thunder bay business janaury 2013

New Store For LongTime Thunder BayBased Company:Lowerys

New OfficeBuilding In

Thunder BayOne Of The

Most AdvancedIn Canada

\

Local Company DoesHurricane Sandy

Clean Up Work InNew York

When the Cat'sAway

Getting better front-line decisions - with-

out you

What A New EventsCentre Could Mean

To Thunder Bay

EXPANSION OFAVIATION-RELATED

INDUSTRIALPARK

UPBEAT HIRINGCLIMATE

EXPECTED FORTHUNDER BAY

January 2013

THUNDER BAY BUSINESS JANUARY 2013

Thunder Bay based company GridLink isback from several weeks of doing electri-cal work in New York after the devastationof Hurricane Sandy.

“ We were just down in New York work-ing on Hurricane Sandy starting out inVermont. Our company was invited tocome down three days before the stormhit. They sent us towards the coast andthen to Long Island for a few weeks. Wehad 8 staff and 7-bucket trucks there.There were high winds that knockedpower lines down. We worked at Bedfordin the Martha Stewart and Chevy Chase

neighbourhoods who had massive treescome down in their yards,” said JodyBernst, President & Owner of Grid Link.Jody is trained as a power line technicianand previously worked for Thunder BayHydro, Ontario Hydro, BC Hydro, in

California for a time and Alberta. “ It wasa good experience for our young staff andnice to see their different work proceduresand standards.”

Gridlink was founded in December2000. They currently have a staff of 20including administrative, technical andmechanical. The core of their work is inthe construction and maintenance of powerlines including hydro vac excavation,directional drilling, fiber optics and civilwork like line clearing and brushing.

“ Our clients are usually utilities andindustrial clients whom need a hook up ofpower. A mine needs to run power lines allover. We also work with Thunder Bay

Hydro in the areas of pole replacements,”said Jody Bernst. “ The business is goingwell.

“ It was a life experience for our guys towork in New York, to be right in the heart

of a natural disaster and help people gettheir lives back in order.” said SebastianBart Foglia who does business develop-ment for GridLink. “ My role is to greetthe customers and service them the bestwe can and also get new clients. Ourhealth and safety program in second tonone. In our line of work it is a high riskenvironment and having a high regard forsafety is important.”

Gridlink will come in to compliment theThunder Bay Hydro staff when they aretoo busy and can do private property lines.Typically the utility will end their line atthe property line and Gridlink will installthe rest to where the customer is going touse the power. There are stringent stan-

dards governed by the electrical authorityfor this type of work. Gridlink is a union-ized firm and subscribe to the safety rules.

“ We can do some routine tasks with outde energizing the line which allows theplant to keep operating. Gridlink is wellpositioned to meet some of the demand inthe mining area and we are expandingnow to meet the demand that is currentlybeing presented to our company. Theeconomy looks good from where we stand.My background in large utilities allows usto implement some good procedures in ourcompany.” said Bernst.Gridlink has just purchased a new larger

building on Mountdale Ave and will movetheir operation there next year.

Local Company Does Hurricane Sandy Clean Up WorkIn New York

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BY SCOTT A. SUMNERThunder BayBUSINESS

Sebastian Bart Foglia who does business development for GridLink and JodyBernst, President & Owner of Grid Link

THUNDER BAY BUSINESS JANUARY 2013 PAGE 3

Each November I make the 3-hour driveto Duluth to spend 5 days over theirThanksgiving period. My first priority is tocover the annual Amsoil Duluth NationalSnocross presented by Traxxs. This majorsnowmobile race attracts some 40,000spectators and 100’s of racers from all overthe world.

This year started out similar to the pastwith big concerns about snow availabilityfor the race track. In fact my car told me itwas 15 degrees Celsius on my way downon Thursday. The Spirit Mountain Ski areahas over 20 snow guns, so they had beenmaking snow, but is always a struggle itseems. This year the snow hit Thursdaynight and I woke up to a snowy scene inDuluth where the previous day there hadbeen none.

It is fun to stay at the Holiday Inn andSuites right downtown and connected byskywalks to Canal Park. This property iscurrently undergoing a $4 million renova-tion to all rooms and common areas. It will

be the place to stay in Duluth. The devel-opment of Duluth always amazes me espe-cially at their waterfront and with the large

freeway like road system they have.This year the timing was right to attend a

UMD Bulldogs Men’s Hockey game whenthey played against St Cloud, MN.

There has been lots of talk about ourown events centre in Thunder Bay andattending a game at the new $80 millionAmsoil Arena will certainly give you aglimpse of what could happen here inThunder Bay. This arena is really a miniNHL facility with 6700 seats and manycorporate boxes and a fantastic media setup. They have a large general media area,Home TV, Home Radio, Away Radio andAway TV rooms. It was fun to watch anexciting game next to the away colourcommentator for radio. My hockey experi-ence was complete with pizzas and softdrinks to keep the media happy. This gamewas sold out with 6700 tickets at about$30 each. That’s pretty good revenue for a

university hockey team. I have always saidthey do it big in America.

The Amsoil Snocross races were excel-lent as usual and I did many interviewsand videos on the event which you can see

in our sister publication NW OntarioSnowmobile News and web sitewww.slednews.com

You can follow me on twitter ScottSumner @tbay25

What A New Events Centre Could Mean ForThunder Bay

Publisher’sNoteScott

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Next IssueRRSP'S, TAXES AND TAXATION Taking a look at these forms ofinvesting and tax issues facing the business employer or employee.

Ad Copy DeadlineJanuary 24th, 2013

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Office 807-623-2348www.northsuperiorpublishing.com


by Jeff Mowatt

As a manager, you may assume that theguidance you give to your employeeswhile you're on-site, will translate intothem making better decisions whenyou're away. Unfortunately, the reversemay be true. Sometimes a manager'sadvice on customer care ends-up mak-ing bad service even worse. For exam-ple, a supervisor reprimands a teller forbeing too slow. In response, the tellerstarts being abrupt with customers. A

store owner tells an employee that he isnot up-selling enough, so he attempts toup-sell all the time - even when there isa long waiting line. Not good. Not forcustomers, employees, or profits.

The solution is not to avoid correctingemployees; instead, it's to augment yourfeedback with another tool. If you're notusing it yet, consider using prioritizedservice standards. Here's how it works.

Faster isn't always better

Imagine that you're a manager in a

multinational oil company in charge ofthe help-desk call centre. The twentyemployees who report to you areresponsible for taking calls from co-workers all over the world with comput-er problems. Your department receivesabout five thousand calls a month. Yourobjective is to improve both youremployees' customer service and theirmorale-on a limited budget.Incidentally, this is an actual case exam-ple based on one of my clients whoasked me to assist in training their help-desk employees.

If the manager tried to boost productivi-ty and customer satisfaction by pushingemployees to work faster, the resultswould likely have been a mess. You'dhave employees who felt like they werebeing rushed and customers who felt theservice was abrupt. Mistakes wouldhappen that would require more time tocorrect later. Compare this poor out-come to the results of using prioritizedservice standards.

Setting your standards

Let's say that your management teamhas established these five corporate val-ues or standards: quality, courtesy, effi-ciency, innovation, and safety. You thentake these standards and interpret themfor each department. When we appliedthis strategy to the oil company help-desk, here's the ranking we determined:

1. Quality. In the case of the call centre,the 'quality' of the service is measuredby the percentage of calls where thecustomer's problem is solved over thephone on the first call. It's why thedepartment exists, so it's number one.

2. Courtesy. This relates to the cus-tomers' perception of the way they arebeing treated by call-centre employees.

3. Efficiency. This is where we measurecall volume-how many calls theemployee handles.

4. Innovation. This relates to ideas thathelp-desk employees generate to helpreduce the overall number of calls.

5. Safety. In the case of a help-desk fora call centre, where co-workers arephoning with questions about using acomputer, there is little physical dangerinvolved. That's why it's listed last inthe call-center's five values.

The shift in decision making

The next step is to train the help-deskstaff on each of the five standards andtheir priority. Once this is done, theemployees are held accountable forupholding them. For example, sincequality comes before efficiency, theyknow that it's OK to take more timewith a customer to fix the problem rightthe first time. In terms of courtesy, weequipped them with Influence withEase® skills on how to handle upsetcallers who are having computer prob-lems. Efficiency is still important, sothey know they can't spend fifteen min-utes on idle chatter with customers.

Since innovation is also a standard,employees also know that they need togenerate ideas to prevent future prob-lems.

In other words these service standardshelp to clarify the priorities upon whichdecisions are based. Without these stan-dards, employees may focus on the lastthing they were criticized for; regardlessof whether it makes sense in a particularsituation. The bonus is that these samestandards can be applied to the compa-ny's other departments by simplyadjusting the priority.

Adapting with Ease

Let's move from the help-desk of thisoil company to the retail service sta-tions. Gas stations have the same serv-ice standards as the help-desk, but gasstation employees would interpret orprioritize the corporate values different-ly. For service stations you end up withthe same standards; but the priority isnow: 1. Safety 2. Courtesy 3. Efficiency4. Quality 5. Innovation

By having prioritized service standardsfor their department, gas stationemployees have a clearer idea of what'sexpected of them. Since safety is rankedhigher than courtesy, kiosk cashiersknow that it's OK to not turn on thegasoline pumps for a customer who'ssmoking near the fuel tank, even thoughthe customer may not like it. Of course,since courtesy is the second priority,employees need to be equipped withcommunication tools that we provide onhow to break bad news, without losingthe customer.

Bottom line - supervisors can do lessleaning over the shoulders of frontlineworkers. Prioritizing your service stan-dards will make employees less stressedand customers more satisfied. As formanagers - who knows - maybe foronce the cat will have a chance to play.

Customer service strategist and profes-sional speaker, Jeff Mowatt is anauthority on The Art of Client Service .. . Influence with Ease®. For Jeff'sother tips, self-study resources, andtraining services on this topic, clickImproving the Sales and ServiceCulture.

This article is based on the criticallyacclaimed book Becoming a ServiceIcon in 90 Minutes a Month, by cus-tomer service strategist and professionalspeaker Jeff Mowatt. To obtain yourown copy of his book or to inquireabout engaging Jeff for your team, visitwww.jeffmowatt.com or call1.800.JMowatt (566.9288).

When the Cat's AwayGetting better frontline decisions - without you


Thunder Bay area employers expect anupbeat hiring climate for the first quarterof 2013, according to the latest ManpowerEmployment Outlook Survey.“Survey data reveals that 13 per cent ofemployers plan to hire for the upcomingquarter (January to March), while 13 percent anticipate cutbacks,” stated FlorentineBahlieda of Manpower’s Thunder Bayoffice. Another 71 per cent of employersplan to maintain their current staffing lev-els while three per cent of employers areunsure of their hiring intentions for theupcoming quarter.“With seasonal variations removed fromthe data, Thunder Bay’s first quarter NetEmployment Outlook of 13 per cent is aslight increase when compared to the pre-vious quarterly Outlook of 10 per cent,”said Bahlieda. “It is also a 10 percentagepoint decrease from the Outlook reportedduring the same time last year indicating apositive hiring pace for the upcomingmonths.”“Job seekers in all regions except Quebecare likely to benefit from a hopeful hiringclimate from January through March, withemployers in Western Canada and theMaritimes reporting the most positiveOutlook,” said Byrne Luft, Vice Presidentof Operations, for Manpower Canada.“With regional Outlooks experiencingslight increases compared to the previousquarter, job seekers should maintain confi-dence in the labour market as employersthroughout Canada anticipate the hiringpace will remain steady through the winter.Most of the new jobs created in Canadathis year have been full-time positions.This continuation of the trend toward full-time employment is an encouraging sign.”

Manpower Employment Outlook SurveyReveals Canadian Employers Anticipate aFavourable Hiring Climate for the FirstQuarter of 2013; Job Prospects Strongestin Transportation & Utilities sectorCanadian employers expect the hiring cli-

mate to remain favourable for the firstquarter of 2013, with employers in theTransportation & Public Utilities sectorreporting the strongest 1Q job prospects,according to the latest results of theManpower Employment Outlook Survey,the most extensive, forward-lookingemployment survey in the world.With seasonal variations removed from thedata, the Net Employment Outlook of 13per cent is a slight increase when com-pared to the Outlook reported in the previ-ous quarter. This Outlook is also a one per-centage point drop from the Outlookreported during the same time last year.However, results for the first quarter dorepresent a continued trend of steady hir-ing patterns seen over the course of the lastyear.The survey of over 1,900 Canadianemployers reveals that 13 per cent of themplan to increase their payrolls in the firstquarter of 2013, while seven per centanticipate cutbacks. Of those surveyed, 78per cent of employers expect to maintaintheir current staffing levels while two percent are unsure of their hiring intentionsfor the upcoming quarter.“Job seekers in all regions except Quebecare likely to benefit from a hopeful hiringclimate from January through March, withemployers in Western Canada and theMaritimes reporting the most positiveOutlook,” said Byrne Luft, Vice Presidentof Operations, for Manpower Canada.“With regional Outlooks experiencingslight increases compared to the previousquarter, job seekers should maintain confi-dence in the labour market as employersthroughout Canada anticipate the hiringpace will remain steady through the winter.Most of the new jobs created in Canadathis year have been full-time positions.This continuation of the trend toward full-time employment is an encouraging sign.”Transportation & Public UtilitiesEmployers forecast an active hiring cli-mate, reporting a Net EmploymentOutlook of 21 per cent for the first quarterof 2013. This quarter’s Outlook is a five

percentage point increase from the forecastreported for the previous quarter; it is alsoa nine percentage point increase from theOutlook reported during the same time lastyear. The Transportation & Public Utilitiessector reported the strongest Outlook sinceQuarter 3 2008. It is the strongest Outlookfor any sector in the first quarter of 2013.ServicesIn the Services sector, employers anticipatea steady hiring climate for the first quarterof 2013, reporting a Net EmploymentOutlook of 16 per cent. This forecast is aslight increase from the Outlook from theprevious quarter and a moderate increasefrom the Outlook of 11 per cent reportedduring the same time last year.ConstructionReporting a Net Employment Outlook of16 per cent, employers in the Constructionsector anticipate an upbeat hiring climatefor the upcoming quarter. This forecast isrelatively stable when compared to theOutlook reported during the previous quar-ter and a moderate increase over theOutlook of 11 per cent reported during thesame time last year.Finance, Insurance & Real EstateEmployers report a Net EmploymentOutlook of 15 per cent for the first quarterof 2013, indicating a respectable hiring cli-mate. This Outlook is a moderate increasefrom the forecast of nine per cent, whichwas reported for the previous quarter, andis an increase of five per cent when com-pared to the Outlook reported during thesame time last year.EducationEmployers report a Net EmploymentOutlook of 13 per cent, indicating a hope-ful hiring climate for the upcoming three-month period. This quarter’s Outlook is aconservative increase from the previousquarter when sector employers reported anOutlook of seven per cent, and a consider-able increase from the Outlook of four percent reported last year during the sametime.Manufacturing – Durables

The Net Employment Outlook for employ-ers in the Manufacturing – Durables sectorremains at a favourable 12 per cent. ThisOutlook remains unchanged when com-pared to the prior quarter’s forecast but itis a five percentage point decrease whencompared to the Outlook reported in thesame quarter last year.Wholesale & Retail TradeIn the Wholesale & Retail Trade industrysector, employers anticipate a hopeful hir-ing climate, reporting a Net EmploymentOutlook of 11 per cent. This quarter’s fore-cast is unchanged when compared to theprevious quarter’s forecast and is a slightdecrease compared to the Outlook of 14per cent reported during the same time lastyear.MiningEmployers in the Mining sector anticipatea mild first quarter in 2013, reporting a NetEmployment Outlook of eight per cent.This is a nine percentage point reductionfrom the Outlook reported in the previousquarter. The Outlook is modest, with aconsiderable decrease from the Outlookreported during the same time last year.Public AdministrationIn the Public Administration industry sec-tor, employers anticipate a fair hiring envi-ronment for the first quarter of 2013,reporting a Net Employment Outlook ofeight per cent. This is unchanged whencompared to the previous quarter. It is alsorelatively stable compared to the Outlookof nine per cent from the same period lastyear.Manufacturing – Non-DurablesIn the Manufacturing – Non-Durablesindustry sector, employers report a NetEmployment Outlook of six per cent indi-cating a mild hiring climate for the firstquarter of 2013. Employer hiring inten-tions are relatively stable when comparedto the previous quarter, when employersreported an Outlook of five per cent.

UPBEAT HIRING CLIMATE EXPECTED FORTHUNDER BAY

The name of Lowerys has been synony-mous with office products in NorthwesternOntario for over 100 years now. SamLowery, great grandfather of the Christiefamily, founded this fourth generation busi-ness in 1905. Andrew Christie, grandfather,bought the business in the 1930’s. His sonBrian Christie took over and 4 of his 5 chil-dren own and run the business today. Theyare Scott Christie, Sales Manager, KimChristie, Furniture Manager; AndrewChristie who oversees the machine area andaccounting and Shawn Christie who looksafter the print area and helps in sales. Theother Christie family member is Kevin

Christie who is a chef at the Valhalla Inn atRunway 25. He was in Toronto for 25 yearsbefore just recently came back to ThunderBay. “ We have an operational manager,Jason Gerry, who came on board about twoyears ago with the start of the new buildingproject and one of his main jobs has beento help us get that done.” said ScottChristie.

Brian Christie still comes in 5 days aweek to work at Lowerys with the samework ethic his father had. “ Brian started inthe business when he was 10 and been atLowerys for over 60 years. He knows a lotabout the business and keeps us all undercontrol and kind of dots the eyes and crossthe tee’s.” said Kim Christie.

The fourth generation Christie family hasworked at Lowerys for almost all theirlives. Scott started working in the businessat the age of 10. “ I would walk here afterschool and help out. I did deliveries as soon

as I got my license but started full timewhen I was 22. Shawn started workinghere full time when he was 18. We allstarted in the warehouse, then moved intodeliveries and then sales. We went door todoor to do our sales then and still to thisday it is the same way. We pride ourselveson our customer contact.” said ScottChristie.

Lowerys have been an iconic businessover the years in NW Ontario. In 1993 the

three brothers and sister got into it full time.A major competitor came in 1994 andrequired them to reorganize to compete andget prices the best possible. Today theyoffer some of the lowest pricing available.

“ We have grown our core products andexpanded by acquisition. In 2000 webought SRC Sheldon Reproduction, thenGuide Printing, an office products operationin Kenora and became partners in FortFrances with a company. We also partneredwith Terry Law and set up CompuSmartthat we have merged into Lowery’s. Wenow have a US division of our printing areacalled SBS, and bought Copycorp, whichoffered Konica Minolta copiers. Weacquired Kakabeka Crystal 2 years ago andintegrated it into our operation. It was a biglearning curve at Kakabeka Crystal fromgetting it out of the ground to manufactur-ing the product and then distribution,” saidShawn Christie. “ Today we have 8 cate-gories of operation: furniture, office sup-plies, printing, network, IT, copiers, janitor-ial/sanitation and water. We always wantedto be a one-stop supplier. By expanding ourcategories we have really tried hard to beable to supply customers with everythingthey need for the office right down to tele-phone systems.” Lowerys also have a part-nership with MODO, an advertising compa-ny.

“ Over the last 5 years we have beendeveloping our new office concept.Lowerys has been able to maintain our saleslevels and expand but never have been areal retail destination with retail being just5% of our business today. The new storewill change that,” said Shawn Christie. “There is a market to get into the retail mar-ket more so and have always wanted to domore retail. We have the products but justdidn’t have the location. Our corporate cus-tomers may have to run out and get some-thing right away and can now go out to anintercity location and get it from us.”

Continued Next Page

PAGE 6 THUNDER BAY BUSINESS JANUARY 2013

New Store For Long Time Thunder Bay BasedCompany: Lowerys


Above: Scott Christie shows the large space that will allow better service to customers


Continued From Previous Page

The new store is located just offMemorial Ave adjacent to the current loca-tion of their warehouse and printing opera-tions. This new 2 storey building additionis coming together quickly and will beconnected to the existing warehouse andprint shop buildings.

