Manufacturing--the city's heart and soul.

Thunder Bay's emerging biotechnology, molecular research and high tech sectors are grabbing the media headlines.

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But the heart and soul of any city is the manufactured goods it produces.

Largely dependent on the forestry, mining and transportation industry for much of its history, Thunder Bay produces a wide variety of products that feed those markets.

For South Korean commuters catching the train to Everland, that country's version of Disneyland, they'll be riding on the Bi-Level coaches made in Thunder Bay.

The Thunder Bay plant is building cars for a rapid transit system for Yong-in, on the outskirts of Seoul. The mostly elevated system will connect Seoul's subway system with the amusement park.

Bombardier's white low-lying plant on Montreal Street has produced ships and military aircraft through two world wars before retooling for mass transit vehicles in 1965. It was once known as Hawker Siddeley Canada, before becoming the Urban Transportation Development Corporation, (a provincially-owned subway and streetcar maker). Bombardier eventually took over in 1992.

The double-decked aluminum coaches are a big seller for Bombardier who have sold 800 to transit authorities in 13 North American cities. The 50,000-kilogram coaches are designed, built and safety tested in Thunder Bay.

General manager Ron Dysievick, a 35-year employee and a holdover from the UTDC days, says the 365-passenger car is a technically-complex vehicle with wiring that would stretch 20 miles to ensure all the systems can talk to one another.

The plant produces about 40 Bi-Level cars per year on average but Dysievick says it's very much a cyclical industry.

Employee numbers can fluctuate as high as 1,000 or as low as 300. There's only a finite number of mass transit contracts out there and the cars have a 30-year life span.

But the current workforce of 540 should be stabilized by a Toronto Transit Commission contract awarded in September to the Thunder Bay plant to refurbish subway cars. Although that kind of work represents less than 10 per cent of the plant's volume, Dysievick says the five-year, $674 million contract represents a "great boost to the plant"

"The product that will be delivered back will be second to none for a technical advantage point of view," featuring the latest maintenance diagnostic features and security measures to protect against terrorism. "With that product in our stable, we should see more opportunities."

Bombardier is eying more promising transportation markets abroad especially in eastern Europe, Russia, China and the Asia-Pacific countries.

Across the Kaministiquia River from Bombardier, nestled at the bottom of Mountain McKay, sits Coastal Steel Construction Ltd.

Northwestern Ontario's forestry sector remains in the dumper, but the steel supplier and fabricator is looking both east and west for work, including Alberta's white hot economy.

Domiano Pelaia, vice-president of contract sales, says lately about 65 per cent of their work has been out-of-town industrial projects in Toronto, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

In mid-November, the company was doing fabrication for an addition to a St. Lawrence Cement de-agglomeration plant

"We pretty much make anything out of steel," says Pelaia, ranging from structural fabrication and steel erection to retail big box stores for Canadian Tire and Wal-Mart, and renovations to schools and hospitals.

Established in 1969, the ranks of their 40 full-time employees can swell to as many as 70 employees for projects like steel stop logs for Ontario Power Generation hydroelectric dams or conveyors for Bowater.

Handiwork on display

Some of their handiwork can be seen in the structural framework of Sault Ste. Marie's new Steelback Centre and Agrium's new addition at their potash operation in Vanscoy, Saskatchewan,

They've also done a slew of local projects including Thunder Bay Casino, the Professional Building attached to Thunder Bay Health Sciences Centre, Lakehead University's ATAC Building and Keefer Terminal's storage building.

Pelaia says most of their work is short-term, lasting about three to four months. "There seems to be more opportunities coming up now with end of the year budgets. It looks good for the future."

The future also looks promising for Granite Tops Inc.

Stick pins on a map of northern Minnesota indicate where the 11-employee company is sending its glassy-finished kitchen counter and bar tops, vanities, showers and flooring.

Northwestern Ontario is still their sales base, but U.S. exports are sizable 40 per cent chunk of their business.

Sales manager John Hakala says there's plenty of money flowing north from Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Chicago into posh vacation homes and condos especially along Lake Superior's coveted north shore at Grand Mara-is, Ludsden and Bluefin Bay.

Hakala expects to better their $1.5 million in annual sales to more than $2 million by next year. Together with owner John Naccarato, they're toying with the idea of adding a second shift to keep up with demand.

Naccarato realized six years ago, no one was supplying granite products when tenders went out for the Thunder Bay Casino. The owner of Duracon Tiles & Concrete Ltd. created the spinoff company and, as orders increased, purchased an Italian-made CNC stone milling machine worth $250,000.

"What used to take us six hours by hand, this machine will do in 20 minutes," says Hakala. "This has allowed us to double our production to meet current demand."

The granite is sourced from different distributors including Cold Spring Granite near Minneapolis, one of the world's largest suppliers. That company imports about 450 types of coloured granite from Italy, Brazil, India, Pakistan, Norway and Finland. The blocks are cut into inch-and-a-quarter slabs and shipped to Thunder Bay.

While the home renovation market in Thunder Bay has served them well, they realized there was a huge market south of the border with Minneapolis only six hours away.

Sales from U.S. home and builder trade shows were initially slow but with persistence, market savvy and some logistics knowledge, they struck deals with logging truck companies to back-haul their less-than-full loads.

Hakala also says, depending on colour availability, they've reduced their lead time on orders--from down payment to home installation--to four weeks. That reliability has served them well.

Quirky product

But not all Thunder Bay's manufacturers are major employers. Many Northern companies have started out as popular and sometimes quirky niche products made in basements and garages.

Working out of a backyard woodworking shop, roofers Ron and Gregg Bates are out to dispel myths about bats.

The two Thunder Bay brothers developed a real fascination for the winged mammals after building a decorative bat house for their sister three years ago.

Word spread, orders came in, and they quickly realized the craze was a potential money-maker.

The owners of Canadian Bat House claim they build the best roosts on the market today, one that comes with a 20-year warranty and is blessed by Bat Conservation International.

Made of plywood and wrapped in black rubber sheeting, their largest 'hotel' model can hold as many as 900 bats.

The animals are very particular about where they roost for the spring and summer. Like an attic or barn, it must be dark and properly sealed to keep water out and warm air in. The proper three-quarter spacing between the slats is necessary to allow the bats to slip in and to keep predators out.

"A bat is always looking for a warmer spot," says Ron. Toward winter, the creatures will fly thousands of miles to caves and mines to nest and avoid freezing. Like any migrating foul, "once they find these houses, they will return every year, and that's where you build your population."

But most importantly, bats are voracious bug eaters, consuming as much as 1,200 mosquitoes in an hour. They'll also feast on big hatches of may flies, cut worms and moths. "Any insect that'll fly at night, a bat will eat," says Gregg. "But the hardest part of selling the product is having to educate people."

First-year sales were slow because most people are have no idea what bats do. "They figure they're out to get their hair," adds Ron. This year, mostly through Internet sales, they'll make 400 bat houses to mostly homeowners, cottagers and resort operators in Canada and the U.S.

Big order

Ontario Hydro ordered ten bat houses after midge flies kept gumming up fan units at their remote power dams.

Last year, the Bates brothers made $20,000 in sales for this part-time venture, which has been doubling in production for the last three years.

But it's been a tough sell to public health units and mosquito-infested cities like Winnipeg, trying to combat the West Nile Virus, because of the minimal chance the bats will spread rabies.

"They've had a cure for rabies, but no cure for West Nile. To me, it's a no-brainer," says Gregg.

By IAN ROSS

Northern Ontario Business