Cross Border Pro

Blast Radius adds new offices in the U.S.

Blast Radius, a Vancouver, BC based online marketing firm, has expanded its west coast presence with new offices in Seattle and Portland.  The company already had offices in Vancouver BC and San Francisco. The move allows the company to be closer to major clients such as Nike Inc., Microsoft Corp, and Starbucks Coffee Co.

Stork Craft Moves Office to Bellingham

Stork Craft, a Canadian company, is reportedly the largest supplier of childrens furniture in the world.  Stork Craft moved its distribution facility to Bellingham a year ago and has now moved it's administrative offices from Las Vegas to Bellingham. The company's world headquarters are located in Vancouver, BC so the move to Bellingham is a strategic move to locate the offices closer to each other. The company currently employees 17 in their distribution center with plans to have 6 to 10 employees. in their administrative office. 

Viva Pharmaceuticals To Build Facility in Blaine

Viva Pharmaceutical's U.S .subsidiary Viva Biopharm USA has broken ground on a $30 million pharmaceutical manufacturing and research facility in Blaine Washington near the Canadian border. The parent company is based in Canada but has stated that for regulatory purposes it is easier to have a U.S. facility with the added benefit of better exposure to the larger U.S. customer base.

Canadian Companies Still Expanding in the US

Research in Motion Ltd, maker of the BlackBerry and a Canadian company has recently announced the purchase of a 460,000 sqft office complex in Riverside Texas for their own use.  This is a notable transaction not just because of the size of the property and that it is a Canadian company, but because it is a reverse of the recent trend of sale-lease back transactions.  In this economy, companies with strong balance sheets might start looking for good deals to acquire their own office and manufacturing locations rather then the recent trend of selling real estate to get it off their balance sheet and make a quick profit and then leasing it back. 

HTnaturals Opens First U.S. Retail Location

HTnaturals based in Vancouver, British Columbia has opened it's first retail location in the United States.  The store is located in The Outlet Shoppes in Burlington, Washington.  HTnaturals is a clothing company that manufactures eco-friendly, sustainable clothing.  Many of the clothes are made from soy, bamboo, hemp, and organic cotton. The company believes in a triple bottom line which looks and economic, environmental, and social responsibility not just net income.

Stork Craft Opens Facility in Bellingham

Stork Craft (USA) Inc. a Canadian baby furniture manufacturing company has signed a two-year lease with the port of Bellingham to open a USA based distribution facility.  The company's headquarters are located in Vancouver, BC. Stork Craft is the largest supplier of childrens furniture in the world.  The long term plan for Stork Craft is to build their own distribution facility in Whatcom County and to eventually employ 30 employees.

Non-Traditional Cross Border Business

I am constantly amazed at how people make a living and the varied business opportunities that exist. Cascadia Cabs, which operates pedicabs in Bellingham, Seattle, and Portland has just been approved to opperate 10 of the pedicabs in Vancouver, BC.  This is an inovative entrepeneur who is not affraid to tackle the cross border issues and hopefully reap the rewards.  Although it makes sence to look at a major metropolitan area for future expansion, especially when it is less then one hour away from your current operations, some would be scared off by the border.  But if this company were to avoid Canada, where is the next expansion area beyond Seattle and Portland?  Eight hours away in San Francisco - or even further?  Vancouver is only a short three hour drive north of Seattle and only 45 minutes from Bellingham, were this company already has operations. Although the focus previously has been on Canadian companies moving into the larger US market, I think we are going to see more US companies realizing that there is a large market in Canada with consumers with full pockets from an economy that is out performing the US economy.

Cross Border Reverse Flow Cont.

As the U.S. market continues to struggle, U.S. based businesses that previously never considered other markets are being forced to look outside their immediate market to survive. Even along border towns in the U.S. many businesses never saw a reason to look to the north in Canada to do business.  Why should they?  Business was good in the U.S. and besides it seemed like every Canadian business was trying to get into the U.S. market.  Times are different.  The U.S. continues to slow and many markets in Canada, especially the west coast, are thriving.

One example is Bellingham Washington based Credo Construction Inc. I have noticed advertising in B.C. for Credo Construction Inc. and knew that name from when I lived in Washington.  In the case of Credo Construction there is a tie back to B.C.  Todd Lapinsky of Credo Construction formerly operated B.C. based Lapinsky Construction before moving to Bellingham.  So are B.C. based businesses that have moved their operations to the U.S. having second thoughts?  I think it depends on the type of business.  In the case of a construction company like Credo Construction, having the ability to work on both sides of the border offeres a lot of diversification and hedges your risk.  For a manufacturing company, the U.S. is still a much larger market then Canada and offers more opportunity for growth.  It is interesting to see U.S. companies, and even former B.C. based companies that have moved to the U.S., now looking back to the strong economy in Canada as the better place to be right now. 

Canadian Businesses See Opportunity in U.S.A.

At a time when U.S. based businesses are struggling, some Canadian based competitors are seeing opportunity.  The Canadian businesses are able to use the still strong Canadian economy and the Canadian side of their business to fund expansion into the U.S. at a time when their U.S. competitors are struggling. One example is in Washington state.  Washington based Western Recreational Vehicles has closed it's doors.  At the same time Abbotsford, B.C. based Adventurer Manufacturing LP is expanding into Yakima, Washington.  Canadian businesses are able to get a foot-hold in the U.S. market and their hope is to weather the storm in the U.S. while subsidizing the U.S. operations with their Canadian side.  They will then be in a good position in the U.S. market when that economy recovers.

Doing Business in The USA

The Doing Business in the USA seminar will be held on Thursday,November 8 at the Best Western Abercorn Inn, 9260 Bridgeport Road, Richmond, BC from 8:30am to 4:30pm. Cost for the seminar is $195 pre-registered or $225 at the door ($145 each for 2 or more, and $25 further discount for registration before November 2). For more information contact Carol Jackson at 1-800-799-8848 or visit www.ucantrade.com

This seminar deals with key issues of doing business across the border and is ideal for any company considering doing crossborder business, employees of existing crossborder businesses, or those that advise crossborder businesses.