Business in Winnipeg

[h0twired]

Originally Posted by trueviking

my shaw cable and internet have been down for two days now....bastards...spent the evening surfing the net on my iphone....almost considered reading a book.

this is why i hate calgary.

So what explanation are they giving you for the two day outage? Seems a bit extreme to me.

I have never had a single outage (TV, internet or phone) with Shaw over the past 9 years that I have been with them.

However when I was with MTS and then Telus the outages were frequent and long in duration.

[The Jabroni]

I've never had any major issues with MTS or Shaw, except outages from them from time to time.

[1ajs]

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Half Pints Brewery tanks up

Two 40-barrel vats raise capacity 50%

By: Geoff Kirbyson
10/07/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

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THE (pint) glass may have been half full at Half Pints Brewing, but now it's overflowing.
The Winnipeg-based microbrewery has just installed a pair of 40-barrel tanks, which will increase its capacity by nearly 50 per cent.
"What used to take us a week to brew will now take us two days in one tank. We used to have four single-batch fermenting tanks. These are quadruple-sized tanks. They're 4,000 litres each," said David Rudge, brewmaster at Half Pints.
The new tanks boost the brewery's capacity to 8,000 hectolitres a year, or nearly 100,000 two-fours. That's up from 1,500 hectolitres or about 18,000 two-fours when Half Pints started up nearly four years ago.
"If we're going to keep the quality of the beer the same and not filter it, it takes a little longer, so you need a few more tanks to do it. We have to spend a little more money on tanks and more time on the brewing process, but in the end, it's worth it," he said.
Rudge said the brewery's second expansion in less than two years will be critical in helping it keep up with demand, particularly during the busy summer beer-drinking season.
"We were at the point where the demand was outstripping our capacity again. The new tanks will help keep up for the next year. If they don't, we'll have to buy two more tanks," he said.
Rudge said Half Pints is preparing to launch a new seasonal beer this month called Rigamarole Rye, which uses rye in the brewing process and has been aging in oak barrels for the last six months.
Although it's not unusual for Half Pints to come up with seasonal recipes periodically, Rudge said he plans to increase their frequency.
"Some are more intense or expensive to produce or wouldn't have the same kind of market (as our traditional beers). We sell them from the brewery for one day. We'll put it on our website a couple of weeks in advance and the people who are honest-to-goodness Half Pints fans know they have to be here that morning or it will sell out," he said.
"We're not a huge brewery. We're not going to make thousands and thousands of litres of specialty beers to sell."
It recently made 1,000 litres of another one-off production, Black IPA. The lineup outside the St. James brewery on the day it was available was nearly 100 people deep.
"We limited sales to one case per person. It was pretty crazy," Rudge said.
He said his goal is to grow the company in a deliberate manner with support from his core group of shareholders. He said there are absolutely no plans to follow in the footsteps of Fort Garry Brewing and take the company public.
"We have no want or need to go to public offerings," he said.
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 10, 2010 B4

[roccerfeller]

so what will happen to the canwest building then?

[1ajs]

its not owned by canwest global crewswin owns it

[JayM]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

its not owned by canwest global crewswin owns it

Yeah Canwest/Global is different then Creswin Properties.

[LilZebra]

Isn't Creswin like a Canwest subsidiary?

CresWin - like a concatenation of - Wellington Crescent and Winnipeg.

And didn't the Aspers once live on that street?

Just like the Shaw family owns SHAW Cable, Star Choice DBStv, CORUS, and now Global Tv.

Videon should have sold to ROGERS instead of SHAW. I hate SHAW.

They even changed the name of the DBS service from Star Choice to the icky sounding name of SHAW Direct.

[trueviking]

canwest and creswin are different companies...one is owned by a family in calgary the other by a family in winnipeg.

[JayM]

I'm assuming that recent house that's 7 million is a house that the Aspers own.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by JayM

I'm assuming that recent house that's 7 million is a house that the Aspers own.

I don't think so. I thought it was Marty Weinberg's (Assante) ex wife's house - but i could be wrong.

