A Sudbury company is mining business opportunities in Nevada’s mining industry, thanks to a growing partnership with Canada and a business group from the U.S. state.
While most people associate Nevada with Las Vegas, the area has much more to offer than gambling, said Bob Groesbeck, vice-president of the Canada-Nevada Business Council.
Nevada is home to a billion-dollar mining industry that’s enjoying a resurgence even as the rest of the state tries to recover from the recession.
“We’re just blown away by what’s going on in (Sudbury),” said Groesbeck. “It didn’t take us long to figure out that this is a good fit.”
Canada is Nevada’s largest trading partner with combined two-way trade exceeding $2 billion per year. Dura21, a Sudbury business with technology that increases the longevity of wear parts, is a charter member of the Canada-Nevada Business Council.
Dura21 co-founder Bob MacInnis said the company’s products help businesses improve productivity and save money. For heavy industries like mining, where parts and equipment must be replaced continually, the implications are huge.
“If we can increase productivity by decreasing downtime caused by wear ... we can really make an impact,” MacInnis said.
He cited the example of a piece of mining equipment that had to be replaced every six weeks. After Dura21 transformed the product, it now lasts 130 weeks.
MacInnis said joining the business council give the company access to (the Nevada) market in a whole new way. It’s a conduit for Dura21 to access decision-makers in the industry, so they avoid “going down the rabbit hole,” which has happened to them in past attempts at making connections in unfamiliar markets.
