Thunder Bay Business April 2012

April 2012

Premier Dalton McGuinty Visits Thunder Bay See page 4 Removing the Untrustworthy Trustee NOSM’s Class of 2012 Matches 100% to Residency Programs Joint Delegation Preparing Next Steps for Ring of Fire 7 steps to boost your cold calling success Port of Thunder Bay Optimistic For A Succcessful 2012

WEQUEDONG LODGE OPENS ITS DOORS

See page 5 Local Company Grows See page 7

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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2012

WEQUEDONG LODGE OPENS ITS DOORS CLIENTS Continued From Page 5 The average client load for a week was 140, which was very financially burdenous for the corporation, as the occupancy of only 40 beds was too little to accommodates such numbers. Clients had to be farmed out to motels and hotels all over the city which was quite expensive but now with the new lodge, Mr. Morris is very happy to be able to have everything under one roof and that lends way to more control over the finances. The sense of accomplishment in being able to offer improved services is a great thing for such a small organization and that is the number one gratification. All went well with everyone on the board in the planning and decision making during the entire project and because the corporation operates autonomously, free range in decision making for the project eliminated a lot of the red tape other projects encounter.

If you have 140 clients a week, for 52 weeks, that equals 7280 clients. That's a lot of people who are in need of medical services and have to deal with 'where to stay?' along with the worry of their condition, but now they don't have to trouble themselves over that any longer thanks to the expansion project of Wequedong Lodge.

Mr. Habib of Habib Architects, explains that, this is another example of how an existing building can get a new life. The existing structure, formerly a school, was built in a different time, with different materials and methods,which had low

energy efficiencies and was deteriorating.

The entire building envelope has been upgraded and a substantial new building has been added. A strong green colour was used to unify the exterior for a fresh new look. As in most reconstruction projects, owners, designers and contractors had to overcome unknown challenges, keeping budgeting costs and time constraints in mind. Environmentally, more than fifty percent of the existing materials had been preserved, resulting in an enormous amount of savings. The new facility is bright and well planned out, with all the latest in technological maintenance man-

agement applications for efficient operations and for the comfort of the clients and business operations of the staff.

Be sure to watch for the Grand Opening

coming soon, of the Wequedong Lodge and stop in to see this self contained, modern facility and just what it offers to those in need.

THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2012

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Local Company Grows Despite Forestry Downturn: KBM Resources Inc

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

Thunder Bay BUSINESS KBM started as a company in 1968 when the partners got together as KBM Forestry.

Over the years it has grown and followed the forestry industry. They started to do so much more mining work that it was decided to change their name to KBM Resources.

In addition KBM Sales provides quality equipment and technical support for people who are out working in the woods.

The partners of KBM Resources Inc are primarily foresters. The forestry industry boomed for many decades and the company

started out mostly in reforestation and advising companies on rehabilitation, maximizing forest yields, how to protect sensitive sites, how to plant and restock areas.

The company has now broadened out to become one of the top national experts in forestry and rehabilitation. KBM Resources now operates Canada wide as well as in the US and other countries around the world.

There still are lots of forestry operations and there is a need for people who have skills in aerial photography analysis, providing digital mapping, forest inventories and providing governments and the companies with information on the ecological sensitivities.

“ It is a testimony to KBM that they survived the downturn in forestry to adapt to mining and all the other forms of resource development including the new alternative energies especially water, solar, wind and so on. KBM is a model company that has gone from 12 people at the bottom of the recession to 33 people now, essentially now hiring about 1 new person per month and doing work from coast to coast to coast.

You have to adapt or you don't survive,” said Ken Boschoff, Senior Environmental Consultant for KBM Resources Inc. “ Many mining companies are finding the skill set they need here at KBM with our two airplanes, state of the art digital cameras, on site aerial photography analysis all with modest costs because we are located here.

KBM has invested heavily in new equipment and provide fantastic quality.”

The KBM Resources Inc. owners are Peter Higgelke and Laird Van Damme.

Recently they have added 5 full partners.