[hexrae]

New Flyer lands N.Y. bus contract

NEW Flyer Industries has won a contract with the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority for up to 475 buses.

The contract is for 135 40-foot compressed natural gas (CNG) heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional 340 CNG buses.

The order will add about US$216 million to the New Flyer backlog.

Two pilot buses will be delivered in the second quarter of 2011, with the balance of the base order delivered in the fourth quarter of 2011 and early 2012.

The buses will be operated by the New York City Transit Authority and the MTA Bus Company, the largest transit agency in North America, which is responsible for public transportation in the state of New York.

Since 1996, New Flyer has delivered 823 buses to the MTA, including 630 60-foot diesel buses, three 45-foot diesel buses and 190 40-foot CNG buses.

[JayM]

Originally Posted by hexrae

New Flyer lands N.Y. bus contract

NEW Flyer Industries has won a contract with the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority for up to 475 buses.

The contract is for 135 40-foot compressed natural gas (CNG) heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional 340 CNG buses.

The order will add about US$216 million to the New Flyer backlog.

Two pilot buses will be delivered in the second quarter of 2011, with the balance of the base order delivered in the fourth quarter of 2011 and early 2012.

The buses will be operated by the New York City Transit Authority and the MTA Bus Company, the largest transit agency in North America, which is responsible for public transportation in the state of New York.

Since 1996, New Flyer has delivered 823 buses to the MTA, including 630 60-foot diesel buses, three 45-foot diesel buses and 190 40-foot CNG buses.

Should New Flyer think of getting into Inter-City/Coach buses...? They have solid ground in the City Transit but nothing outside.

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by JayM

Should New Flyer think of getting into Inter-City/Coach buses...? They have solid ground in the City Transit but nothing outside.

Those two businesses are very different, the only similarity between Flyer's vehicles and say Motor Coach Industries' vehicles is that they are bus-shaped.

[h0twired]

Originally Posted by JayM

Should New Flyer think of getting into Inter-City/Coach buses...? They have solid ground in the City Transit but nothing outside.

Inter city coaches aren't exactly a growing industry. Most people these days fly than take a bus and the trend seems to be continuing in that direction.

Transit is where they should keep their investment.

[JayM]

Originally Posted by h0twired

Inter city coaches aren't exactly a growing industry. Most people these days fly than take a bus and the trend seems to be continuing in that direction.

Transit is where they should keep their investment.

Just a thought really. If there is advancements in quality and safety im sure people would change their minds. Too many car dependent people.

[vid]

They could work on producing more comfortable buses for long distance trips. I'm not sure if they have a proper BRT line or not, either. Novabus just came out with one, the LFX I think. They also produce a suburban model of their bus, with comfortable seats, luggage racks, personal lighting and a single door. Sudbury has a few of them for its far flung suburbs.

[JayM]

Originally Posted by vid

They could work on producing more comfortable buses for long distance trips. I'm not sure if they have a proper BRT line or not, either. Novabus just came out with one, the LFX I think. They also produce a suburban model of their bus, with comfortable seats, luggage racks, personal lighting and a single door. Sudbury has a few of them for its far flung suburbs.

I took a look at NovaBUS' website. They have some pretty convincing models.

[1ajs]

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Exchange nabs Bearskin Airlines

