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SIERRA VISTA - Ottawa Global Marketing, a corporation representing a cluster of high-tech Canadian-based companies, is looking at partnering with businesses in Sierra Vista.
Mike Darch, executive director of the Ottawa corporation, was in Sierra Vista Feb. 12 to learn more about the area's defense and security-related industries. Darch, met with Barry Albrecht, executive director of the Sierra Vista Economic Development Foundation, and expressed an interest in pursuing UAVs, aerospace, defense and security technologies in a possible teaming of Ottawa based businesses with businesses in Sierra Vista.
"When we first started looking into southern Arizona, our attention was concentrated on Tucson," Darch said. However, after seeing what this area had to offer, he was interested in pursuing potential opportunities that could form partnerships with companies in Sierra Vista, as well.
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"We're interested in some of the emerging markets such as sensor programs, radar systems, surveillance systems, technologies that are in future marketplaces," Darch said.
The goal of Sierra Vista Economic Development Foundation is to ensure the companies come together and facilitate the exchange between technologies and relationships, Albrecht said.
"We're just in the beginning stages of developing additional relationships and putting together a series of actions that will give existing companies an opportunity to see what types of technologies are available," Albrecht said. "It'll be up to the individual companies to take advantage of those opportunities. Our primary goal is to make sure the opportunities are created."
Ottawa Global Marketing, which serves as the liaison for a number of diverse technologies and companies, is now in the process of developing a plan of action for this area. "We go and expedite technology-based businesses, and if we see something that fits into a particular business infrastructure that we represent, we try to bring those businesses together," Darch said.
To ensure success for all businesses in the partnership, the process requires a litany of investigative effort. "You need researchers, the economic development agencies, local universities, everyone working together," said Blair Patacairk, Ottawa Global's director of communications and marketing.
"Right now, defense and security are a big draw for us. We're hoping to rejuvenate our defense and security cluster by introducing some of the technologies we saw in Sierra Vista. It's an emerging market that we want to take advantage of," Patacairk said.
"We have capabilities here that Tucson, realistically, doesn't have. I believe we can come up with measurable results in a shorter amount of time. They've been looking at Tucson for a few years now and have just started putting those projects together."
The newly formed relationship between Tucson and Ottawa involves 10 joint research projects between University of Arizona and Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Patacairk said.
According to an Associated Press article, five of the projects are in optics/photonics and five in biomedical technology. The goal of the relationship is to bring together research strengths in both cities that will create high-tech companies, fostering research collaborations and faculty exchanges.
Albrecht believes those same type of collaborative relationships can be established in this area.
"If we can help our exiting industries build their technology base through teaming with other companies, that's economic development," he said. "We're going to start formalizing more meetings with our industry cluster to create network environments that are technical in nature. At the same time, it gives our economic foundation an opportunity to hear issues and concerns and what can be done to resolve them."
Some of the area's companies have proven to be key economic engines, Albrecht said. Using Northrop Grumman as an example, he said that company continues to grow and generate more jobs and revenue for the community. When the Canadians met with Albrecht, they were clearly impressed by the technical companies the area had in place.
"Prior to my visit, I was unaware of the capacity in Sierra Vista," Darch said. "We had completely overlooked the potential in Sierra Vista and were pleasantly surprised by what we saw there. I have my researchers doing a little more work, looking into the type of companies and opportunities the area offers."
Amber Reichard wrote on May 12, 2008 10:09 AM: