Fur dressing plant promises opportunities.

Fur dressing plant promises opportunities

An exciting new chapter will begin this month in the history of North Bay's long involvement in the fur trade.

The new De'Medici North Bay fur dressing plant, a joint venture of the Nipissing Band of Ojibways and an established firm of Italian fur dressers, De'Medici & Company of Milan, is scheduled to be completed by April 15.

The match opens a window of opportunity into the fur markets of the world for the entrepreneurial, 1400-member Band.

The demise in January of the Ontario Fur Trappers Association and North Bay Fur Sales, the auction house it operated in North Bay, temporarily closed that window.

However, the wild fur auction is being revived as Fur Harvesters Auction Inc., a joint effort of the Union of Ontario Indians and former members of the defunct trappers association.

The joint venture of the Nipissing Band and De'Medici & Company of Milan has been incorporated as a Canadian company called De'Medici North Bay Inc. The venture is expected to bring in a profitable, industrial base to the reserve, new markets for De'Medici and a shot in the arm for the economy of North Bay.

In addition to furs sold at the North Bay wild fur auction, the plant is expected to process wild and ranch mink and other furs from major auctions in Seattle, New Jersey, Copenhagen and Helsinki.

"The Nipissing Band of Ojibways was seeking to increase the number of industrial ventures on the reserve, ones that would provide permanent, non-seasonal employment for Band members," explains Ian Young of Navan, Ont., a business consultant and co-ordinator of the De'Medici North Bay Inc. project.

"At the same time, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, De'Medici & Co., a world-class fur dressing company, was planning to expand its operations. Because of the exceptionally high cost of land and labor in Europe, it was considering locating new facilities outside Italy. Among the candidate locations were the U.S.S.R., the People's Republic of China, several Pacific Rim countries and Canada."

What was needed was a bridge between the objectives of the Nipissing Band and De'Medici & Co. The link was provided by the Canadian fur industry.

Dave Fillick, an executive of the Canadian Fur Manufacturers' Guild, had originally suggested that Native people consider fur dressing as an investment possibility. He also believed that Italy might be a good place to look for the needed technology. Maria Bertolini, an Ottawa- and Milan-based furrier introduced the two parties.

Meetings between Band officials and the De'Medici company were arranged to explore the mutual benefits of a business arrangement. Ultimately, these led to the incorporation of De'Medici North Bay Inc.

Under the agreement De'Medici is the majority shareholder, with the Band holding a significant minority share and an option to assume majority ownership in the future.

The Italian company provided De'Medici North Bay with a large infusion of capital and ownership of its technology. The Band provided the plant site - a two-hectare parcel of serviced land in the Couchie Industrial Park on the outskirts of North Bay.

The arrangement also made provision for the training of a core group of 10 Band members in Milan.

For Nipissing Band Chief Phil Goulais, the new company is the first realization of a long-held dream. The establishment of an industrial base and permanent employment on the Reserve had been a cornerstone of his administration since he won the first of his eight terms as chief 14 years ago.

In putting the deal together, the Band has taken advantage of financial assistance from a number of federal and provincial business development programs. Key support came from External Affairs and International Trade Canada's technology inflow program (TIP). TIP provides assistance to defray the travel and living costs of Canadian companies engaged in the transfer of foreign technology to Canada.

The bulk of the TIP funds was spent to cover the costs of travel and maintaining the 10 Canadian Native trainees during eight months of training in Milan.

The trainees' integration into the De'Medici workforce was very smooth. One senior company executive described them as "totally dedicated to learning the new skills." The reason for that dedication perhaps reflects the stringent screening process the first trainee candidates underwent.

The initial training program ended in December, when the trainees returned to North Bay.