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Letter from the Editor
To reach our editorial staff with questions or comments please write to:
Lyle Fitzsimmons
Managing Editor, North America
When you think of boom towns, you might not think of central Alberta.
But it’s in just that location – about 40 minutes to the west of the provincial capital in Edmonton – that the town of Stony Plain is experiencing a burst of activity that
feels like a decade ago.
Subdivisions are springing up in areas that until recently had no houses – fueled partially by a flow of Edmonton-centric professionals looking for a better life in non-work
hours – and the continued expansion of the town’s economic options is drawing businesses that will add jobs as well.
It all leaves Jean Porteous, Stony Plain’s director of planning and infrastructure, scrambling for a moment to catch her breath in a typical workday. She sat down for a
couple minutes to chat with me for a feature that’s included in this month’s issue of Business World – which begins on Page 70.
“Everybody thinks that we’re on the precipice of another boom,” she said. “You talk to the land development industry, and they’re just going like gangbusters this year.
That obviously translates to us as well. My permit numbers now are at 2005 and 2006 levels, which was the start of the previous boom in 2006, 2007 and 2008. We’re
approaching those kinds of numbers now.”
Stony Plain’s population climbed 28.5 percent between 2001 and 2006 and was up another 21.7 percent between 2006 and the last official census count in 2011, when
it came in at 15,051.
“You go out and you see the demand that’s there for growth on the west side of Edmonton,” she said. “You can see the change that’s happening in a small community.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent, Scott Dobak is confident in Montreal.
The newly-installed CEO of the Dicom Transportation Group took over when the company was acquired in late February, and he sees no reason to wait any longer before
delivering a healthy growth outlook.
Dicom is comprised of three distinct divisions – Dicom Express, which handles small-pack/courier needs; GoJiT, which is the LTL-centric entity; and JiT24.7, a third-
party logistics function that works with major corporate accounts like L’Oreal, John Deere and Harley-Davidson.
Before arriving in Montreal,Dobak had been president of the LTL (less-than-truckload) and TMS (transportation management services) divisions at RoadRunner
Transportation and was previously with YRC Inc., which operates in Canada, the United States and Mexico.
He sat down to talk with me about the future for another article – beginning on Page 48 – in this month’s issue.
“We’re looking at a lot of different ways to grow,” he said. “We think we’ve got a very competitive and well-run company, and the more that we can leverage those key
attributes in the future, we think the upside potential is just tremendous.”
Take a look at the Stony Plain and Dicom pieces as well as other feature stories in the June issue, alongside our supplemental content in the form of interesting Top 10
lists, the Executive Summary and the latest edition of our newest interactive feature – “One Last Question” – located on the final page.
As always, please feel free to contact me with any comments or critiques, as well as suggestions for ways we can continue to provide a publication that’s pertinent,
educational and entertaining.
Until next month…
Regards,