These new partners are Arnold Rudy (GIS, GPS and Remote Sensing), Brad Chaulk (Photo Interpretation and Project Management), Ian Gillies (Flight Operations and Airborne Data Collection), Shawn Mizon (Photogrammetry and GIS), and Stephane Audet (Field Operations and Renewable Resources). Each of these partners bring a wealth of proven experience to

the firm as they move into new areas of service.

KBM is located in two buildings on Mooney Street down from the Greyhound Bus Terminal and the new Leon’s. The company is state of the art with new technology. For instance KBM Sales sell GPS’s but also provide instruction and servicing that is only available here from Winnipeg to Toronto. If you need student equipment they have it, they will keep you warm and you won’t get lost, noted Ken Boshcoff.

Continued on Page 8 Above: Ken Boschoff, Senior Environmental Consultant for KBM Resources Inc.

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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2012

Port of Thunder Bay Optimistic For A Succcessful 2012 Another navigation season is underway in the Port of Thunder Bay and although it is still early, Port officials are optimistic that the success of the 2011 season will continue through 2012. Overall cargo tonnage in

jump from 2010 with volumes more than doubling to a port record 1.4 million tonnes for the commodity.

The high tonnage of canola can be attributed to a strong Western Canadian crop

The Port of Thunder Bay is regaining recognition as Canada’s Gateway to the West – an important link in the supply chain for heavy, dimensional cargoes destined for mine sites, wind farms, and the Oilsands in Western Canada. Project cargo volumes handled at Keefer Terminal in 2011 reached a record high 100,000 freight tonnes.

The project cargo initiative was started by the Thunder Bay Port Authority in an effort to accomplish its strategic objective of diversifying and increasing the port’s cargo.

Project cargo volumes have climbed every year, and the trend is likely to continue in 2012. “We expect to see further increases,” says Tim Heney, CEO of the Port Authority, “We’ve developed a very competitive gateway, and offering back-haul grain for foreign ships delivering project cargo is certainly a benefit for the shipper.”

Wind turbine blades are offloaded from the MV BBC Orinoco in June 2011. The parts, shipped from Denmark, were stored temporarily at Keefer Terminal before being trucked to the Greenwich Wind Farm in Dorion, ON. 2011 was 7.6 million tonnes, up 11% from 6.9 million tonnes in 2010.

One of the Port’s success stories in 2011 was grain. A million more tonnes passed through the Port’s elevators in 2011 than in 2010, amounting to a 20% increase in shipments. Wheat remained the highest-volume grain through the port, totaling 4.4 million tonnes. Canola, however, made the biggest

yield in 2011. Experts are predicting another good season for canola, with seeded acres in Western Canada expected to be near record levels. Wheat acres are set to rebound from low levels in 2011 due to spring flooding.

Another of the Port’s success stories is its project cargo business, which has been growing steadily for the past seven years.

Other advantages of Thunder Bay include direct access to CN and CP railways and the TransCanada Highway, abundant skilled labor, and significant laydown areas for storage and staging which are constantly being expanded to satisfy demand. And, coming in 2012, a Liebherr LHM 320 Mobile Harbour Crane for Keefer Terminal.

Standing ten stories high, the LHM 320 was a bold investment by the Port Authority in partnership with the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation that will increase the Port’s competitiveness in the project cargo market.

The crane has a 104-tonne lifting capacity at an 18.5 metre outreach, meaning it can lift a wind turbine nacelle out of the middle of a ship and place it directly onto a truck or

In October 2011, equipment destined for the Bell Creek Mill in Timmins, ON is transferred from the MV Federal Power at Keefer Terminal railcar on the dock. It can reach even further for lighter lifts, and has impressive capacity for clamming bulk cargo out of a ship – up to 1,100 tonnes an hour. “This crane will make a difference in our cargo handling efficiency, it is the only one of its kind west of Montreal on the Seaway,” added Heney.

by Chris Heikkinen Communications & Research Coordinator Thunder Bay Port Authority

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