Whiponic Wellputer Ltd., Normal Wells, Northwest Territories

Kevin Diebold, President of Whiponic Wellputer Ltd., is a Team Canada veteran, having participated in the 1997 Team Canada mission to Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, in the 1998 Northwest Territories Mission to China and the Team Canada trips to Japan in 1999 and to Germany and Russia in 2002.

Diebold did not sign any agreements on the 2002 mission but if past experience is indicative, he could be negotiating and signing deals in short order. "After my last trip with Team Canada, I secured three small contracts. There is little doubt, these trade missions open doors internationally and within Canada itself."

Diebold can recount from experience how important Team Canada missions can be in the formation of long-term business relationships. "These missions provide a wealth of information regarding potential suppliers, distributors, competitors, the clients, the market, the economy, the hurdles to overcome, etc. Secondly, they help us meet people of interest to us and locate companies that are right for us. And last, but not least, the Premiers help us a lot by opening doors, in a wider political sense," says Diebold.

Whiponic Wellputer offers a full range of construction services including evaluation of construction systems, man power and equipment requirements, purchasing and expediting. The company has been involved in projects in virtually every community in the Northwest Territories - from building schools, nursing stations, hospitals and government offices, to water supply and sewage disposal facilities, single and multi-family housing units, churches and museums.

06/2002