Cathy Rose, President of Creative Esthetics Dental Laboratory in Charlottetown, is a great example of how hard work in business does pay off. On her first trade mission to New England, she is establishing contacts and making business deals that will lead to significant growth of her operation.
Yesterday, Rose had some very promising discussions with a company who manufactures custom milled frameworks for crown and bridge dental work. They are looking to purchase 6000 to 8000 units of her products annually, which, she says, could allow her to create two new jobs in PEI.
"We've met some great contacts on the mission, with yesterday's meeting creating some very exciting opportunities for my company," said Rose. Currently, this New England manufacturer has been sending his dental lab work to France and New York, but was looking for a change in suppliers. "He expressed interest in affiliating with a Canadian supplier and felt that Creative Esthetics Dental Laboratory will be a nice fit with his company," Rose said. "The deal is quite firm at this point, and it's now up to me to look into ways of shipping my product to New England."
Island Quality Vegetables from Montague has also been having some promising meetings on the trade mission.
"We recently expanded our product line to include potatoes, carrots and turnips, products that we are promoting on this mission, along with our broccoli and cauliflower," said Julius Patkai, General Manager of Island Quality Vegetables.
Patkai said that delicatessen and convenience foods in urban New England are steadily growing. "On this mission, we've had meetings with buyers seeking to purchase bulk product for potato salad, an area that we are very interested in supplying."
Providing vegetable ingredients for frozen dinner entrees and other frozen food items is another area Island Quality Vegetables is looking to supply in the future. "While we are not prepared to supply frozen vegetables for ingredients at this point in time, we are learning what the market is looking for and are seeing ways to adapt the business at home to suit these market needs. All in all, we've been very pleased with the work we've done on the mission and have made some excellent contacts for future business."
This is the last day of the three-day trade mission which started on Monday, February 26, with companies returning home tomorrow.
The ten Island companies participating on the mission are: ADL, Atlantic Store Decor Inc., Atlantic Isle Gourmet Pasta Inc., Atlantic Digital Imaging Inc., Coles Associates Ltd., Creative Esthetics Dental Laboratory Inc., Future Learning Solutions Inc., Island Quality Vegetables Inc., Millworks Canada Inc., and Prestige Kitchens Ltd.
The 2001 Team Canada Atlantic mission is being organized by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the four Atlantic provinces, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Industry Canada, and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.
Those interested in further information on Team Canada Atlantic 2001 should consult the Team Canada Atlantic website at www.teamcanadaatlantic.com