GSDC eyes Europe as trade with U.S. reaches saturation.With Canada-United States trade activity approaching the saturation point saturation point n. 1. Chemistry The point at which a substance will receive no more of another substance in solution. 2. The point at which no more can be absorbed or assimilated. , the Greater Sudbury Greater Sudbury (2006 census population 157,857) is a city in Northern Ontario, Canada. Greater Sudbury was created in 2001 by amalgamating the cities and towns of the former Regional Municipality of Sudbury, along with several previously unincorporated geographic townships. Development Corp, wants to promote investment and technology transfer opportunities with eastern Europe Eastern Europe The countries of eastern Europe, especially those that were allied with the USSR in the Warsaw Pact, which was established in 1955 and dissolved in 1991. . Paul Finley, international trade adviser for Greater Sudbury Development Corp., says partnership opportunities exist for local hosts--"consortia"--to establish joint ventures with German firms looking to establish a beach head in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . Finley says the City of Greater Sudbury, which first ventured into the former East Germany East Germany: see Germany. four years ago and later signed an economic partnership agreement in 2002 with Barnim County, is expanding its "sphere of activity," as well as adding more partners across Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is the part of the province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron (including Georgian Bay), the French River and Lake Nipissing. Northern Ontario has a land area of 802,000 km² (310,000 mi²) and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it . "What began in Barnim (in Brandenburg state) extends to no less than four German states and is also leading us to some relationships in Poland." Greater Sudbury's German initiative has attracted interest from other Northern Ontario partners, including Timmins, North Bay, Parry Sound Parry Sound, town (1991 pop. 6,125), S Ont., Canada, on Parry Sound, an inlet of Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. It is an active port and the center of a popular vacation area. , LaCloche-Manitoulin and the Waubetek Business Development Corp. One of the best-known international joint ventures is the Re-Power initiative to build German-designed wind turbines in Sudbury for the North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. market. Finley says there are more potential international relations involving Neureka!, a Sudbury biotech company, and Science North Enterprises with some German investors. "Science North has been doing a lot of prospecting over there and we're continuing to work with them." Sudbury's Cambrian College and College Boreal bo·re·al adj. 1. Of or relating to the north; northern. 2. Of or concerning the north wind. 3. Boreal are also working on various educational initiatives with potential deals in the offing coming; arriving in the foreseeable future. visible but not nearby. See also: Offing Offing . One prospective opportunity involves a German company that has developed new aviation technology for monitoring aircraft performance systems. The sensor system, that monitors an aircraft's operating systems, can be radioed back home using cell phone technology. Finley says it would be an ideal technology transfer product for aircraft charter companies or flight schools that can be built here for the North American market. "We're talking to three or four companies in the North about hosting their technology and certifying it for the Canadian market." Finley is working out the details to host a German trade delegation in March or April, while a Sudbury-Northern Ontario mission to Germany is tentatively scheduled for next fall specifically targeting sectors in biotechnology, information, communication technology, tourism and energy/environment. Last September, he returned from a reconnaissance trip to Germany with some promising leads after establishing contacts with trade and business development officials in the German states of Schleswig-Holstein, Saxony-Anhalt and the City of Dresden. He says Schleswig-Holstein, a state of three million people in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, is very active in biotechnology, environmental industries, pharmaceuticals, agricultural/forestry and marine technologies. Finley also met with trade officials from Saxony-Anhalt and the 76,000-member German Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Dresden where there are numerous initiatives under way in areas of renewable energy, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, information communication technology and tourism. "We're talking about sharing a reciprocal database of companies between Northern Ontario and Germany utilizing the Team Northern Ontario database plat-form being developing right now." The business-to-business database would be a vital tool to attract foreign investment to Northern Ontario. It would serve as an "intelligence bank" or "shopping list" for German firms and investors to "eyeball See eyeballs and eyeball driven. " what Northern Ontario companies produce, what their current manufacturing capacity is, and what international markets they are interested in. Finley says the database will be part of a larger Team Northern Ontario "investment attraction strategy" among the five major Northern cities designed to lure foreign direct investment of capital, technology and manpower. He is putting the finishing touches on a proposal to International Trade Canada for a community investment assistance program that is likely to be launched sometime in 2005. www.teamnorthernontario.com www.schleswig-holstein.de By IAN ROSS Northern Ontario Business Northern Ontario Business is a Canadian magazine, which publishes monthly in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. The magazine covers business news and issues in Northern Ontario. |
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