Oliver Paipoonge rolls out the red carpet for new business in expanding industrial park.

• Author: Ross, Ian

A bedroom community near Thunder Bay is rolling out the red carpet to lure new business to its expanding industrial park.

The municipality of Oliver Paipoonge, a sprawling rural community of 5,800 on the western outskirts of Thunder Bay, is adding 40 acres onto its Rubin Industrial Park to encourage companies to move out to the 'burbs'."

The amalgamated township of three villages--Kakabecka Falls, Murillo and Rosslyn have become a magnet for value-added forestry firms thanks to low property taxes and an 'Open for Business' attitude.

The municipality is already home to Superior Thermowood and Haveman Brothers Forestry Ltd., while the original eight-lot industrial park includes commercial enterprises such as Precision Wood Design, Murillo Millworks and their newest tenant, LH North General Contracting.

LH North owners David Heyens and Tom McClement are packing up from their rented Squier Place location in Thunder Bay's inner city and moving to Murillo.

The business partners took possession of some property in early December after a fruitless search in Thunder Bay to find affordable light-industrial land that fit the needs of their six-employee contracting firm.

The cost of their two-acre Murillo lot was $215,000. "That's pretty cheap considering what you pay in Thunder Bay."

With the next phase of the industrial park now in the planning stages, they're interested in buying a lot there too.

After scouting some of the outlying communities, they received a warm reception from Oliver Paipoonge municipal officials.

"We contacted them because we know a few businesses out there and, man, did they ever make you feel like family," says Heyens, who worked in construction for 15 years before spinning off his own business.

Both Heyens and McClement were named last September as Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs at a Thunder Bay Young Professionals Network Awards function.

The pair also found light-industrial property taxes in Murillo were one-fifth of that of the City of Thunder Bay. The tax bill for their Thunder Bay office comes to $25,000 annually, while Oliver Paipoonge's amounts to $6,500.

Among the incentives for their move to Murillo is an exemption from half-load restrictions on local roads if they are an industrial park tenant.

Although there's no municipal water and sewer connections there, Heyens says that's not a problem.

Their small contracting business operates on well water and a septic tank system. They do have gas, hydro, a paved road...