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Whltby Free Prus, Wednosday. November 24, 1993, Page 9 Witby touted as region's busi*ness centre By Mike Kowabsk Althouh the neihouswilIlikely wlrtat it isthe busineehu¶Of Durhamn Rogion. A bold, new marketing campaign, aimed at attracting more business to Whithy, recently received the blessing of Town council. Devised byr Whitby'e marketing and economie development department, the carnpaign will promote Whitby as- the centre of business activity in Durhamn RSodsidO signe proclaiming Whitby as the 'Heart of the Region' and 'Duham's Business Centre will be inetailed at key locations throughout the town. The 17 sed wl replace the famliar 'Home of the Marigold' signe which have groeted visitore to the municipality for the past severaIyeare. In addition, busine cnuunity. dietr Peter Lobel oxlained, a new "marketing strategy" was prepared for the Town "An integral part of the strategy was to develop a concept that je; simpfle, ineanungful and relevant," said Lebel. 'W. came up wiith the concept of Whitby being the hoart of the region, DAVE BR Durhani's business centre. deparimei It will bSem the basis of and centr the campaign," ho said. new Mh According to Lebel, 'home of t touting Whitby as Durhax's biusiness centre je not an idie boast but a crediblo slogan based on fact. Avarietyof critoria were used to justifyr the daim,, ho sad. 'Wo looked at sizO of industries in the number of employeos they have, and of the to2 employere ini the region, nine are ingtby,- said ILobel. Tlho nino comparues aise roprosent a wide diveraity of industries, ho noted. Thoy include: Co-Steel Lasco, steel manufacturingi, Sandoz, phermaceuticals; Lear Seating, automotive parts; MeGraw-Hiill Ryrson, publishing- Sklar-Peppler, friuomanufacturing- EDS, computer software; Totten Sime Htub.ckic engineering, and Atlantic P Ykgig papor producte. Lbl.staff îase took note of the number of companies that either have their Ontario headqurtrs, a main regional office or distribution centre located in Whitby. In this categoiy are McGraw-Hill, Sandoz, BMW Canada, Makita Canada, Consuzriers Gas, Sony and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. As.well, thero are several govrnment agencies and failities based in Whitby, Lebel pointed eut. Incruded in this group are the Durham Region administrative offices, the future headquarters of the Durham Board of Education, Durham College's ekcilîs train ing centre, the Ontarie goverrnment ladre ~tYlfil e regional courts, and ROUGH ladder) and Paul Cyr (Ieft) of Whitb nt, operational services manager Ted Rule e ward councillor John Doistra pose with or tby signs. 'Durham's business centre' has the manigold' as the Town's new sign slogan. Ptito by MkRA"oWso, Whitbi There je aise one important factor that doos not involve what je already in Whitby, but what je y'et to corne, Lebel said. ":W. looked at investment in Durham Region and one way to determine this ie through building permits," ho said. During t he period from 1990-92, the total value of building 1ermits issued by the municipahty was just over half a billion dollars," said Lebel. "This represents very high investor confidence in Whitby and shows that Whitby significantly outpaced the reet uf the region." Therefore, when al of these factoe s are considered, as well as Whitby>s geographical location, "the heart of the business commuity je meaninlgfu,. said Lebel. Due to a linuted budget Lebel's department will generally be conflned to advertising in trde publications and other print media. "Well be looking at specific industries and certain types -of companies to bring new jobs to WMhy," ho said. Lebel je hopeful that hie participation in an automotive trade show in Las vogas earlier this month will prove lucky down the road. Whitby was one of 15 munici palities in the Greater Toronto Area (GA) which jointly funded an exhibit both at the show. The GTA exhibit was on. of more than 2,500 at the annual event which attrigcted more p than 70,000 peo"le. e One of th yI resens" for Whitbyegs involvement - at a cust of only $1,50to the Town - je that 21 autemotive-related com- panies employing about e 1 100 people are basd in V'tby, Lebel said. ~ 'We had over -100 inquiries. Some were for ~ ~general information on VAtby and the GTA, b ut there were some inquiries from manufacturers lokingfor asite. Wile the marketing caznpaign and Las Yogas excursion are directed at larger companies, Whitby has not fergotten the email business sector. In conjurictien with the Ontario Ministry of Industry and Trade, a I kioek containing infor- mation pertaining te )y's traffic small businesses has been ) (centre) set up at the municipal ne 0f the building. replaced Since the ministry has ne office east Of )y Free Pross Scarborough, it agreed to pro vide a display unit and brochures at ne ceet to the municipaiity, hoe said. In addition to the ministry guides, Lebel's department han aise prepared a booklot on starting a emall business in Whitby. 1 It includes information on the type of email businesses that require a licence from the Town and a listing of local and regional government agencies te, contact for help in getting started. The guide has been distributed to goverient departments, financial institutions and business associations in Whitby. "We've issued over 130 copies and we have poople coming in and asldng for more,'- eaid Label. "It's the only oe of ita kind in Durhama Region. We've identifled a real need." Terry G. Newman has been appointed vice-president and general manager of Co-Steel Lasco. Newman has been part of the Co-Steel group of companies since 1985. In hie moot recent position as vice-president of Sales and distribution, he was responeible for ail the worldwide Sales of the Co-Steel Lasco plant in Whitby. Before joining Co-Steel, Newman spent 16 yeare, with Kentucky Electric Steel where he was vice-president of Sales and marketing. In ie new position, Newman will be reeponsible for the complote operations of Co-Steel Lèasce including its rp operation in both the U.S. and At iteslants in Canada, the U.S. a uoE , " ' Co-Steol manufcue and markets a variety of Steel producte used mostly ini the construction, automotive, appliance, machinery and equipment industries. Tho company's annual Sales are approximately $1 billion on shipmente of 2.6 million tons. Co-ýSteel Lasco is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Co-Steel Inc. ofToronto. Peter Pery awards Nov. 30 The annual Peter Perry Award ovoning will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 30 at Ho denehore Pavilion. Guest speaker will be Bank of Montreal executive vice pro- sident and chief economiet Dr. Lloyd C. Atkinson. Reception is at 6:30 p.m., din- ner at 7:-30 .m. Coet je per person. If you-live on Interest Income then Today's Low Interest Rates are Bad News... THERE IS GOO0-D NEWS! LET ME SHOW YOU THE SOLUTIONS! Financitai Cail for your free meeting, today. Wh I Concept. 579-7777 DEREK DUTKA Socurltlos OFMnsnc SSCoo çl .c ii s a busanstuyl. mgckrfm ownd by F.C0. S.auffiti.C«omrtion