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Posts Tagged ‘Quebec’

New Hampshire, Canadian Officials Look at Importance of International Trade

Friday, April 20th, 2018

New Hampshire’s northern neighbor is also it’s biggest trading partner, so as discussions about the North American Free Trade Agreement continue, Granite State businesses are paying close attention.

More than 70 percent of Canadian exports go to the American market; Canada is the largest export market for more than 30 states.

Trade and investment with Canada supports 39,000 jobs in New Hampshire. Each year, companies and manufacturers export $576 million in goods and $211 in services to Canada.

“Our relationship,” said Business and Economic Affairs Commissioner Taylor Caswell, “is crucial to our state’s economy.”

This fueled discussion this week, Renegotiating NAFTA: Partners for a Prosperous Economy, featuring industry leaders, state and provincial policy-makers, and economic development representatives from Quebec and New Hampshire, including Caswell;  Welch Manufacturing Technologies President Glenn Welch and CEO Robert Bouchard of Rotobec.

Welch is the manufacturer of Biteharder, a snowmobile carbide sharpening unit. Working with our Office of International Trade, Welch has found a thriving market in Canada. He told the audience that without NAFTA, the cost to send his product over the northern border would be almost as much as the unit itself.

Rotobec, which has had a presence in Littleton for over 30 years, is expanding for the second time in two years and expects to grow to 50 employees. Bouchard said international trade agreements enables the company to reach markets efficiently on both sides of the border and to have access to workforce.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed things won’t change,” Welch said.

 

Quebec Businessman Chooses Littleton to Launch New Company

Wednesday, September 27th, 2017

Pierre Harvey, Harvey International, left; Steve Malenfant, founder and CEO, Inter USA Industrial Group

A Quebec businessman chose northern New Hampshire to launch his new company, which he expects to grow over the next few years to include up to 50 employees.

Steve Malenfant, CEO and founder of Groupe Industriel Interprovincial Inc. of Magog, QC, led the ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 26 for his new venture, Inter USA Industrial Group,  in Littleton.

The company offers a service, providing teams trained for industrial equipment installation, planned machine maintenance, relocation, re-shoring and outage/shutdown services to a variety of industries such as pulp and paper; wood processing; rubber and plastics; steel and metal; food processing, and more.

The company’s success is based on its mission of helping clients and the guiding principle of building the trust that is essential between the client’s inhouse teams and the teams from Inter USA. Inter-USA’s employees go through a thorough technical program before working on job sites, Malenfont said, “to make sure our employees are the best millwrights available and that they are skilled at developing strong relationships with our client’s inhouse teams.

Ribbon cutting of Inter USA Industrial Group in Littleton.

Founded in 2003, its Quebec counterpart employs more than 140 employees and the long term plan for the new US-based company is to hire and train between 25 and 50 employees in Littleton, most of them millwrights, engineering technicians and welders.

“We chose northern New Hampshire because we know that labor is available and because of the close proximity to sawmills, pulp and paper, steel and metal fabricators,” Malenfant said. “We will hire locally and pair the US employees with experienced Quebec millwrights from our head office until they are trained and have integrated the Inter USA business model. We will train them so that they can take over and start doing jobs quickly in New England.”

Beno Lamontagne and Michael Bergeron of the Department of Business and Economic Affairs first connected with the company at a dinner in Quebec hosted by the Division of Economic Development several years ago. Over that time, they worked with Malenfant to help him with his real estate search, obtaining visas, the hiring process and business incorporation.

 

 

 

The New Hampshire – Quebec Connection: Renforcer Nos Liens Economiques

Thursday, March 30th, 2017

Collage

New Hampshire reinforced its ties with its neighbor to the north this month, as Commissioner Rose and the business development team accompanied Gov. Sununu to Montreal.

Speaking to Quebec Premiere Phillippe Couillard and 250 business leaders at a luncheon hosted by Conseil des Relations Internationales de Montréal (the International Relations Council of Montreal), Sununu talked about the longstanding ties New Hampshire has with the province – the social, industrial and economic foundation of cities like Berlin, Manchester and Somersworth were shaped by those who came down and went to work in the mills and woods.

The other part of his message is that New Hampshire is open for business to those companies looking to expand, to have a US presence close to their home headquarters, offering an educated and skilled workforce, an attractive business climate and a strategic location for markets in the northeast and beyond.

Quebec Companies Learn About Benefits of Business Expansion to New Hampshire

Monday, October 10th, 2016

New Hampshire Economic Development at Montreal, 10/4/2016

The New Hampshire Division of Economic Development hosted more than two dozen representatives of Quebec-based businesses lastTuesday evening for a presentation in Montreal about the advantages of expanding their operations to the Granite State.

The dinner marked the first time in over four years the division has had funding to conduct a business recruitment event. In all, 27 executives from 19 companies representing aerospace and defense, transportation, IT, and other advanced manufacturing operations, attended.

“Quebec has always played a key role in New Hampshire’s economy, from our historic mills to our North Country,” said Jeffrey Rose, commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development. “The benefits for Canadian companies, especially manufacturers, to consider expansion to New Hampshire are significant. From our shared border, business friendly climate and skilled workforce, the Granite State is a very favorable location.”

