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Posts Tagged ‘Kheops International’

Lights! Camera! Business Friendly New Hampshire!

Monday, March 25th, 2013

The Radio-Canada film crew at the Le Rendevous Bakery in Colebrook.

A film crew from Canada’s largest network is back at its studio in Montreal this week, after spending two intensive days last week delving into New Hampshire’s tax structure.

Beginning in Concord last Monday, the Radio-Canada team talked with Gov. Hassan and our Beno Lamontagne, business resource specialist for northern New Hampshire. No sales tax? No income tax? How does the state operate?

Then it was back on the road, north to Colebrook, where the group spent the day talking with two businesses with roots in France and Quebec, about doing business here. National reporter Maxime Bertrand conducted the interviews in French and the questions were not softball.

Marie-Josee Vaillant, president of Kheops International, speaks with Radio-Canada reporter Maxime Bertrand, center, and producer Francine Doyon.

The morning was spent filming at Kheops International, a wholesaler of New Age items from the 15,000 square-foot building it opened in 2004. Marie-Josee Vaillant, the company president, spoke at length about the reasons why she, her mother and sister located in Colebrook.

In the afternoon, the crew went downtown to the Le Rendevous Bakery and spoke with owner Verlaine Daeron and her partner, Marc Ounis. On a search through northern New England some years ago, the couple from Paris found their way to Colebrook and never left, setting up their bakery in the old First Colebrook Bank.

In addition to the business questions, there were exchanges about the many things in common New Hampshire has with Canada, especially Quebec, which shares our northern border at Pittsburg. The first immigrants to the Granite State, who came down to work the textile mills in Manchester and in the woods north of Berlin and the mills there that made paper for well over a century left a lasting legacy across the state.

“Between our geography and our culture, there is a real connection,” said Lamontagne.

The exact date when the segment on the Late News isn’t set, but the producer said it will be in late April, coinciding with Quebec’s tax day.

Interest in the New Hampshire tax story began last September, when a delegation from the Division of Economic Development went north to the Aero-Montreal Global Supply Chain Summit.

“This interest is a direct result of the Aero-Montreal summit,” said Lamontagne, who was part of the New Hampshire delegation, led by then-Gov. John Lynch, the only governor who attended the event.

Lamontagne and business recruiter Michael Bergeron have made about half a dozen trips to Canada over the past year, which included a dinner for 80 people in Sherbrooke last June to tell them about the benefits of expanding their business to New Hampshire, especially the North Country. In a province that is highly taxed, once business owners get over being incredulous, they are very interested in talking further about opportunities here.

Getting the word out about the business climate here isn’t easy, largely because unlike New York, Vermont and Maine, New Hampshire doesn’t have a television signal that goes over the border, so residents don’t hear a lot about the things that make us unique, very business friendly and eager to welcome our neighbors to north who want to get established in the US markets.

 

Lorna Colquhoun

Communications Director

Division of Economic Development

 

 

 

 

Five Companies Receive Job Training Grants This Month

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Gov. John Lynch today announced that five more New Hampshire companies have received Job Training grants in the month of August. 

nh-job-training-fundJob Training grants are aimed at keeping good jobs in New Hampshire by helping companies train their workers with new skills to compete in a changing economy. Gov. Lynch made it a priority to reinstate the Job Training Fund, which distributes up to $1 million annually in matching grants to allow companies to train new workers or retrain longtime employees.

Since the Job Training Fund was reinstated in late 2007 ago, nearly 7,500 workers from across New Hampshire have received training and enhanced skills through the matching grant program.

“New Hampshire is leading the region in economic activity, it is important that we continue to invest in New Hampshire workers and New Hampshire companies if we are to continue leading the way,” Gov. Lynch said. “Job training grants are helping our companies compete and grow, and meet the demands of a changing marketplace.”

The August 2010 recipients of the Job Training grants are: NH Ball Bearings in Laconia; Kheops International of Colebrook; Southeastern Container, Hudson; Airmar Technology Corp. in Milford; and Families in Transition in Manchester.

“The connection between business growth and an investment in professional development is undeniable,” said Department of Resources & Economic Development Commissioner George Bald. “I commend these exemplary companies for making a commitment to improving the skills of their workers and for adding to the economic vitality of the state.”

Since the Job Training Fund was re-established, companies from across New Hampshire have received state grants totaling more than $2.6 million. Companies receiving grants have contributed nearly $5 million, bringing the total amount invested in new training for workers to nearly $7.5 million.

For more information about the Job Training Fund, go to www.nhjobtrainingfund.org.

New North Country Economic Development Site Launched

Monday, April 12th, 2010

The North Country Council and the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development have announced the launch of a new website, www.NorthCountryEconomy.com, that is designed to promote New Hampshire’s North Country as a great place to do business.

fly-fishing1In making the announcement, New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Interim Director Roy Duddy said, “The North Country has so much to offer businesses that are interested in relocating or expanding: lots of available real estate, available and skilled labor, an excellent infrastructure, some outstanding business incentives and a great quality of life. This new website details it all while giving the site visitor a real feel for what it’s like in the North Country. Site visitors have the ability to search for commercial real estate—including industrial, office and retail space—by town or for the whole region.”

The site is available in both English and French. Duddy continues, “Many Canadian companies in Quebec are looking for a way to enter the American market. Expanding into the North Country is a good move for them; they get a U.S. base in an area where real estate’s still affordable and where there’s a skilled workforce—and it’s all just over the border from their headquarters. The Division of Economic Development has been marketing to Quebec for several years, and already Canadian companies such as Codet Inc., Kheops International, and Godin Guitars have made the North Country their home.  We’re so pleased to have this new website in French to help in our economic development efforts.”

Special thanks to Nancy Clark and her fantastic team at the Glen Group for their dynamite work on this project!!

Ohhhhhhhhh Canada

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

drummondville-mission-015The Division of Economic Development recently ventured north of the border to Drummondville, Quebec to hold a private dinner for 53 Canadian companies interested in learning more about doing business in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Department of Resources & Economic Development Commissioner George Bald was the host of the event along with State Business Development Manager Michael Bergeron and North Country Business Services Specialist Beno Lamontagne. Marie-Josee Vaillant and Marie-Soleil Gueymard of Colebrook-based Kheops International were also on hand, sharing their valuable experience of moving their company from Canada to New Hampshire.

drummondville-mission-005“We were overwhelmed by the great response we received from the Canadian companies in attendance,” Bergeron said. “They were thrilled that we conducted the business portion of the dinner in their native language and that we had so much to offer in terms of valuable information. I’m very hopeful that we were able to plant the seed that will result in a few companies taking a much closer look at Coos County as they plan a business expansion or relocation.”

The sales presentation was sponsored through a federal grant coordinated through the North Country Council.

– Steve Boucher, Communications & Legislative Director