“ We will have a cafe called Scribbles,within the site specializing in coffee andlunch. A store with in a store. People today

want more when they shop. If you have ashort wait for our services you can stop,have free Wifi and a snack,” said KimChristie. “ We are also building a bigcommunity boardroom with state of the arttechnology. Someone can rent or use ourboardroom and then have it catered byScribbles. We also want to offer the board-room for charities. There will be seminarsto learn about new products or ergonomics.People aren’t always comfortable withtheir work stations and will be able tolearn more about ergonomics in our semi-nars.”

The footprint of the new building is10,000 square feet per floor, with print at6000 and the warehouse at 10,000 for atotal of area of 36,000. The Lowerys furni-ture warehouse will be still located atRussell Street in another building ownedby the company.

“ The IT in the new store area will bevery contemporary with 4-46 inch TV’s setup to run as one with streaming moviesand demonstrating how you can interactwith your devices. We want Lowerys to bea learning facility where we can put onclasses in different areas such as digitalcamera or even have a 55 plus night. Thetechnology of today can be scary and wewant to help people get educated in theproducts.” said Kim Christie.

Lowerys have hired about 20 new peopleso far who are in training and will ramp up

to close to about 120 staff in total whenthe new location is open, expected to be inmid January. “ We used to have been so hands on earli-

er. On the weekends we would be doingfurniture installation. Our background wasto be was lean and mean, but today wehave many more employees to help serveour customers. We pride ourselves on our

service to local clients.” said ScottChristie. “ Our new store took 5 years todevelop because our day to day work takes

a lot of our time. We felt the timing wasright with the potential mining boom onthe horizon and want to be ready for that.We enjoy the business and sometimes allwe think about 7 days a week is what goes

on here. We want to have some differentofferings at Lowerys than anyone else inThunder Bay or maybe the country- some

really interesting things with a cool look. Itwill be a unique shopping experience.”

New Store For Long Time Thunder Bay BasedCompany: Lowerys


Ontario is supporting the Thunder BayInternational Airports Authority Inc.through the Northern Ontario HeritageFund Corporation (NOHFC).

NOHFC has approved funding in theamount of $1 million, to allow ThunderBay International Airport to build anextension to the aviation-related industrialpark at the Thunder Bay InternationalAirport Authority (TBIAA). This projectwill accommodate new tenants and allowfor the continued growth of the aviationsector in Thunder Bay.

Once businesses establish themselves inthe expanded industrial park, it is estimat-ed that (within 10 years) up to 270 full-time equivalent permanent positions willbe created – many of which are forecast tobe high-paying professional positions.

QUOTES

“We recognize the important economicdevelopment role the Thunder BayInternational Airport Authority plays inThunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario.

Our economy in Thunder Bay continues tobe one of the best in Ontario, and any fur-ther growth at TBIAA accommodated bythis announcement will help continue thetrend! I look forward to a continued part-nership with CEO Scott McFadden in theinterests of Thunder Bay and NorthwesternOntario.”

– Bill Mauro, MPP Thunder Bay-Atikokan

“The Airport and air transportation sectorin Thunder Bay is responsible for half abillion dollars annually in economic activi-ty, and over 5000 jobs. We’re very pleasedthat the provincial government has agreedto help the TBIAA with its next phase ofcommercial real estate expansion. Thedeveloped lots will be included in theAirport Community Improvement Zone,meaning that aviation-related companieswill join others at the Airport that havealready taken advantage of additionaldevelopment incentives made possible sev-eral years ago by Bill Mauro. On behalf ofthe TBIAA I would like to thankProvincial Government, and in particularBill Mauro, for his ongoing support of theThunder Bay international Airport.”

– Scott McFadden, President & ChiefExecutive Officer, Thunder BayInternational Airports Authority Inc.(TBIAA)

“Through the Northern Ontario HeritageFund Corporation, our government is pro-

viding financial assistance to the privatesector to help bring new jobs and econom-ic prosperity to the North.”

– Rick Bartolucci, Minister of NorthernDevelopment and Mines andChair of the Northern Ontario HeritageFund Corporation (NOHFC)

QUICK FACTS

Thunder Bay International AirportAuthority (TBIAA) is a federally incorpo-rated not-for-profit corporation operatingthe Thunder Bay International Airport(YQT)

A nine-member Board of communitystakeholders have articulated regional eco-nomic growth as a key objective that gov-erns the TBIAA

The TBIAA markets Thunder Bay’s com-petitive advantages to international aero-space companies and also seeks localopportunities to assist local companies ingrowing YQT

NOHFC’s Infrastructure and Community

Development Program (ICDP) helps north-ern communities make the investmentsnecessary to improve critical infrastructureand develop partnerships that find effectiveways to create jobs and improve economicprospects in the North.

Bill Mauro, MPP Thunder Bay Atikokan“ Today we announced $1 million fromthe Northern Ontario Heritage Fund to theThunder Bay International AirportAuthority which is going to help themexpand the industrial park on the property.It will help attract more aerospace indus-try to Thunder Bay and NW Ontario. ““ The airport already is a significant eco-nomic driver in this region and will contin-ues with this growth. They have already erun out of larger lots so this is very timelynow and will create 8 to 10 lots and up to270 jobs over a ten year period. In 2006we created the community economic planwhich allows the City of Thunder Bay toprovide tax incentives to aerospace compa-nies that locate here. It makes it a littleeasier to attract companies. The ThunderBay airport creates $500 million in eco-nomic activity and 5000 jobs which is a

large part of our economy. They are amajor player in the local economy.”