Company dominant in northern skies

By: Martin Cash
Posted: 16/09/2010 1:00 AM

Exchange Income Corp. is adding Bearskin Airlines to its portfolio of Manitoba regional airlines and now owns just about the entire set.
The Winnipeg-based holding company has signed a letter of intent to buy Bearskin Airlines for $32.5 million.
The Sioux Lookout, Ont.-based airline will broaden Exchange Income's air service reach into northwestern and central Ontario as far south as Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo.
Bearskin operates hubs out of Thunder Bay and Winnipeg and dominates in the Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, North Bay markets.
It also flies to Flin Flon and The Pas and has several flights into northwestern Ontario from Winnipeg.
Last year Bearskin generated about $47 million in revenue and the company has consistently turned a profit for several years.
After raising about $60 million in debt offerings during the last 12 months, Exchange had made it clear it was on the lookout for acquisitions.
It will pay for Bearskin by issuing about $3 million in new shares and the remainder will be in cash.
Harvey Friesen, who owned Bearskin with his brother Cliff, said they have been talking with Exchange for several years.
"We see what they have done with the other airlines they have bought," Harvey Friesen said from Sioux Lookout. "The other airlines have continued to operate independently and we are really looking forward to continuing to grow the business."
The Friesens and all the rest of its 260 employees will continue to work for the airline.
In addition to Bearskin, Exchange owns Perimeter Air, Keewatin Airways and Calm Air.
Last year Exchange Income Corp.'s airlines generated $153.5 million in revenue out of total revenue of $211 million. (It also owns some industrial manufacturing companies mostly in Alberta and B.C. )
Recently, Exchange acquired the Manitoba dealership for Shell aviation fuel and runs depots in Winnipeg, Thompson and The Pas.
Its operations have also solidified their presence in the field with Keewatin Air recently winning a multimillion-dollar medevac contract with the Nunavut government and Calm Air winning a multimillion-dollar contract with Hydro One in Ontario to distribute diesel fuel in the region.
The newest addition to Exchange Income's family of airlines gives it considerable dominance in the market.
Although it will control the entire air service offerings in many small communities in Manitoba, company officials maintain its interest is in expanding service, not cutting it or gouging its customers.
"We do have a strong market position, but we bristle at the suggestion that we have a monopoly," said Exchange Income CEO Mike Pyle.
He said the price-per-seat-mile at Perimeter, Keewatin and Calm Air is less than air service prices in northern Ontario and Quebec.
Tribal Councils Investment Group holds a large block of Exchange Income shares and has a marketing agreement with the company to establish community partnership agreements in many of the First Nations communities that Perimeter flies into. Those deals mean significant money has flowed back into the communities in the form of free tickets and other services.
"For instance, when NAC (North American Charters) failed a few years ago we cut fares rather than increase them," Pyle said.
Barry Prentice, a transportation expert at the University of Manitoba, said the Bearskin purchase makes sense for Exchange.
"They have become successful in their niche market and this will allow them to grow it," he said. "These communities need service and Bearskin provides it. It is the right sized company. The whole idea of deregulation in the airline industry was that niche markets would be serviced."
Prentice said rather than ownership concentration being a negative thing, it could be seen as a good thing for the region. "It is a vote of confidence in the region that there is a commercial enterprise willing to invest," he said.
Exchange shares closed down 12 cents on Wednesday to $15.74.
martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca

Locations serviced
Bearskin Airways
Manitoba -- Flin Flon, Lynn Lake, The Pas, Winnipeg
Ontario -- Kenora, Fort Frances, Dryden, Red lake, Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Kapuskasing, Timmins, Kitchener/Waterloo, Sudbury, North Bay and Ottawa.

Perimeter Air
Manitoba -- Berens River, Brandon, Brochet, Cross Lake, Dauphin, Garden Hill, God's Lake Narrows, God's River, Lac Brochet, Lynn Lake, Norway House, Oxford House, Red Sucker Lake, Shamattawa, St. Theresa Point, Tadoule, Thompson, York Landing and Winnipeg
Ontario -- Pikangikum and Sandy Lake

Calm Air
Nunavut -- Arviat, Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet, Coral Harbour, Rankin Inlet, Repulse Bay and Whale Cove
Manitoba -- Churchill, Flin Flon, Gillam, The Pas, Thompson, Winnipeg

Keewatin Air
Nunavut -- Arviat, Baker Lake, Chesterfield Inlet, Coral Harbour, Repulse Bay, Rankin Inlet, Sanikiluaq, Whale Cove
Manitoba -- Winnipeg and Churchill
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 16, 2010 B6

[hexrae]

It's let's-make-a-deal time

As a large delegation from Algeria registered for Centrallia 2010 Wednesday afternoon at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, row upon row of numbered desks sat empty, ready to be occupied today and Friday with head-to-head meetings among business people from around the world.

