Press release
Third edition of Export Alliance Construction:
The annual international event
for companies in the construction industry Montreal, March 30, 2004 The World Trade Centre Montréal , a service branch of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, in partnership with the Ministère du Développement économique et régional et de la Recherche and the Société d'habitation du Québec hold the third edition of Export Alliance Construction in Montreal on March 29 and 30.
This training and networking event aims primarily to build bridges between Quebec companies in the construction products and materials industry and a dozen potential buyers from the United States as well as with Quebec and Canadian trade commissioners and commercial attachés posted abroad. These companies have an opportunity to forge new business ties and increase or consolidate their knowledge of exporting through practical workshops providing them with the tools needed to establish a personalized export diagnosis.
The prosperity of Quebec depends on its openness to the world and its competitiveness, noted Michel Audet, minister of Economic and Regional Development and Research. At very little cost, this type of event facilitates productive meetings between foreign buyers and our companies, meetings that enable these companies to update their strategies for developing international markets.
For Jim Granata, president of FG Metalwork and a two-time participant in Export Alliance Construction: It 's like going fishing, the bigger the tug, the bigger the business opportunities. As well, in the case of Mr. Granata, Export Alliance Construction is an opportunity to expand his network of contacts and meet up with buyers met on previous missions. The second meeting always has a bigger impact. You have to be patient. Still, the contacts we made last year have helped us increase foreign sales.
In the current context of global economic interdependence, exporting is no longer a luxury but a competitive requirement for companies, since their prosperity now depends on their ability to adapt to the requirements of international trade. While recent years have been prosperous for the construction industry, the Quebec and Canadian markets are relatively limited. From this perspective, the Board of Trade through its service branch the World Trade Centre Montréal wishes to serve as a link between companies and foreign markets, declared Benoit Labonté, president of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
The mission of the World Trade Centre Montreal is to support, train, and advise companies, associations, institutions, and economic development organizations in their efforts in foreign markets to help them export their products and services through an integrated program of export solutions. The WTC Montréal is part of the international network of World Trade Centres present in more than 300 metropolises around the world.
For his part, Pierre Cliche, president and CEO of the Société d'habitation du Québec, applauded the work of all the partners who contributed to the success of this networking and training event: this synergy has promoted the pooling of expertise and know-how, making it possible to offer a program that is relevant to participants and to create mutually beneficial business opportunities.
Export Alliance Construction is made possible by the partnership of the Ministère du Développement économique et régional et de la Recherche and the Société d'habitation du Québec; by the cooperation of Caisses centrales Desjardins, Industry Canada, and Construnet; and by the participation of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Anyone interested in learning more about Export Alliance Construction is invited to visit its Web site: www.exportalliance.com
The World Trade Centre Montréal is a branch of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal offering export support services to the greater business community. It is supported by Economic Development Canada .
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Source :
Sylvie Paquette
Coordinator, Media relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: (514) 871-4000, ext. 4015
sylvie.paquette@ccmm.qc.ca
