlg.org

What cool stuff is being made?

Can manufacturing be a career for me?

Visit stuffmadeandbuilt.ca

EASTERN ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL FALL 2021

Thousands of local jobs in manufacturing

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EASTERN ONTARIO BUSINESS JOURNAL FALL 2021 EOBJ.CA

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YOUR BUSINESS BELONGS HERE.

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HIGHEST NUMBER OF CHEMICAL PROCESSING EXPERTS PER CAPITAL IN CANADA

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Interested in learning more connect with:

Abdul Jendi

Investment Manager, Sustainable Manufacturing Jendi@kingstoncanada.com | 613.544.2725