Why Trade Matters
Trade and the Canadian Economy
Chile, A Key Partner in Latin America
Stories of the Week -
December 2, 2003:
Canada considers Chile to be a key partner in Latin America.
Since the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 1997, bilateral trade has jumped by 32 percent, totalling around $950 million in 2002.
Some 50 Canadian companies have seized the opportunity to build on the ties that bind Canada and Chile and take part in the trade mission to Chile between December 2 and 5, 2003.
Led by Assistant Deputy Minister for the Americas and former Canadian ambassador to Chile, Marc Lortie, this mission will strengthen the already excellent trade relations between the two countries and highlight Canada's role as a committed trading partner from day one.
This trade mission follows up on the 1998 Team Canada mission to Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. The Chile portion of the mission yielded 66 bilateral agreements with an estimated worth of $759 million. The first trade mission to Chile was in 1995.
Canadian investment in Chile totalled $5.8 billion in 2002, making Canada one of the biggest investors in the country.
In terms of exporting goods and services in various sectors, Canada has a lot to offer. Chile also offers a multitude of opportunities for trade, investment and partnerships for Canadian companies.
This trade mission aims to identify and build upon the opportunities for increased trade and investment that exist between our two countries.
This week, Stories of the Week looks at Canadian companies doing business in Chile.
Stories of the Week - December 2, 2003
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Port Development in South America
Baird & Associates Coastal Engineers Ltd., Ottawa, Ontario
Baird & Associates Coastal Engineers Ltd. solves complex problems on oceans, lakes and rivers. In 1999, the Ottawa-based firm opened an office in Chile to better serve its Latin American clients. "As a small firm, we recognized early in the export process that we had to minimize risk, due in part to the presence of large multi-disciplinary companies," says Bill Baird, President of Baird & Associates. "We did this by making use of federal government services such as the PEMD (Program for Export Market Development), the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service and CIDA INC." As a result of this approach, Baird & Associates today has projects to its credit in the Caribbean, South America, Africa, India and Malaysia.
The United States was the firm's first export market, where "we quickly realized that we could provide significant technical innovation," says Baird. To improve service and provide a platform for growth, Baird & Associates opened an office in Madison, Wisconsin. Having acquired the confidence to compete globally, Baird set its sights further south and in 1990, began promoting its capabilities in the Caribbean. Today, it is a major coastal engineering force in the region, highlighted by the recent award of seven shoreline restoration projects in Barbados—one of its largest projects to date.
In 1996, Baird & Associates turned to Chile. After developing a project in Viña del Mar, it generated further business in Chile, as well as in Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Panama and Uruguay. To capitalize on the huge market potential, the firm opened an office in Santiago and, shortly afterwards, was awarded the coastal engineering design work for Chile's most important port development project, Complejo Portuario de Mejillones. Working with the Chilean navy (La Armada), Baird also assisted in the creation of a new regulatory framework to govern certain technical aspects associated with the development of coastal and port infrastructure. This project has garnered the firm the respect of the local engineering community, resulting in a significant increase in business activity.
Ontario Company Liquidates Shower Clutter
Better Living Products International Inc., Vaughan, Ontario
If you come across one of those dispensers in a hotel shower which releases various gels at the push of a button, chances are it was made by Better Living Products International Inc. (BLP), a small company of 14 people in Vaughan, north of Toronto.
With the world's largest collection of shower dispensers, BLP exports to more than 70 countries worldwide. Its products are popular in Latin America—particularly in Chile, where the company's client is the largest chain of home improvement stores. "We met this customer at a trade show in Dallas two years ago and they have since become a strong distributor for us," says Ian Wallace, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at BLP.
Last year, the company expanded its presence in Russia by participating in the Team Canada 2002 Trade Mission. "We wanted to find an agent in Russia to handle our products but never would have gone there on our own," says Wallace. "During the mission, we were able to arrange a meeting with a potential agent and show them our products. The high-profile delegation had a definite impact and now we have a solid distributorship agreement in the Moscow region."
BLP exports its dispensers through a network of distributors who sell them to bath shops, home improvement stores, cabinet makers and hotels. The company has a sales representative in Germany, a major market.
Labelling Chilean Wine
Cameo Crafts Graphic Industries, Montreal, Quebec
Over the past few years, there has been phenomenal growth in international demand for Chilean wines. In response to this trend, Cameo Crafts Graphic Industries—a designer and manufacturer of label packaging solutions for some of the world's best-known brands—decided to expand its manufacturing capabilities into South America. In 2002, the Montreal-based company launched its newest plant, Cameo Marinetti, in Santiago in order in order to supply local winemakers with state-of-the-art labels for their sought-after export products.
Recent Chilean agreements with the European Union, South Korea and the United States—together with annual double-digit growth in the wine industry—are expected to bring about further opportunities for Cameo Crafts in Chile as well as in neighbouring wine-producing countries. "Over the next five years, we hope to capture 60 percent of the local market," says Mitchell Kendall, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at Cameo Crafts. "Export Development Canada (EDC) has been very helpful in making sure we established the proper contacts in the region."
Founded in 1932, Cameo Crafts also has four manufacturing facilities in Quebec and one each in Ontario and California.
Canadian Forest Fire Fighting Expertise in South America
Wildfire Fire Equipment Inc., Lachine, Quebec
Wildfire Fire Equipment Inc. specializes in complete forest fire fighting systems, particularly lightweight equipment that lends itself to backpacking through forests to fire and water locations. In countries such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea and the United States—and more recently in southern Europe—its know-how is spreading like, well, wildfire.
As a participant in the 1995 trade mission to Latin America, the Lachine-based company established high-level contacts within the Brazilian federal agency that was working to strengthen the country's forest fire protection systems, as part of a huge World Bank-funded project for the Amazon Basin. "We had no previous experience in Brazil and needed to prove ourselves and, more importantly, find a local partner," says Jim White, President of Wildfire. Opportunities for both arose when, as part of a Quebec delegation to the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais in 1996, Wildfire was introduced to the state forestry institute. "They were having problems with a rapidly disappearing forest ecosystem," explains White. "We arranged a consultancy, which led to an alliance with a Brazilian manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment." By 1998, the project had progressed to a purchasing phase, and—as luck would have it—Team Canada was visiting Latin America again that year. That trip resulted in a $1-million contract to equip firefighters in the northern Amazon region as well as a five-year agreement to sponsor a Chilean student at the University of Chile's faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Forestry.
Wildfire continues to reap success in the region. This past October, the company obtained an order worth close to half a million dollars U.S. from the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renovaveis in Brasilia, which is funded by the United Nations Development Program. In Chile, the scholarship fund has been renewed and Wildfire was on hand to remit its prize in November.
Even though Wildfire has been in business for over a century and is well known worldwide, it is a relatively small business of about 180 employees. "Fortunately, there is significant support and resources at both the federal and provincial levels," says White. "We are always impressed by the enthusiasm of the specialists working at our consulates and embassies in promoting Canadian small and medium-sized companies. In addition, being part of the trade missions gave us access to high levels of governments, which we need and wouldn't otherwise have."
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