As one local business person said, "All it takes is one or two successes" to make it worthwhile.

Centrallia, the stylized two-day speed-dating event matching small and medium-size business owners from around the world, has also been welcomed because of the sheer aggregation in Winnipeg of so many keen business proprietors -- about 500 -- at one time.
For instance, it's hard not to be impressed having a short conversation with Algerian "informatique" (information technology) company executive Chouikh Abdelhafid in English, which is surely his third language at best.
His company, which employs 20, is in Winnipeg looking for partnerships and growth opportunities.
It's a big world, made smaller by Centrallia, so who knows what could happen?
Noah Decter-Jackson, founder of Complex Games Inc. in Winnipeg, said he's not sure what to expect or what opportunities he'll encounter at Centrallia. But the digital gaming industry is now a multibillion-dollar global behemoth and meeting another developer from another side of the world or in a neighbouring province could evolve into a key source of growth for Decter-Jackson's small Winnipeg shop. "You never know," he said.
The same sentiment is shared by Albert ElTassi, CEO of Peerless Garments. In addition to countless uniforms Peerless has made for the Canadian military, the Winnipeg manufacturer has now added the army of Colombia to its portfolio.
ElTassi is not expecting to land big-time military contracts through his meetings at Centrallia, but as he said, "That's not all we do."
Winning new customers was not even top of mind for ElTassi, who said he was motivated to participate as a member of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce which, along with ANIM (Agence nationale et internationale du Manitoba), organized the event over the last one-and-a-half years.
But that's not to say there will not be some hard-headed business going on in the next few days. There are rumours that a local company is on the verge of signing a significant wind-energy deal in India and another even more sizable information technology contract is said to be in the works.
A New Brunswick drilling company may also close a deal with a Manitoba company at Centrallia.
Francois LaFortune, a former chemistry professor at St. Boniface College, now a technology consultant in Montreal with Carbon Credit Solutions, hopes to meet some Winnipeg technology companies to offer his services in accessing research tax credits.
A large contingent from India, 28 companies in all, is here to do some serious business.
The delegation is led by Jagat Shah, whose international trade consulting business, Global Network, based in Ahmedabad, has been under contract as the province of Manitoba's trade representative in India for the last two years.
"Exporting is a craze in India right now," he said. "It is a sign of credibility (in the Indian business community). And the moment they become exporters, they want to invest in other countries."
Rather than depleting domestic economic resources, Shah says that activity improves the Indian economy by importing best practices from around the world.
Meanwhile, they are here and hungry for contacts and partnerships.
For instance, Jayant Keni, the 26 year-old chairman and managing director of the $250-million-a-year family business, JK Group of Companies of Mumbai, said there is an "energy crunch" in India.
"There is a huge demand for power in India and we are looking for partnerships with unconventional energy technology companies," he said.
Many international delegates talk about the goodwill in their country towards Canada, which is what Centrallia is looking to take advantage of.
martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca

[nordique]

New York Times article today: (and it has nothing to do with MuRdEr-KaPiTal-oF-CaNaDa bullshit)

Defying Trend, Canada Lures More Migrants


Immigrant workers at the Palliser furniture factory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The province tries to attract semi-skilled workers.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — As waves of immigrants from the developing world remade Canada a decade ago, the famously friendly people of Manitoba could not contain their pique.

What irked them was not the Babel of tongues, the billions spent on health care and social services, or the explosion of ethnic identities. The rub was the newcomers’ preference for “M.T.V.” — Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver — over the humble prairie province north of North Dakota, which coveted workers and population growth.

Demanding “our fair share,” Manitobans did something hard to imagine in American politics, where concern over illegal immigrants dominates public debate and states seek more power to keep them out. In Canada, which has little illegal immigration, Manitoba won new power to bring foreigners in, handpicking ethnic and occupational groups judged most likely to stay.

This experiment in designer immigration has made Winnipeg a hub of parka-clad diversity — a blue-collar town that gripes about the cold in Punjabi and Tagalog — and has defied the anti-immigrant backlash seen in much of the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/13/wo...s/13immig.html