The presentation, conducted primarily in French by business resource specialist Beno Lamontagne, included testimonials by Marie-Josee Vaillant, president of KHEOPS International in Colebrook, and Benoit Frappier, president of Ben-Mor in Hinsdale, who have expanded their Quebec-based businesses to New Hampshire in recent years.

As a result of the presentation, two companies plan to visit northern New Hampshire in the near future to learn more.

“Business recruitment efforts play an important role in economic development,” Rose said. “Companies expanding or relocating to the state create – jobs, complement existing manufacturers who need their suppliers nearby and diversify our economy. We’re pleased that our budget now includes funding to conduct this kind of activity outside of New Hampshire.”

The state’s lack of sales, income, use, estate, inventory and capital gains taxes; examples of available commercial and industrial real estate and quality of life were highlighted during the presentation.

The Division of Economic Development, part of the New Hampshire Department for Resources and Economic Development, is the single point of contact for New Hampshire businesses needing assistance and resources to grow and thrive, as well as for out-of-state companies looking to expand or relocate in the state. For more information, visit nheconomy.com.

Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
Division of Economic Development

Just Back from Aéro Montréal’s Aerospace Innovation Forum

Thursday, April 28th, 2016

New Hampshire at Aéro Montréal

Aéro Montréal, which is Quebec’s aerospace cluster, wrapped up its two-day Aerospace Innovation Summit and among the more than 1,000 attendees were our Michael Bergeron and Beno Lamontagne.

“The forum has become essential for aerospace stakeholders in Québec and internationally who want to learn about the latest technological advances, create collaborative projects between countries and generate business opportunities,” said Suzanne M. Benoît, president of Aéro Montréal.

There are about 350 companies in the Granite State that have a connection to the aerospace and defense industries, according to the New Hampshire Aerospace and Defense Export Consortium, which forged a collaboration with Aéro Montréal in 2013.

Bergeron said the venue is a great place to connect with companies that may have an interest, or a need, to have a presence in New Hampshire. He said that while many Canadians were drawn to our booth to relate their vacation experiences in the White Mountains or Hampton Beach, they were surprised to learn about the business side of the state – particularly the lack of a sales or personal income tax and our business friendly climate.

It’s been a busy week here at NH Economy, but for New Hampshire, it’s been a great one, with international exposure from the halls of Hannover Messe in Germany, the world’s largest industrial trade fair, to Aéro Montréal, one of the world’s largest aerospace clusters, right over the border.

Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
Division of Economic Development

Seacoast Aerospace Initiative: Cleared for Take-off; Aero/Defense Business Cleared to Land

Wednesday, May 14th, 2014

The Seacoast Aerospace Initiative launched Monday, with the ceremonial signing of a letter that clears for landing Canadian aerospace companies looking for opportunity to expand in one of New Hampshire’s fastest growing sectors.

The initiative came about in 2012, as Albany International and Safran were preparing for their co-location in Rochester, and the need to prepare for the growth of the industry.

The Seacoast Aerospace Initiative

The Seacoast Aerospace Initiative

For the past 18 months, a partnership that included officials from Dover, Portsmouth, Rochester and Somersworth, as well as the Pease International Tradeport, Great Bay Community College and the University of New Hampshire and we here at the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, has been working to position this region as a hub for composites manufacturing.

Fast forward to this week and we celebrated a milestone: The signing of a letter – in French – inviting Quebec aerospace companies and suppliers not only  to expand here, but to work with us in other areas, such as research and education.

“This collaboration has strengthened the Seacoast’s position as a leader in the aerospace and defense industry,” said Gov. Maggie Hassan. “This is win-win for everybody – the companies involved, the cities, the Seacoast, the state and for our people. It’s a good day for business in New Hampshire.”

Quebec is our closest neighbor to the north and we share more than an international border; we owe much to them for our history, culture and work ethic.

“Montreal is the national hub for aerospace,” said Thierry Weissenburger, senior trade commissioner of the Canadian Consulate in Boston. “This collaboration is happening as burgeoning trade is going on and I expect it grow massively.”

If you recall, our aerospace industry got a boost when the New Hampshire Aerospace and Defense Export Consortium signed a MOU with Aero Montreal in December, paving the way for our aerospace companies to have preferred relationships with their counterparts in Quebec.

AeroCanW

Marianne Bonnard

“This happened six months ago and already you are moving on with the next steps,” said Marianne Bonnard, with the Quebec delegation. “You are already moving on to the step and I think that says a lot about the determination of the region here and of our cooperation.”

With that came the ceremonial signing of the letter by our Commissioner Jeffrey Rose, of the Department of Resources and Economic Development; Mayors Karen Weston of Dover, Robert Lister of Portsmouth, T.J. Dean of Rochester, Dana Hilliard of Somersworth, and Arthur Nickless Jr., chairman of the Pease Development Authority.

“This regional hub is the centerpiece for our state’s economy, built around aerospace and defense,” Rose said. “We’re ready for take-off on the Seacoast.”

 

Lorna Colquhoun

Communications Director

NH Division of Economic Development