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The Huron Expositor, 1966-01-27, Page 10I i0.41HIR HURON EXPOSITOR, .SEAFORTH, ONT,, JAN. 27, 1966 ROY N. BENTLEY Public Accountant • 4 Britannia Road EastM - Goderich Phone 524-9521 COAL-F[IEL-.OIL WILLIAM M. HART Phone 527-0870 Seaforth Seaforth and Area Householders PLOWING MATCH ACCOMMODATION Accommodation will be required in the Seaforth area for the hundreds who will visit the International Plow- ing Match, at Seaforth, October 11, 12, 13,. 14. While some visitors will be here for one night, others will be present throughout the match and for several days prior to the° opening. So that -available accommodation may be determin- ed, those with rooms available and who ,wish to co-op- erate are asked to complete the coupon below and for- ward it to: D. G. -CORNISH, -Local. Chairman, Billeting,-- ' Seaforth, Ontario. I will have the following -accommodation available Plowing Match visitors, Seaforth; October, 1966. ............. Number of Rooms Single Double Rate Single ..: ....... 'Rate Double Breakfast Available Dates Available From to - Comments Name Street Address • `I Only Local Work, Planning Cari Attract Industry Richard Lapalme, of the On- tario Department of Economics and Development, discussed "Development of Industry At the Community Level," at the annual meeting of the Seaforth Chamber of Commerce. In his rediarks, he said: Industrial development at the community level today is a serious subject, and to be successful communities are now recognizing that they must ap- proach industrial development in a businesslike way. The •first point I would make is that not every municipality is a potential manufacturing centre. Each community does, however, have a line of poten- tial development, and this should be the basis of any pro- motional program. It must also be kept in mind that while the process of en- couraging industrial develop- ment in the community is im- portant, there are factors over which the community has little or no control at all. As an example, it cannot influence the location of raw materials and markets, wage rates or the cost of transportation. The com- munity can, however, make it- self attractive by creating the atmosphere and providing the facilities necessary to, encour- age industrial expansion or location. Community is People The community which really is a nice place in which to live can usually boast of higher productivity, good labor rela- tions and 'low absenteeism. The other point that . must be re- membered is that the commun- ity is not some arms -length entity, but is rather a group of people- who live,work and play together; ...in • other words, the 'action's taken- and the atmos- phere created will depend en- tirely on the attitude and ac- tions of the people.. Thus the climate created by the local people is of- the utmost' impor- tance. In our work of industrial 'development- we .have the .op- portunity of visiting many com- munities in Ontario, and in the majority of, cases one can antici- pate the "feeling within the community, upon seeing the de- gree of support extended to service clubs; Chamber of Com- merce, interest in municipal affairs, the appearance of the Main Street, and the degree of co-operative effort that exists in providing citizen -sponsored facilities, ,such as hospitals, libraries, swimming pools, in- dustrial buildings for lease, etc. This attitude also is reflected when one takes a broader look The -News of a Lifetime THE HURON EXPOSITOR has been reporting news about you for a long time. Think of how muchhas happened to you since you were born . - that's when the first,report appeared. And perhaps the next was your fifth birthday party. Everything Important . That's what has appeared fn to paper about you. Your activities in 'the Boy Scouts 76r. Girl Scouts. `When you. fell . from the tree and broke an arm. When you made the high school basketball team, or starred in football- Or appeared in the class play or sang in the operetta. And then when you were graduated from high school. Perhaps military service next, and" THE HURON EXPOSITOR kept the folks back home posted on what you were doing there. College, and After ... . College next, and again this paper followed and re- ported your important activities. Proud day,,,when you received that -degree — we saw it in THE HURON EXPOSITOR. And then y Yn were married .. . . your picture in the paper. What a fine-looking couple! Children follow . . . the cycle of news in the paOr begins again. But you are not forgotten because of the new generation. The news about you continues so long as you live. • A Newspaper Service The news of,a lifetime. . for you and yours. This is a service THE HURON EXPOSITOR gladly and willingly gives tb this communiti at the area or region. The de- gree of development that takes place can 'be closely related• to the co-operation that exists be- tween municipalities to get things done which will be of mutual advantage to the area or region as a whole and not just the individual municipal- ity. The reasons put forth to justify industrial development in communities vary. I would say, however, that two of the most important are; first, the creation of new job opportuni- ties for the young people cor- ing onto the labor market and for those affected byautoma- tion; and second, the broaden- ing of the tax base. In setting up a committee to realistically appraise your com- munity, you should explore: 1, Human Resources: • Avail- able labor, male and female, skilled workers, age groups, professional services, etc. 2. Natural Resources: Local raw materials, geographic ad- vantages, type and amount of industrial land available, dis- tance to markets, transportation advantages (road, water and rail). 