Scott McFadden, CEO of the Thunder BayInternational Airport Authority.“ The project will expand the taxi way androad to the lots. Growth has been slow butsure and steady. The demand is comingfrom mostly existing companies but alsofrom companies doing business in the min-ing sector. ”

Ed Schmidke ,Manager of BusinessDevelopment, Thunder Bay InternationalAirport Authority. “ The economic impact of 1 Metrolineraircraft from Bearskin or Beech 1900 air-craft from Wasaya that have 19 seatcapacity is generating 33 full time jobs,$1.5 million in labour income and $3 3/4million in economic activity or GDP.There is support from gate agents, refuel-ing, mechanics and support staff.”“ The new Chicago route will offer 375connecting destinations from there so willreally help the Thunder Bay traveler reachtheir US destination quickly.”

EXPANSION OF AVIATION-RELATED INDUSTRIAL PARK


by Sherry AaltoThe Thunder Bay Heart and Stroke

Foundation have a few important messagesfor everyone. As the old saying goes,…‘An ounce of prevention is worth a poundof cure!’ Who could argue that?To get right to the point, read the follow-ing because you may know someone,including yourself, who is afflicted or maybecome afflicted with heart decease. So,there are a few things you can do to helpin the prevention and cure for such afflic-tions.Did you know,… Heart Month-Februaryeach year· today heart disease and stroke takes 1life every 7 minutes and 90% of Canadianshave at least 1 risk factor

· volunteers are the face and voice ofthe heart and stroke foundation· our team of volunteers, canvassneighborhoods across the city of ThunderBay (and Canada) raising vital funds togive Canadians longer, fuller lives· Locally we need over 600 door todoor canvassers to help us meet our goalfor Heart MonthThunder Bay Chapter council· volunteer council works with staffand community partners to raise funds forthe advancement of research and promotehealthy living· if you would like to get involved withthe chapter council please contact TaraMonteith, Area Manager for the Heart andStroke Foundation

Corporate Support for over 50 years theHeart and Stroke Foundation has been on amission to improve the health ofCanadians· corporate sponsors are supporting theFoundation in its efforts to eliminate heartdisease and stroke the leading cause ofdeath in Canada· some of Canada’s leading corpora-tions raise millions of dollars for vitalheart and stroke research.· 5 Compelling Reasons to Join Us(cor-porate sponsors)o Build customer and employee loyal-ty. The Heart and Stroke Foundation is aleader in preventing and reducing disabili-ty and death from heart disease and stroke.o Strengthen the value of your brandby associating with ours. By supportingour efforts, you can bring positive atten-tion to your brand while providing con-sumers with the tools they need to managetheir health

o Promote a healthier workplace.Healthy employees are more productiveand better motivated. Encourages involve-ment in the Heart and Stroke Foundationfundraising activity and promotes a spiritof social responsibility and boosts teamspirit on and off the job.o Reach consumers in every communi-ty across Canada. Ways to support HSF -Big Bike teams of 29 ride a 30 seat bicyclein May each year in Thunder Bayo Dress Red or Dress Down Days inFebruaryo Special Events planned and imple-mented internallyo Provide hours of volunteer time foryour staff to assist us in our programs

Even if you just join the Heart and StrokeLottery you will be helping supportresearch and giving yourself a greaterchance at a life lottery. Act now…Feelgood!...Even Great!!


© 2013 Brian Babcock

Many people make New Year’s resolutionsto get in shape and start their January byjoining a gym. No one resolves to getinjured trying to get into shape.

Thankfully, personal injury lawsuits arisingfrom gym workout activities are rare. Themost recent gym injury trial decision Ihave seen involved a slip and fall by thewater fountain rather than gym activities.Gyms, like any property occupier, musttake all reasonable steps to maintain theirproperty in a safe condition. Because acci-dents can still happen, a line of casescalled “supermarket cases” provides ajudge or jury with a handy checklist ofsteps a reasonable store (or gym) must

take. To avoid liability the occupier mustshow they took steps to “put into place asystem to safeguard against dangerous sub-stances being allowed to remain” on thesurface of the floors; and that there was infact implementation of that system. In the

water fountain case, the gym was found atfault, mainly because the layout wasunsafe and they had poor records regardingcleaning and inspection.

In 2011, the same chain was sued when a

patron was injured by dumb bells fallingon her arm. The gym was found to have areasonable system of storage in place. Thepatron was responsible for her own injury.

The result is consistent with how thecourts deal with recreational activities ingeneral. Participants are usually found tohave assumed the risk of the dangers theychose to undertake – very few Plaintiffswin zipline or whitewater rafting cases.Plaintiffs more often win when the dangerwas unusual or hidden, and the promoteror occupier did not warn them, or actuallydid something to increase this unusual risk.These same principles apply to gym activi-ties.

