Region put on display for potential investors

ROSE SIMONE

(Oct 14, 2004)

As a first-time visitor to Oktoberfest yesterday, David Jeup of Detroit saw the most gregarious, hospitable side of Waterloo Region. But for Jeup, the fun was also serious business.

He was also sizing up this region for his business clients, as a place to locate firms, investment and jobs.

Jeup is managing director of TransCorp International, a Detroit firm that does site selection for companies looking to expand or relocate.

He was one of about 25 out-of-town visitors who received an invitation to tour the region during the 10th "Passport to Success" Oktoberfest event.

It is an intense 30-hour introduction to the region, sponsored by area municipalities and corporations in an effort to promote new investment.

When it comes to attracting investment to any area, Jeup says people are the key ingredient.

"The main attribute we look for is labour," Jeup says. "Not just cost of labour, but value and the availability of labour.."

So guests were told about the attributes of this region, with three nearby universities and a community college churning out skilled trades people, engineers, scientists, software designers, business school graduates and other professionals.

Ken Myers, president of Consulting Resource Associates of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., was also impressed by the area's well-educated and available labour force.

But besides technology and auto-sector companies, Myers' clients includes one of the largest call centre operations in North America.

"One of my goals is to encourage them to come here," he says.

Marcus Arnold, sales associate at the Euromart Realty Ltd. in Toronto, says his company's clients include large international pension funds looking for solid future investments that will pay dividends.

Properties in this region offer that potential, he says.

"The location is good and the real estate values have been stable over the past 10 years," Arnold says. Also, with its German roots, "this area is especially attractive to our German investors," he adds.

Sophie Hofbauer, founder of the Ottawa-based Hybrid Strategies Corporation, says she is already looking into the possibility of locating a technology centre in this region.

Hybrid Strategies does research and development for systems that combine mathematical expertise and information technology, so she is drawn to the talent in mathematics, computers and software engineering available through the University of Waterloo.

During a luncheon at the Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty offices in Kitchener, guests were also told about the region's international focus.

Paul Heinbecker, Canada's former ambassador to the United Nations and now senior research fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, told guests about the centre's research into much-needed reforms in institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations and the G-8 Summit.

"What makes this area attractive to me is that there are people here who are globally-oriented and very progressive and outward looking," he added.

John Tennant, chief executive of Canada's Technology Triangle Inc., the region's economic development arm, says Oktoberfest is a perfect time to showcase the region.

"The deep, rich traditions that are part of Oktoberfest speak to the important attributes of this area, like entrepreneurship, skills, quality work, innovation and adoption of the latest technologies," Tennant says.

rsimone@therecord.com