3. Industrial Resources: List of existing industries in or near the community, service in-, dustries, etc. 4. Services: Water, sewage, fuel, -power, gas, paved roads, shopping' facilities,- churches, clubs, hospitals and recreation facilities, housing. C-ontbined -Effort - The matter of creating new jobs is a challenging .problem which must be looked at and faced up • to by all of us be- cause those. having famil.i"es. will. at some time be directly affect- ed; therefore, a• combined effort must be made throughout the whole community, including business, labor and government, to work out a program which will be productive •and in, keep- ing with. not only the short. term, but the long term needs, of our growing economy. -, Many of you will recall the post=war boom when this prov- ince experienced an exciting period of industrial expansion' and the establishinent of new industries. ,During -this -period, companies relocated their fa- cilities into new°modern build- ings to get - way from . old mul- tiple storey Istructures, located in congested areas. European and American companies estab- lished branch plants, and many communities, as a result,- had companies located or expand- ing without the community having to carry out a develop- ment or promotion program since they happened to be in the right spot at the right time and had the necessary.,: support- ing facilities. Industrial.° expan- sion and the establishment of new industry has continued, but the atmosphere i$ some- what changed. Industries' today are not on 'a crash program but are taking the time to•" gather facts and figures to support a sound economic decision before. emb king on a sizeable capital outla normally involved with a new plant or expanded opera- tion. At one time many of our in- dustries had only to meet .local competition, but today many of these same industries in order to retain their position must meet competition, ndt only at home but in world markets. As a result, plants cannot be ex- panded or located on the basis of intuition, insufficient data, or just because the present loca- tion was chosen 25 or 50 years ago. Shifts in markets and technological changes within, certain industries have requir- ed that certain types of manu- facturing have had to complete- ly relocate in order to maintain their competitive position in the ever-changing world of, mar- kets. The decision to build a new pla•ht, relocate or expand an existing operation, I can assure you, is a formidable one which the plant executive has to make, particularly with the literally tons of adveera'tising and promo- tional .mnatefial on the market, each depicting this town and that town as the best location. -Unfortunately, the industrialist cannot base his decision on the number of swimming pools per capita, or the number of pretty females per square mile as shown on some of the fancy brochures we see. His decision will have to be based on eco- nomic factors which will • de- termine if his operation will make a profit or. will still be in business many years from now. Advance Many Reasons The reasons for considering a new plant or an expanded plant may be based en the fol- lowing: 1. Congestion in the present plant resulting in high operat- ing costs. • 2. Inadequate plant capacity to meet product demand, or jack --of space for new process- es. 3. The need to diversify and create neW product lines. 4'. Maintenance costson old premises which are out of pro- portion to the 'value. 5. Market Stilts and tech- nological change, or, in soine cages', the sale of to -present plant is attractive ue to an increase in the land value. IIVCFI 1860, SERVIN`C TII'E COMMUNITY FIRST In order to have sufficient data on which to base their de- cisions, many companies will begin studies three to five years prior to the time they intend to make the change. While I mentioned the com- petitive. factors which industry must consider, I would also bring to your attention that keen competition exists at the local ',level in attracting new industry, We have in Ontario and registered with our branch, about 370 municipalities who wish to bring about industrial development. This means that if a ommunity is to be serious, it cannot afford a program on a hit-or-miss 'basis, nor can it expect results on a short term basis. A farther point I would like to put forth is that industrial development at the local level cannot put full emphasis on the attraction of new industry, Assist What Exists Of equal importance is the. retention and expansion of ex- isting industry. As an example, during 1964, approximately 175 firms established new manufac- turing operations in Ontario, while 472 expanded &t their present location, and 51 expand- ed_ at new locations for a total of 523 expansions. _ Oddly enough, the glamour and whoop-dee-doo of industrial development centres around the new plant coming in, whereas the local plant putting on a substantial expansion often re- ceives •little or no attention or publicity. Expanding industry in a community is usually a sign of a Healthy environment' and it has a tendency to place the community in a favorable position in the eyes of other• industries which may be' con- templating new plant locations. In order to be effective, municipalities today must be prpaared to adopt a broad ap- proach to their industrial de- velopment program' which will include the establishment of industrial; areas, adequate zon- ing' and planning, and 'the .re- alization that many of the fa- cilities upon which the indus- try must rely are area or regionalin scope. Another example -ef broaden- ing the approach ..to economic development is the operation of •the,.,' regional development program. supported by the On- tario Government through the Department of Economics and Development. As many of you are no doubt aware, Seaforth is fated with- in the Midwestern Region, one of the ten recognized economic regions of the province. With- in this region we have operat- ing .the Midwestern Regional Development Association, with headquarters- in Stratford. Each regional association was established for the purpose of, promoting economic develop- ment of the area along what- ever lines would' be feasible. As you can see, this then gives the association a broad area in which to operate, and includes such matters as