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Success
Stories
Business achievement in
Greater Hamilton and beyond

By Michael B. Davie

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

       You couldn't invent a more dramatic entrance to the Golden orseshoe and our vast economic region than Niagara Falls, a churning, thundering, plunging cascade of water and mist. The Niagara River flows deceptively slowly, northward from Lake Erie, then suddenly assumes a determined sense of urgency as it approaches The Falls. The river now takes on a forceful life of its own, rushing relentlessly towards the precipice, then plum- meting in a liquid roar, smashing into Lake Ontario below.
        This terrifyingly beautiful spectacle of Niagara Falls, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, has inspired writers and dare devils, artists and lovers.
        And it's inspired business people. Witness the gleaming new casino, the many hotels and restaurants, the Lundy's Lane strip of tourist attractions, the Skylon Tower, Marineland and the sprawling city of Niagara Falls.
        This intensive commercialization and urbanization begins just west of the Niagara River and continues westward, interrupted sporadically by farmland, throughout the Niagara Region. In the city of Niagara Falls, Casino Niagara has exceeded all revenue expecta- tions. Opened on December 9, 1996, the casino was visited by over 473,000 patrons in its first month of operation alone.
        During this initial month, these patrons I spent $28.7 million, according to economic development highlights released by the Niagara Economic and Tourism Corporation.
        The following month, January, 1997, Casino Niagara raked in $33.6 million, making it Ontario's most profitable casino. In its first few months of operation, Casino Niagara averaged some 20,600 visitors each day -fully 25 per cent more than the 16,000 anticipated when this impressive landmark opened.
        By mid-February, 1997, Casino Niagara had attracted about 1 million visitors and some $65 million in revenue.
        The casino is another attraction in a city rich with attractions.
        Although the warmer months of the year are the biggest tourist draw, the annual Winter Festival of Lights attracts over 1 million visitors annually. During the warmer months, visitors can view the awe-inspiring majesty of The Falls from the newest member of the Maid of the Mist fleet, the Maid of the Mist VII which carries 600 passengers at a time across the churning waters below this world-famous attraction.
        The Niagara Falls City Centre commercial complex has brought 525 office workers into the city's downtown core. Factor Forms Niagara Ltd. has doubled the size of its Niagara Falls site and increased its workforce to 60 people.
        These developments come as poignant reminders that there is more to business in Niagara than tourism.
        Indeed, business investment seems to be growing on a daily basis in the city of Niagara Falls, home to 77,400 people -and a total of 14 million annual visitors.
        And, there are other signs of growth and prosperity in Niagara, a regional municipality containing some 410,000 people in 12 municipalities ranging in size from small rural communities to the City of St. Catharines, an urban centre of 133,000 people. Nestled between Lake Ontario add Lake Erie, just west of the Niagara River, the Niagara region is joined only by British Columbia's Okanogan Valley as one of Canada's very few region's capable of growing soft fruits.
        The Niagara region is, in fact, a major centre for soft fruit of all types, particularly grapes which support the region's impres- sive, world-renowned wine industry. Niagara's climate and geography allow it to produce world- class Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grape varieties for pre- mium wines meeting VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) standards. All told, the Niagara region accounts for 80 per cent of Ontario's $215 million wine industry.         Niagara also boasts almost 1 million square feet of greenhouse space and the region's various greenhouses together employ over 2,000 people. With a land mass of 1,800 square kilometres, Niagara region borders the United States. And, the region's four international crossings account for nearly 40 per cent of all international crossings between Canada and the United States. In 1995 alone, over 16.4 million same-day trips were recorded between Niagara and New York State, a 6.2 per cent increase over 1994.
        Niagara also features 'Superb highway access with the Queen Elizabeth Way and a number of secondary highways running through its land mass. Although Niagara's unemployment rate tends to be higher than nearby Hamilton's rate, it still boasts one of the nation's lower unemployment rates. The region has a largely skilled labour force of more than 152,000 people. The government sector -including school boards, hospitals and local municipal governments - accounts for over 20,000 jobs.
