Duane Hicks
FORT FRANCES—Billed as an event that will feature up to 200 displays and potentially draw 10,000 people over two days, the Saw Tech Log and Rural Northwest Expo 2009 is coming to Fort Frances on June 12-13.
Glenn Dredhart, president of Canadian Trade Ex, a Timmins-based company which for the past 20 years has organized industrial trade shows across Canada catering to mining, forestry, and rural markets, said Friday that the expo still is in the planning stages, but is shaping up to be an event the likes of which many local residents have never seen.
“This event—there is no other like it in Northwestern Ontario. In 2009, there’s no other like it in Ontario,” noted Dredhart. “The only one in Canada, aside from us, is one up in Quebec.
“So we are going after a huge market.”
Dredhart added Canadian Trade Expo did a test event in Kenora in 2007 and drew close to 10,000 people. After that, he decided to set his sights on Fort Frances.
“Fort Frances is a very strong area right now. There is a lot of doom and gloom out there, but you guys seem to be holding onto your own right now,” he noted. “With the presence of AbitibiBowater there, and access to the U.S. market, it’s the perfect market.
“You seem to be the centre of Northwestern Ontario, between Thunder Bay and the Manitoba border,” Dredhart continued. “Kenora drew a huge market from Winnipeg and the U.S., so I am expecting the same thing for Fort Frances.”
The expo, which will take up virtually every square inch both inside and outside of the Memorial Sports Centre with products, services, and demos, will be aimed at multiple sectors, including:
•the forestry services sector (tree nurseries, reforestation, forest protection, and forest management services);
•logging sector (site planning, construction and maintenance of roads, and the harvesting of timber);
•the mining sector;
•First Nations’ communities and the development of new, sustainable commercial forestry opportunities (harvesting of timber and non-timber forest products);
•trucking and transportation industry (log, chip, lumber, and equipment hauling);
•communications (GIS/GPS) and safety sectors;
•commodity wood products sector (wood manufacturing, sawmills, plywood mills, particle board mills, OSB mills, and various board products);
•value-added products sector (doors, kitchen cabinets, flooring, pallets, mill work, coated papers, stationary, etc.);
•rural industry (private woodlot owners, farmers, portable sawmill owners, lodges, cottagers, and recreational organizations that have in interest in forests);
•Public Works and utility groups, along with road maintenance and building crews; and
•construction and engineering groups.
But Dredhart stressed the expo “is not closed to professionals.”
“We try to encourage any private land owners, farmers, anyone in the retail business, anyone looking at getting into business for themselves to come out—even the young ones because we’re encouraging them and letting them know that there still is a forest industry,” he enthused.
“Over the last 20 years we’ve been doing these events, I’ve noticed what the events do is kind of stimulate a downturned industry, stimulate some activity and create some positiveness,” he added.
As more and more exhibitors are signed up for the expo, there potentially will be more than 200 indoor and outdoor displays, including:
•a truckers’ pavilion and ride-and-drive program (where you can test drive the truck of your choice);
•ATV and UTV ride and drive programs;
•an agricultural construction equipment showcase;
•farm equipment;
•wholesale lumber and value added wood products for sale;
•an alternative energy solutions pavilion to showcase solar, wind, geothermal and biofuel products;
•a showcase for harvesting technology;
•chipping and debarking equipment;
•silviculture displays;
•Public Works displays;
•a portable sawmill demo;
•rural land and private woodlot equipment and demos;
•a milling tech showcase (saw milling, board milling and pulp and paper); and
•a logging tech showcase (harvesting, loading and transportation).
“It’s all about gathering the stakeholders together and putting what’s new and what’s exciting within these industries on display and putting them through their paces,” explained Dredhart.
“We do a lot of demonstrations on-site,” he noted. “It’s nice to touch a product, but it’s also nice to see a product operate. Even with the portable sawmills, wood-splitters, the harvesting systems, even stump grinders and stuff like that, we’re going to be doing that right on site.
“It’s all under one roof—it’s big toys for the big boys,” he stressed. “They can come and see whatever they want to see, and they can shop for the product that caters to their line of business.”
Dredhart said the expo already is 30 percent booked, with Canadian Trade Ex stepping up the marketing of the event just before Christmas.
While the expo is bound to feature large companies (and, in fact, AbitibiBowater and Ainsworth both have expressed interest), Dredhart noted any smaller local companies or individuals are encouraged to book space to showcase their wares.
“What I noticed in Kenora when we did this event, and what we get with every event we produce, is we do get an awesome local following of exhibitors,” he remarked.
“A lot of the guys are producers of log homes, producers of furniture and value-added wood products, and even the local distributors of products,” he noted, adding the latter often can get “awesome assistance” from their suppliers to put on demos of their product lines at shows like these.
Exhibitors should keep in mind there will be an extensive marketing campaign for the expo, including everything from brochures, posters, and website promotions to new releases and advertising in trade magazines, radio broadcasting, and displays at other national events promoting the expo.
There also will be a full feature on the area and a complete agenda of the event in Forestry Life Magazine, as well as the official show guide.
There also are plans in the works to hold an Ontario Forestry Safety Workplace Association (OFSWA) safety conference in conjunction with the expo, including a due diligence course for owners, senior managers, and supervisors as an orientation to the Occupational Health and Safety Act as it relates to the expectations of due diligence and the requirement for the development of effective health and safety programs.
Also planned is a workplace inspection course designed to familiarize participants with workplace inspection standards and the benefits of a well-planned inspection program.
For more information on the expo, including how to become an exhibitor, call Dredhart at 1-866-754-9334 ext. 126 or e-mail him at glenn@woodtech.net
(Fort Frances Times)
