“WHY TAKE CHANCES” PROMO GRAND PRIZE WINNER!

Wayne Wilson, purchaser with Erivan Gecom Inc. (Ste-Julie, Que.) is the grand prize winner in Thomas & Betts’ Ty-Rap “Why Take Chances” Promo, held last year between August 20 and November 30. During the promotion, participants scratched and won 2000 instant prizes, including T-shirts, hats, water bottles and lunch bags. But they also entered the grand prize draw for a trip to Miami, Florida.

Along with his wife Michelle Lajeunesse, Wilson headed to Miami in early February for a week in the sun (and an excursion to the Everglades). Accompanying him were Guillevin representatives Claude Laberge (manager) and Claude Nourry (sales rep); T&B sales rep Denis Fortin and his wife, Sophie Hamel; T&B product market manager, Suzanne Kasnakian; and T&B customer service representative Nathalie Vadnais.

From left to right: Nathalie Vadnais, CSR, T&B; Suzanne Kasnakian, product market manager, T&B; Sophie Hamel and Denis Fortin, sales rep, T&B; Michelle Lajeunesse; Wayne Wilson, purchaser, Erivan Gecom; and Guillevin's Claude Laberge and Claude Nourry.

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GE CANADIAN ASSEMBLY CENTRE OPENING CELEBRATION CONTINUES

To celebrate the opening of the new GE Canadian Assembly Centre for Electrical Distribution products in Mississauga, Ont., last April, GE Electrical Distribution ran a promotion giving participants the chance to win one of four Dell laptop computers and one of 100 GE golf shirts. Here are the lucky winners of the laptops:

	Jeff Vernon, P.Eng., H. H. Angus & Associates Ltd. (Ontario). In the photo (left to right): Jeff Vernon, P. Eng., prize winner; and Michel Roy, district sales manager, Eastern Canada, GE Consumer & Industrial.
	Tony Jerebic, project manager, Langford Electric Ltd. (Alberta). In the photo: Tony Jerebic.
	François Racicot, vice-president, Électricité Pierre Marchand Inc. (Quebec). In the photo (left to right): François Racicot, prize winner; and Denis Tessier, Quebec sales manager, GE Consumer & Industrial.
	Bruce Johnson, estimating manager, The State Group Inc. (Ontario). In the photo (left to right): Ajay Gupta, lead account manager, GE Consumer & Industrial; Bruce Johnson, prize winner; and Ken Lewis, vice-president, The State Group Inc.

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INVESTMENT IN NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

Investment in non-residential building construction set a seventh-consecutive annual record in 2007, thanks largely to huge gains in the construction of office buildings in Alberta and British Columbia, says StatsCan.

Investment in commercial, industrial and institutional projects hit $39.8 billion, up 10.8% from 2006. Furthermore, the outlook for 2008 remains positive, with more than 12,000 of major projects under construction for a value of $21.5 billion—an increase of 4% compared with the same period of 2006.

In constant dollars, annual investment was up 1.5% from 2006 to a record high of $29.2 billion.

Two components contributed to the gain in 2007. Commercial investment rose 18.3% from 2006 to a record $23.8 billion, while institutional investment was up 3.9% to $10.4 billion, also a record. Industrial investment declined 3.4% to $5.6 billion.

Western Canada’s dynamic economy continued to spark the non-residential sector. Alberta and British Columbia alone accounted for more than 80% of the total increase in non-residential investment nationally in 2007. In both provinces, commercial projects dominated investment.

Among other contributing factors were low vacancy rates for office buildings in large urban centres, strong consumer demand for durable goods and high corporate profits, in particular for banks and the oil and gas industry.

On a quarterly basis, investment hit $10.4 billion in the last three months of 2007, up 2.4% from the third quarter and the 19th consecutive quarterly increase. This gain was mainly the result of sustained commercial investment in Alberta and Central Canada. All three components contributed to the increase.

Overall, six provinces recorded fourth-quarter gains, but the biggest increases, in dollars, occurred in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec. In all three provinces, total investment reached record highs and was due mostly to the construction of major office buildings already underway.

Of the 34 census metropolitan areas (CMAs), 21 showed gains in the fourth quarter, with Toronto and Calgary showing the largest increases (in dollars). Both set a record high. In contrast, Ottawa posted the biggest decline as a result of a decrease in all three components.

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