The Maritime companies involved - 27 of them through Nova Scotia Business Inc. (NSBI) - hope Alberta businesses that are running flat out will welcome the overtures made at two recent tradeshows in Calgary and Edmonton.
"We (NSBI) are responsible for growing an economy in Nova Scotia," says NSBI president and CEO Stephen Lund. "I was in India weeks ago, but here's an area in our own country that is booming."
Interest has been so high in forging such partnerships that the NSBI had to narrow the focus of the companies involved in the tradeshows, primarily due to the logistics of bringing an even larger contingent.
Participating companies in the Partner East event included manufacturers, metal fabricators and service providers.
"The boom in Alberta presents tremendous possibilities for partnership between Nova Scotia and Alberta companies," says Lund. "NSBI's Partner East initiative will provide Nova Scotia businesses the opportunity to showcase their skilled workforce, resources, attractive business costs and infrastructure - in essence, the solution to Alberta's labour issues."
The program's goal is to connect companies from the two provinces.
And early results show the two-city event was worthwhile, says Stacey McCarthy, NSBI's communications manager.
"Even though attendance wasn't high ... they were high-level representatives and they were interested," says McCarthy. "It was also beneficial as the (N.S.) companies spoke to other Nova Scotia companies that they wouldn't have otherwise connected with to see if they could find ways that they could work together back on their own turf. For them, it was a very big opportunity."
She added that it was the first time in the Alberta market for many of the 27 businesses. "It was far better for them than coming out on their own. They made inroads they would not have made on their own."
While no deals were immediately signed, McCarthy says a number of steps were taken in that direction.
In addition to tradeshows in both Edmonton and Calgary, the program consists of an advertising campaign, a web portal at partnereast.com, and the Nova Scotia Supply Shop, which allows Alberta companies to submit their needs online. In turn, that information is then sent to NSBI's business advisory team, which matches each request with a list of Nova Scotia companies capable of providing the requested products or services.
While the web portal and supply shop portion is similar to Icosmo.ca - an initiative by the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) to link Alberta suppliers to the oilsands with other companies across the country - Lund sees the two portals as complementary.
Donald Murray, manager of manufacturing resources for Trenton, N.S.-based steel fabricator TrentonWorks Ltd., says any overlap between the two programs is positive.
"We're a member of Icosmo and we hope to utilize all the access in there for (possible) connections," says Murray.
"We started pursuing opportunities out west earlier this year - late in the fall - and just happened to piggyback on to the trade mission out here," he adds. "We feel very strong that we can offer a lot of contributions to the industry out here with what we have. To date, we feel we're very competitive, considering the distance. But with our lower labour rates compared to (the wages) out here (in Alberta), it helps to offset the transportation costs."
Murray says it's obvious how busy companies are in Alberta. "It's very difficult to get into a lot of these companies, and we can appreciate that. We will be patient and hopefully the opportunity will come when we will be able to sit face to face with some of these companies and that they will make the time for us."
A.F. Theriault & Son Ltd., a 68-year-old shipbuilding company based in Meteghan, N.S., is not only looking for corporate partners - it's also trying to keep its own workforce in place.
"The principal reason we're here is that in the last two years, we saw 50 individuals leave our company to come out west to work in the Alberta oilfields," says Rob Gair, director of new construction. "We tend to be a target industry because we have a large number of welders and we have a large number of heavy-fitters, so they have good trade skills and they're quite appropriate to work in large-fabrication environments."
"We decided that what we needed to do is actually to look for opportunities and partner with companies in Alberta, so that we have a better chance of retaining our resources."
Early indications from the Partner East event showed some promise for the boat builder.
"There were two groups that we talked with that were very interested in what we did. One of them was an Aboriginal company working in northern Alberta and the second was a company that builds trailers with winch systems on the back - and we have a history of building winches," says Gair.
NSBI says a return trip to Alberta is in the works, although McCarthy says a second approach will likely be more personalized and include one-on-one contact with targeted firms.
"We want to make sure it's strategically planned," says McCarthy.
(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)
