Trade Mission Draws Rave Reviews
A trade mission to Boston is drawing rave reviews from Nova Scotia engineering and architectural firms after five companies from Cape Breton and the metro area travelled to New England in early February and looked for partnership opportunities.
"I met with seven companies in two days," said Ken MacNeil of MacNeil Architectural Consultants Ltd., of Sydney. "I run a very small company and this trade mission made it possible for me to meet with architectural firms I would never have been able to connect with by myself.
"I've already had followup discussions with a couple of people since I got back, and I've got one good lead that could turn into solid business very soon."
"We've been having great success building new exports in the New England market," said Manning MacDonald, Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. "Nova Scotia companies are doing very well selling products and expertise.
"This is a strategic market for our province, and one that we're going to continue to develop."
Economic Development and Tourism has led 10 missions to the Boston area in the past 14 months. Those missions have led to sales worth nearly $50 million for 80 Nova Scotia companies.
"The North American Free Trade Agreement opens up international opportunities for Canadian engineers and architects," said Bryan Darrell of Economic Development and Tourism. "By creating partnerships with American companies, Nova Scotia professionals can gain access to new and larger markets.
"The biggest winners in this are the small to medium firms that up until now haven't been able to reach those markets."
Nova Scotia's proximity to Boston, and information technology, make it easy to work with New England companies, said Mr. MacNeil.
"Each firm I met with was using exactly the same software and working to the same standards as we do. Advances in computer-aided design and electronic mail allow me to work on a project in my office in Sydney," he said. "Then, if I have to go to Boston, I can get there in just a few hours."
Don Elder of the Jacques Whitford Group of Companies, an engineering firm with a foothold in American markets, said the trade mission was tremendously helpful.
"At least two, and perhaps three or four, of the seven meetings I had are almost certain to lead to new work for us," said Mr. Elder. "In fact, if several opportunities I discussed with these firms play out as well as appears possible, then we may well have new work for our staff in Canada, working with these firms on U.S. projects in the next few months.
"Assuming these are successful, I can see the work expanding from that level rapidly."
The trade mission of architects and engineers was sponsored by Economic Development and Tourism and the Office of Nova Scotia in New England in partnership with the Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Association of Architects and the Nova Scotia Consulting Engineers Association.
Another trade mission involving 16 companies from across Nova Scotia will leave for Boston later this week.