For this reason, proper signage and well

drafted, carefully used “waiver forms” arevery important. Disclosure of risks, andbeing able to prove that the patron wasaware and agreed to the risks, is ofteneffective protection for the occupier.

The now old, but still famous local case ofCrocker v Sundance is a useful reminderthat occupiers must supervise patron’sactivities, or pay the price if patrons take arisk for which they are not suited.

For over sixty years, the lawyers at Weilershave been advising businesses about theirlegal risks, and representing businesses,insurers, and injured people when acci-dents happen.

Have a safe 2013.

INJURIES AT THE GYM

LegalMatters

May 2013 bring everyone in our regioncontinued growth and

prosperity.

HAVE HEART… EVERYDAY!


New Office Building In Thunder Bay One Of The MostAdvanced In Canada

True Grit Consulting Ltd has been on afast growth track since their beginnings in2006. The firm started with a staff of 4then, currently have 40 people employedand have just moved into a very impres-sive 10,500 square foot brand new officebuilding in Innova Park in Thunder Bay.Eric Zakrewski is the CEO of True Grit

and from Thunder Bay while educated inSouthern Ontario. “ Previously I had beena regional branch manager for a US com-pany based in Thunder Bay. They startedmoving out of district markets when pulpand paper was declining. I chose to stay inThunder Bay and hire as many of the stafffrom the previous firm as I could,” saidZakrewski. “ It has been a great growthas we have tried to focus on different areasof work than traditional engineering firmsdo while at the same time fulfilling the tra-ditional services. To use a hockey analo-gy, we have sort of dug hard in the cornersto grow and be different and it has beenpaying off.”True Grit works hard in remote First

Nations communities and does a lot ofengineering projects there. They provide alot of specialty environmental and engi-neering services that other companiesdon’t offer and that aren’t available else-where. They offer more value and workharder.

“ Working harder doesn’t mean workinglonger. A lot of our staff probably has abetter quality of life than when theyworked for other firms that traditionallyworked on the longer hours approach.When our staff are here in our environ-ment and atmosphere, they are really pro-ductive and work well together withdiverse teams. The world doesn’t work onthe long hours model anymore. Peopletoday want more family time, more qualitytime and to enjoy life,” said Zakrewski. “Some days you have to work harder thanothers but that is not the mantra here. It iswork smarter and a function of the com-mitments you make to your customers andwhat you will deliver. Quality, value and

relationships are our core values. You canmake a better balance in life and realizehappy staff will stay.”

If you get a chance to tour the new stateof the art True Grit building you will cer-tainly be impressed. This has got to be oneof the nicest set ups in Thunder Bay and

features many cutting edge design features.“ When we settled on the design criteria

of the building it was creative collabora-tive space because that is what yieldsexceptional results. We believe no longercan you have a four sided metal box withbad air and no light, but it maximizes youreturn per square feet. We want our people

to want to be here, enjoy what they do andthen excellence is just a by-product. Yourtime is more productive then.,” said EricZakrewski. “ We have noticed our staffare coming in a little earlier now and thereis an uplift in peoples mood. We focus onour people, which are our only assets. We

have a building but are not like a construc-tion company that has many pieces of

equipment. Our only asset is our peopleand when you offer good training and agood work environment it translates intothe company image and profile. We lookfor a customer that wants a great staff andenvironment with that extra shine on theproduct and that is the kind of people weattract. If you getting a better product oridea and solution it are worth it.”

In developing the new building the TrueGrit team did start with a blank slate butknew whom they wanted to work with asan architect.“ Cory Stechyshyn of FORM asked us to

put down any concepts on paper as to whatwe wanted, sketch it out and send themover. He recently found the original sketchand it was not any where near what weended up with. The new building wasdriven by our leasing two buildings andtrying to hire staff to grow, so we neededour own building.” said Zakrewski. “ It isalmost nothing like we ended up with.Cory encouraged us to work with anorganization out of Calgary calledTecknion and they provided us with a pres-entation that blew our socks off. It had allthe concepts we were looking for and eventhose we didn’t know we were looking for.They came in with FORM, gave a presen-tation and we ended up subscribing to alltheir ideas and this building will become ashowcase in the region.”The Tecknion group has done lots of

projects like this in Calgary and Toronto.

“ They feature lots of wide open areas forpeople to meet, talk and solve problems.That is really what we do at True Grit. Wewent from lots of small offices with a door,to lots of open space and shared areaswhere people can bump into each other.People can work together everywhere.,”said Zakrewski.Continued Next Page


Wendy St Pierre of True Grit and the wave wall entrance. The new 10,500 square foot building has state of the art features. Theinterior walls are moveable and use the Tecknion system


A very unique aspect of the new build-ing is the interior cafe lounge for cus-tomers and staff. True Grit provideshealthy snacks for their staff and nice cof-fee. Their motivation was people go into aplace like Starbucks with their laptop andwork. According to Eric Zakrewski everycustomer that has been there for the lastfew weeks want to come back and have acoffee in the lounge. There are alsoenclave or break out rooms where there arelounge chairs and you can work for fewhours in complete silence. Each weekmore and more people are using them.

