Success Stories

Birket Foster has some words of advice for those in the IT industry. "You can run a software company here in the cornfields of Chesterville and successfully deliver software around the world. We've done it, says the outspoken CEO of Chesterville-based data access and delivery company MB Foster and Associates.

Founded in Ottawa in 1977, MB Foster moved to Chesterville in 1986. Since then, the company has gone global, with offices in Canada and the USA, a distribution network including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Taiwan, and strategic alliances with some of the world's biggest companies, including Microsoft and IBM.

"If your customers are everywhere, it doesn't matter where you are," says Foster." We could be here, or we could be somewhere else, but SD&G is a nice place to live, work and play. And that's a big part of the reason why we're here."

www.mbfoster.com

Healthy living is big business. Just ask Dr. Nam Fong Han, President and CEO of Natunola Health, a major producer of both shelled flaxseed and of vegetable gels to the cosmetics industry. We're going to keep growing. We have plans on both the manufacturing side as well as on the retail side of things, says Dr. Han.

Early on, the company took advantage of the SD&G CFDC's Community Ventures Capital Fund (CVCF), a community-based venture capital pool unique to Eastern Ontario.

  SD&G was looking for investment, says Dr. Han, which led to a very good partnership. We've been enjoying it ever since.

Enjoying it indeed. As the health food and nutraceutical industries continue to grow, so too does Natunola's market share. In 10 short years, the company has risen to become a major supplier of vegetable gels to the global cosmetics industry. At the same time, Natunola has broadened the availability of its shelled flaxseed.

We provide a model for value-added agriculture, says Dr. Han. So the farming industry can get a little more for their effort.

www.natunola.com

It's been a whirlwind couple of years for Hal and Aline Hough, the entrepreneurs behind Seaway CNC, a Morrisburg-based precision machining company.

Since starting the business in early 2006 -- armed with only a pair of clients and a rented computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine -- the company has witnessed steady growth.

In part, Seaway CNC attributes their success to assistance received through the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Community Futures Development Corporation (SD&G CFDC). The company received loans through the SD&G CFDC small business loans program, to purchase the CNC machines and consolidate their existing debt. More than that, the company also received sound business advice.

The CFDC really helped to get us going. I'd recommend them to anyone looking to start in business, says Hal.

Today, Seaway CNC regularly completes projects for area exporters Quality Manufacturing and Ross Video. In addition, Hal and Aline have landed a contract for 75 carrying cases for Garda, one of the largest cash handling service providers in Canada and American Midwest.

The Garda contract was a good shot in the arm for this company, says Hal. After about a year and a half of hard work, it feels like we have some room to breathe.

Telephone: 613-543-0404

It's not easy being green, even in today's environmentally conscience marketplace. But that hasn't stopped soy meal producer Tri-County Protein from carving out a niche in the highly competitive animal feed industry.

We're doing well, says general manager Gerry Gadema. No one has a summer home in the Bahamas yet, but we're all making a living.

Tri-County Protein got its start nine years ago when a feasibility study suggested the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry was the perfect location for a mechanical soybean crushing facility.

There are a lot of soybeans grown in Eastern Ontario, says Gadema. And with the large dairy herds and large pig operations in the region, it just seemed like a natural fit. Livestock operations are one of the largest consumers of soy meal.

Today, Tri-County Protein's biggest market is in Southern Ontario, where a large Mennonite population is willing to pay a premium for an all-natural soy meal.

Granted, the company would like to expand its local market share. But the distant market doesn't pose a serious threat. We're only 20 minutes from the 401 and we have Highway 31 to get into Ottawa, says Gadema. We really are easy to get to.

www.tripro.ca