Economic Development has Boots on the Street!
The Boots on the Street initiative is about providing the best customer service and putting local business needs first! Economic Development Officers are working directly with local businesses to check in and discuss their opportunities, challenges, and plans for the future.
We know that 80% of investment growth will be from the companies that are already located in Chatham-Kent. When local businesses work with Economic Development, they can access resources including:
· Opportunities to help them invest locally
· Site selection assistance
· Navigating development processes
· Funding, grants, and financial incentive programs
· A direct conduit between business and government
· Business planning and execution tools
· Important partnerships with regional and international agencies
By working with Economic Development, business owners can save themselves time, money, and a wide range of potential headaches.
For a list of staff and contact information, click here to visit our website.
Zone Coverage
We have aligned our team to ensure that each zone is covered by two staff members.
· North: Wards 3, 4, 5
· Chatham city limits: Ward 6
· South: Wards 1 and 2
Doing this ensures that there is continuity of knowledge, better management of client needs, and
cross-pollination of ideas.
In The News
Strategic Interest Group Session held in Chatham-Kent at MAHLE. This event, hosted by EMC, includes attendance from a variety of local and regional manufacturers.
Bates has been with EMC for nearly 12 years and in that time has developed the London Region Consortium into a group of 150 manufacturers working together to help each other continuously improve.
Currently there are 25 EMC member companies in Chatham-Kent and Bates will be working with Economic Development and other partners to actively engage local manufacturers and grow the Consortium.
“I am looking forward to engaging with the Chatham-Kent Manufacturing Sector and helping to bring a stronger focus to manufacturing to all of southwestern Ontario,” said Bates. “We have recently seen a lot of new activity and I hope to continue to build on the momentum and help the region improve its diversification.”
EMC’s Strategic Interest Group Sessions tap into the expertise already in place in the local manufacturing community. Members gather together monthly at different manufacturing facilities to share best practices & benchmark around anything and everything that happens in a manufacturing facility. These sessions also include in-depth plant tours and group continuous improvement exercises that provide the host company with feedback from their peers in the sector.
Here is a great video summarizing EMC services: Grinding Out Results since 1997
A great way for companies who are not yet members to learn more about EMC is to attend one of their local Strategic Interest Group Sessions. To attend a monthly session as a guest, contact Jason Bates at jbates@emccanda.org or 519-854-7001.
For more information about EMC and the wide range of member services they offer, please visit the website at: https://www.emccanada.org or contact Chatham-Kent Economic Development Services at 519-351-7700 for an introduction to EMC or to learn more about the services available.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: FedDev Ontario Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) Program
The FedDev Ontario Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program accelerates company growth and helps adopt/adapt innovative technologies that support productivity. Through the program, businesses access capital to grow its southern Ontario operations and increase exports to global markets.
· Amount: Repayable contribution (no-interest loan) of up to 35% of eligible project expenses to a maximum $10 million.
· Projects: Expanding the capacity of high-growth companies through the early adoption or adaptation of innovative technologies and processes, expanding management capacity, commercializing/producing new products or processes, and researching/developing export markets.
· Eligibility: Must maintain profitable operations in southern Ontario for at least two years, maintain a minimum of five employees, and be an incorporated business or Indigenous organization.
· Timeline: Open; continuous intake of applications.
Get help applying today.
Workplace Wellness Recognition Program: Be Recognized!
The Workplace Wellness Recognition Program recognizes workplaces that are committed to the health of their employees, going above and beyond their legislated guidelines.
All workplaces, regardless of size, are encouraged to apply.
Events, Seminars, and Training
Economic Development and Small Business Centre
Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT)
Special Guest Speaker, Duncan Stewart, Director of TMT Research for Deloitte Canada, will present TMT 2019 Predictions game-changers for your business.
Chatham-Kent Convention Centre
565 Richmond Street, Chatham
March 19, 2019 – 6:30 pm
Chatham-Kent Convention Centre
565 Richmond Street, Chatham
War Room – Cloud-based Accounting
April 24, 2019 – 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
124 Thames Street, Chatham
Supercharge Your Workforce: Talent Attraction, Training, and Retention Toolkit
An information session on how to access municipal, provincial, and federal programs and funding that will take your workforce to the next level
April 25, 2019 – 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
In the Community
Safe At Work Ontario is the Ministry of Labour’s strategy for enforcing the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Blenheim BIA Monthly Meeting
April 4, 2019 – 8:00 am – 9:00 am
April 5, 2019 – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Chatham BIA Monthly Meeting
April 9, 2019 – 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Webinar: Funding to Grow Your Manufacturing Business
April 10, 2019 – 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Wheatley BIA Monthly Meeting
April 10, 2019 – 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
CK Chamber Business Excellence Awards
April 11, 2019 – 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Tilbury Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards
April 13, 2019 – 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm
3rd Bi-Annual Southwestern Ontario HRPA Conference – Connect & Grow
April 23, 2019
Chatham-Kent Convention Centre
565 Richmond Street, Chatham
Wallaceburg BIA Monthly Meeting
April 23, 2019 – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Manufactures Invited: Predictive Maintenance/POD Program Session
Enviroshake reduced their unscheduled down time by 30% by breaking their operation into manageable and cohesive Pod’s for PM’s. Enviroshake will highlight and share with the group how they successfully implemented this program at their facility. A plant tour focusing on these activities is included in this event.
Those attending will be asked to participate in a group Continuous Improvement exercise where they will be asked to identify 3 things they saw on the tour that impressed them and 3 things they saw that could possibly be improved. We will share these observations with the host before we leave in the spirit of Continuous Improvement.
Date: Tuesday April 16th, 2019
Time: 8am to 10am
Location: Enviroshake, 650 Riverview Dr, Chatham, On
To register, contact: Jason Bates, EMC: jbates@emccanada.org
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs presents Community Economic Development 101
Learn the basics of community economic development (CED) and take away practical tools to help your municipality develop & implement a strategy. CED is the process of fostering an environment that results in the creation of wealth and well-being for the benefit of the entire community.
During the workshop we will cover:
· What CED is and why it is important to your community
· The value of planning in your community
· Collaborative roles of individuals and organizations
· Tools and resources that are available and how they assist you
Get practical tools you can use to help with making economic development.
GRANT OPPORTUNITY
Canadian Agricultural Partnership
The Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership) application process opens for projects to boost innovation, economic development, environmental stewardship and food safety.
Strategic initiatives including cost-share funding will support projects in the following key priority areas, with research and innovation continuing to be a focus across all programming:
· Economic development in the agri-food and agri-products sectors.
· Environmental stewardship to enhance water quality and soil health.
· The Partnership includes a targeted effort under environmental stewardship – the Lake Erie Agriculture Demonstrating Sustainability (LEADS) sub-program – that targets phosphorus reduction within Ontario’s Lake Erie watershed.
· Protection and assurance to reinforce the foundation for public trust in the sector through improved assurance systems in food safety and plant and animal health.
The intake will take place between March 22, 2019 and May 6, 2019. More information will be available on the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs website.
The experts at Chatham-Kent Economic Development can help you investigate grant and investment opportunities for your business needs. Contact us for the latest information.
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