Mining suppliers stake claim in global market.

AuthorStewart, Nick
PositionNEWS - Industry overview

As foreign firms begin to stake out a larger market share in Ontario mining camps, it is imperative that domestic service and supply companies consider moving into international waters.

"It's of absolute importance," says Marc Couse, honorary consul of South Africa with Sudbury's South African Consulate.

"I even said it was the case five or six years ago, but it's especially true now."

Couse, who served as the director of trade and investment marketing with the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines until 2000, says Northern Ontario companies must be willing to look beyond their backyard to change.

"The companies that are interested in growth and profit can no longer keep looking out their back door anymore. The world has really changed in the last six months."

While it may be standard practice for local companies to leverage their connections in the North to obtain business in other countries, the same holds true in other countries. With the arrival of foreign companies like CVRD and Xstrata plc in the Sudbury camp, Couse says local companies may begin to feel the squeeze as Brazilian or Swiss suppliers potentially gain a toehold in the area.

Northern companies need to develop the skills necessary to go beyond the region and into international markets, he says. This involves realizing some of the cultural differences which may result in costly modifications of a product. Also, distribution may pose logistical and monitoring challenges.

With enough dedication and preparation, however, local companies should be able to leverage their home-grown strengths to find success in the global market, Couse says.

"I've always maintained that if you can be successful selling in Sudbury, you can be successful anywhere in the world. The local market is such that companies like CVRD Inco and Xstrata Nickel always want good quality stuff, the Cadillacs of supply and service."

Couse spoke on the...

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