tourist promo- tion, .promotion, agri- cultural development' and so on. Council Support ''►Now I would like to spend just a few moments in discuss- ing some.of the factors the in- dustrial 'Spokesman of a com- munity must deal with. One of the hazards that any industrial spokesman has to live with is the attitude his council adopts. I think, for the most part, that in communities where new in- dustry has located orexpanded, the council recognizes that the industrial commissioner is not a magician. However, if given the support both in the matter of financing. and in the creation of a good community climate, the industrial commission can do a good, job on a long-term basis. In other words, if after an -industrial commissioner is hired, people expect to see new smokestacks within six months or a year, they are in for a shock. The industrial spoliesinan be- fore embarking upon his p.m - gram of promotion must have something to promote. Possibly this is the area in which co n- cil's decision and action is go- ing to play its primary ' and most important role. As an ex- ample, industry moving into a new area, whether it be a branch plant or a new plant, is going to be concerned with the housing which will be avail- able for its employees: -Indus try is gg,oing to be concerned with sdhbol, medical and re- creational facilities available. It will "want to know if the community has taken progres- sive steps in the establishment of a master plan and zoning by-law. This will . help determine the growth pattern of the commun- ity and, at the same time, in- sures that, manufacturing plants can safely be ••X'dpa,ted in areas which will not encroach upon housing requirements or some other incompatible development.• The industrialist is also going to be asking about sewage treat- ment and waste disposal. The plant executive will want to know if properties are fairly assessed, and if he will be get- ting good value for his tax dol-" lar. He will be interested in the available labor pool and what transportation facilities are available. Detailed Survey A community must determine its •posftioli-hi terms "6f Mar- kets, transportation facilities,, assets and liabilities, and the environment of the surround- ing area; in other words, a com- plete survey of the community and area must be made. In this connection, I would like to re- fer you to our booklet called "Industrial Development Data". This publication shows what in- formation is required to setup a community data file or fact sheet. From this file, pertinent information can be drawh from which the community can pre- pare a 'brochure for general dis- tribution, or prepare a person- alized survey for an industrial prospect. ,Once having complet- ed this survey, you must then get this information into the hands , of people who can use it, such as our branch, the busi- ness development • departments .ofyour chartered. banks, the industrial development depart- ments of the railway and na- taral gas company serving your 'Community, the federal depart- ment of industry, and the area development agency of that de- partment and, of ,• course, the Midwestern • Development. Age::: ciation, who are promoting this entire area. The industry during the early part of their site, studies may wish to deal,only with the industrial comissioner or spokesman -to ensure that their enquiry -will be treated in _strict -- confidence. Most firms_ working through our branch stress this. factor, and there are many rea- sons why. The 'most obvious one, of course, is the industry's desire to keep information from its competitors, but there are reasons which are just as important to the company con- cerned; they do not like to be subjected to outside pressures, nor do they wish to see land prices skyrocket because of a rumour. Industry, generally speaking, when looking at a community, likes to know the community's attitude 'towards industry; once located, will 'the •- newcomer be forgotten and any problems which might arise be ignored? He will also be interested in the general development and expansion which has taken place. ' All interested groups, such as the municipal council, planning, board and the industrial com- mittee, should be looking at the development of a community ori a long-range basis and tak- ing definite steps to ensure that a logical. plan is. followed and adequate provision is made for a continuing high level of muni- cipal services and sites where industry can locate or' expand. -Must Be Informed One of the factors leading to a successful industrial develop- ment program is to have an in- dustrial spokesman or commis- sioner who will be in a position to establish and maintain con- tacts with the development de- partments of the chartered banks, the railways, the gas companies, the trade and indus- try, branch, the federal -depart- ments of industry and trade and commerce, and, of course, your own Regional Development As- sociation. This man will also have occasion to make personal calls on industries showing an interest in the community and it is, therefore, imperative that he has- the knowledge as to why his municipality is a good industrial location. The other factor leading to success will be the support the industrial `development program gets from all 'citizens and the local business and industry al- ready established. , I hope what I have said dur- ing the past few minutes will convey to you the important role that many of you as coun- cillors and businessmen -have nt --- the, matter of creating -a pro- gram of economic development for the community and area. I would also like to , assure you that' the Trade and indiistry Branch, in co-operation with your Regional Development As- sociation, is prepared to assist you in every way possible. - Thank you. - ¶Ihe one beer so goodit ma Canada famous for beer throughout the world! In Italy and :over 60 other countries, you . can enjoy a world- of flavour in thebalanced beer. 4 a; R Outdoor dining of the Trattoria Oaleassi in Rome r The 'CABLING R W IE . ai ited E ., • 4 A 0