“ We are exceptionally happy with ourarchitects, FORM and contractor, TomJones that built the building. Everythingcame out perfect. Tom Jones did everyaspect, every day like it was their building.They were a week ahead of schedule afterstarting in May and finishing the end ofOctober, completely on budget,” said EricZakrewski. “ We are forward looking andhave always been that way. If you havesome faith and think their will be need for

your services or other services you canadjust your strategic plan accordingly. Thepartners here are all around the same ageand looking for another 20 years of workand can enjoy our work environment. Wesee a future for the mining area, a revivalof forestry and are doing more work thanever in the health sector. We will makesure our business evolves with our cus-tomers.”

“ Adam Rose is a Manager and Principal

in the Engineering Services Division atTrue Grit. The 33 year old works mainly inthe civil side of the company with munici-pal infrastructure, roads, geotechnical andareas that play off that like larger drainage

and mining development. He went toConfederation College and LakeheadUniversity.

“ When I came out of school I got someexperience at the City of Thunder BayEngineering Division and went on toanother local consulting firm. The opportu-nity for me came at True Grit to helpbroaden their depth of services. It is unbe-lievable what we have developed here withthe thought process we went through todevelop this building. We want a profes-

sional place where clients can come in andget the sense they are dealing with a higherstandard and quality company,” said AdamRose. “ You see that through our staff. Itis exciting to have this come to conclusion.Everybody has their own professionalworkspace with all the tools needed to dotheir job. I think the staff has been reallyengaged with the direction the companyhas taken. Everyone is on board.’“ We have had a lot of high level proj-

ects on the go such as major mining clientswe are helping get the approvals they needto move to the next step. There is theThunder Bay Events Centre with the envi-

ronment work, local roads work and wehave been on the forefront getting some ofthe larger municipalities to get their stormsewers in line to at least help mitigateflood effects so it won’t impact again.”said Rose. “ I can say honestly I enjoycoming into work each day. There is anexcitement; energy and you feel you arereally contributing to NorthwesternOntario in everything you do. Youimprove, you develop, you add designprinciples and see something that gets builtand employs people.”


True Grit Consulting Moves Into NewState of the Art Office

The new True Grit building look was inspired by many trips to Arizona. Eric Zakrewski, CEO of True Grit has lots of room formeetings in his office in the building.


“ The inspiration for this building camefrom True Grit owner, Eric Zakrewski witha Scottsdale, Arizona type of influenceafter many trips there over the years. Hewas attracted to the colours and naturallight, stone and different materials foundthere. We looked at a couple of existingbuildings to see if they would fit with hisprogram but in the end decided on a newbuilding to get exactly what they wanted,”said Cory Stechyshyn, Architect withFORM.“ The front is the more public and execu-

tive area with the entrance, boardroom,waiting area reception and managementoffices. The centre core area is open, natu-rally lit and conducive to collaboration. Itis a friendly and team spirited workspace.That is why we went with demountableparticians and modular Tecknion office sys-tems so they have a lot of flexibility andopenness in there. The natural light makesit way through the centre and we use a lotof glass partitioning and doors using theTeknion system. The doors are like a barnstyle door with surface mounted hardwareso they slid instead of swing. Swings doorsuse up floor space and aren’t as expres-sive.” said Cory Stechyshyn.

The back area of the building is moreservice oriented where the testing lab islocated as well as the mechanical and elec-trical room. The testing lab has alwaysbeen at a separate location at True Grit butnow it all-together. There is a fire separa-tion from the rest of the building and thatreduces noise and dust.

A very unique aspect of the building is acentral coffee bar inspired by Starbucks atChapters. It is a way for staff to collaborateand find a common space to meet. Clientsand guests can also be exposed to thatenvironment and is very nice to have aspart of the work setting. There are breakout rooms as well which is a very currenttrend in office planning according to CoryStechyshyn of FORM. “ The idea is touse open work space with partial privacy toallow natural light infused through thespace. The loss of privacy by the openspace means we have these private roomswith a telephone that provide privacy sothe employee can get away from theirdesk.”FORM Architecture developed the exter-

nal building design and internal buildinglayout in cooperation with Open-MindInteriors of Thunder Bay, which is a dealerfor Teknion and provided guidance on howtheir system enhances the workflow. “ Weworked together on that. Eric’s wife wasinvolved in the interior look and tastes withthe colours and finishes. The wave wall atthe entrance is quite impressive and quiteeffective.,” said Stechyshyn.

The building is very energy efficiency,with in floor heating and a thermally com-fortable office environment. There is radi-ant heat from the floor slab and the makeup air and air conditioning come fromoverhead. There is an external camera sys-tem for monitoring security, sensors onlighting, card access and a buildingautomation system the firm can accessfrom an I phone to see how the building isoperating and make adjustments from anywhere in the world.“ I am quite happy with the outcome of

the project. To me I feel we were able toget Eric and his team exactly what theywanted. They didn’t lose anything becauseof cost or size of the building. We wereable to satisfy his vision and the needs oftheir firm quite well. The building is alsodesigned to add a second floor of space.”said Cory Stechyshyn.

New Office Building In Thunder Bay One Of The MostAdvanced In Canada


thunder bay business janaury 2013

Documents

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new york working

company gridlink isback

new eventscentre

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new largerbuilding

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