        There are approximately 13,000 businesses in Niagara region and 42 per cent of the region's products are exported, primarily to the U.S. Major employers include General Motors of Canada, employing 5,200 people; TRW -Canada Ltd., employing 1,300; Atlas Specialty Steels, employing 1,100; plus Dana Canada Inc. and John Deere Ltd., which each employ about 1;000.
        Other major employers include the region's media, consisting of daily newspapers St. Catharines Standard, WeIland Tribune and Niagara Falls Review; plus numerous weekly newspapers, radio stations and cable television services.
        The Niagara region is also a centre of higher learning, housing Brock University and Niagara College. The region is known for its parks, historic sites and stunning! scenery. Evidence of growth is everywhere in this region. Not far from the city of Niagara Falls, lies the city of Thorold, population 18,600 people, where Enviro-Ganics Ecological Systems Inc. has announced plans for a $2.3 million greenhouse operation providing 20 jobs.
        Fort Erie has been named as one of Ontario's charity casino sites. The border town is also winning big with an expansion by Fleet Industries Ltd. which signed an II-year contract worth over $200 million to produce wing components for the McDonnell Douglas MD-95 commercial aircraft for Hyundai Space and Aircraft Co. of South Korea. The Fort Erie Race Track, one of the most beautiful tracks in Ontario, is being transformed into a major entertainment centre in this quaint community of 28,300 people. Welland's Niagara College campus is adding a $5miIlion student residence to house 231 students. The city of WeIland's population grew 11 per cent from 1986 to a total of 50,000 people in 1996. WeIland is famous for its busy canal system and the city is Ontario's second steel city. On the outskirts of Welland lies the picturesque, leafy town of Pelham. Primarily a residential centre bustling commercial strip, Pelham's population grew about 18 per cent in the 10-year period beginning in 1985 to reach 14,300 people in 1996.
        With its main roadways sheltered by canopies of tree branches, Pelham is among the most pleasant places to live in Canada. It's home to many wealthy families. Rural, farming-based communities are found in nearby Wainfleet, West Lincoln, Lincoln and Grimsby municipalities. Of these, Grimsby, bordering Hamilton-Wentworth region, ii the largest of Niagara's rural communities and is home to 20,000 residents. These rural communities lend the region much of its rustic, agricultural charm and slow-paced quality of life. The Shaker Cruise Lines service is now bringing tourists from Queens Quay West on Toronto's harbourfront to Port Dalhousie in Niagara. Some 300 tourists make each one-hour trip aboard Shaker's Lake Runner, adding significantly to the influx of tourists into the region.
        Niagara's bustling city of Port Colborne, with a population of 19,000, is the first municipality in Ontario to own a shortline railway. The Port Colborne Harbour Rail Line began operations in June 1997.
        Niagara-on-the-Lake, long-known as Canada's prettiest town, is establishing a , new village community of 400 homes on 1200 acres on the edge of town. This development is to architecturally blend in with Niagara-on-the-Lake's historic and picturesque town centre. The community was home to 13,200 people in I 1996 -and its beauty and serenity are attracting many new residents every year. In other developments, Niagara-on-the- Lake's elegant Queen's Landing Hotel has undergone major renovations and expansions, nearly doubling the number of seats in its elegant Tiara restaurant to 220. Queen's Landing's enlarged hotel ballroom can now accommodate 320 people, allowing the hotel to attract more weddings, receptions, conventions and special functions.
        "Elegant stained-glass ceilings, jade-textured walls and alabaster tiles create an elegance which will give the hotel the best advertising money can buy -word of mouth," says Nancy Bailey Brazeau, director of sales and marketing for the hotel. "Drawing more business executives with money to spend at local shops will benefit the town overall," adds Bailey Brazeau. l This Queen's Landing Hotel and several other Niagara-on-the- Lake landmark inns are owned by businesswomanSi Wai Lai, I who has invested many millions of dollars in the community. In Iaddition to restoring and beautifying a number of historic inns, she commissioned the striking statue of playwright George Bernard Shaw, created by Ancaster sculptor Elizabeth Holbrook, which now forms a focal point in this scenic community.