The lure of Alberta's Oil Patch can't keep Thunder Bay manufacturers at home.
The city's Oil Sands Consortium and the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission attended the National Buyer/Seller Forum in Edmonton, Feb. 10-12.
The event is considered the premier for manufacturers looking to make contacts and inroads in the Alberta oil industry. This year's event attracted more than 750 attendees from oil sands companies, engineering, procurements and construction firms, as well as industrial suppliers and environmental services.
The city's marketing team included Mayor Lynn Peterson, economic development CEO Steve Demmings and reps from seven Thunder Bay companies.
In a news release, Oil Sands Consortium chairman John Jurcik of Venshore Mechanical calls the show a "must attend" event for Thunder Bay fabrication companies.
Demmings stressed how important it is for local companies to "reach out to new markets in this rapidly changing economy. Our future economy knows no borders."
The Thunder Bay Oil Sands Consortium is made up of municipal leaders and 22 metal working and fabrication companies and a skilled workforce of 800.
The group's aims are to secure contracts out west or help lure branch plants back to the city.
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