Manufacturers in Central Newfoundland Aim to
Increase Success Through Co-operation

Four manufacturers in central Newfoundland have joined forces to increase their chance of business success. New Wood Manufacturers of Centreville, Superior Waterproof Coatings of Gander, Blanchard�s Cabinet Doors of Bishop�s Falls, and Geange�s Manufacturing of Glenwood have formed the Central Newfoundland Manufacturing Co-operative (CNMC). The new co-op will focus on lean manufacturing to increasing productivity, exporting and joint marketing.

"For small businesses in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, there are real benefits to belonging to a co-operative," said the Honourable Trevor Taylor, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development (INTRD). "I congratulate these four central Newfoundland manufacturing companies on taking this step. By working together and pooling their resources they achieve more as a group than they would as individual entities. INTRD will continue to assist with the development and expansion of the co-operative and help with the implementation of their work plan."

The CNMC sprang from a workshop sponsored by INTRD in Gander in May 2006. At the workshop, companies received presentations on lean manufacturing and co-operatives as a business model for the manufacturing sector. Following the seminar, a number of companies expressed interest in the co-operative model. Since their initial meeting in June 2006, there have been several meetings to formalize the co-operative and to develop common goals and a work plan.

The Central Newfoundland Manufacturing Co-operative held its incorporation meeting on June 15, 2007, and elected the following officers to the board of directors:

"As business owners, we recognized that we could achieve certain goals if we worked together," said Mr Noble. "We believe more companies in the central region could benefit from being members of the co-op and invite manufacturers in the central region to find out more about this initiative."

The CNMC is one of six co-operatives formed since 2005, when the Provincial Government and the Newfoundland-Labrador Federation of Cooperatives established a regional developers� network to promote the use of the co-operative model of economic development throughout the province.

This week, the Newfoundland-Labrador Federation of Co-operatives is hosting the national annual general meeting and congress of the Canadian Co-operative Association. The success of Newfoundland and Labrador's experience over the past two years will be profiled at the congress.

For more information on co-operative development visit: www.gov.nl.ca/intrd/CooperativeDev.htm

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2007 06 27                                                      1:15 p.m.