Fgfinancial.ca

Published: Monday, April 7, 2014, 11:03 p.m.
Updated 3 hours ago

Bob Bauer crosses the Canadian border often for business, and there are times when he barely notices.

“You could describe (Canada) as an environment where it doesn't feel like there is a border,” said Bauer, president and CEO of L.B. Foster Rail Technologies, a Pittsburgh-based manufacturer of railroad products.

Canada is L.B. Foster's most important international market, and it is where 10 percent of the company's workforce is based. The proximity to the United States and familiar culture have made it among the easiest foreign countries in which to work, he said.

Indeed, there is a lot that Pittsburgh companies like about Canada, and that close economic relationship is being highlighted during a weeklong visit by the Consulate General of Canada. The Pop-Up event involves presentations on international trade and business issues, as well as some lighthearted events, including a display of the Stanley Cup.

The relationship between the region and its northern neighbor is built on more than tourists traveling back and forth with fluctuations in currency rates.

Canada is the region's largest export market. Chemical companies, technology firms, metal fabricators and other Pittsburgh-area outfits sold $2.5 billion in products there in 2012, according to the latest figures from the International Trade Administration.

But it is a two-way relationship. The region's Marcellus shale natural gas industry has attracted Canadian engineering and energy firms, and more than 50 Canadian-owned companies employ 4,400 people here in hospitality, manufacturing and other industries, according to the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, an economic development group.

Pennsylvania and Canada combine for $22.6 billion in trade annually, with $11.4 billion in merchandise going north and $11.2 billion coming into the state from Canada, according to the Consulate General's website.

Although based in New York, the Consulate General serves as a liaison for Canadian companies in Pennsylvania and other Northeastern states. The office helps Pennsylvania employers that want to expand into Canada.

Consul General John Prato said there was a “very deep relationship between the commonwealth and Canada” that he hoped to nurture this week in Pittsburgh.

“We find Pittsburgh to be one of the most dynamic and vibrant cities in North America,” Prato said. “Pittsburgh has become a brain economy. You've done something exceptionally well here.”

The cross-border investment has been so active that PNC Financial Services Group recently expanded its Canadian presence. In February, the bank turned its Toronto commercial lending office into a full-service branch.

“There are thousands of U.S. companies who have Canadian interests with whom PNC interacts, either as clients or prospects. Very clearly, there is a strong U.S. interest in doing business in Canada,” said Bill Hines, who oversees the Toronto branch. “That's been expanding in the last couple of years with economic conditions improving, and we want to be there to support our clients.”

Canada has been an important part of Pittsburgh-based Wesco International's growth, said Dan Brailer, vice president of investor relations for Wesco.

The company makes wire, cable, lighting and other electrical products. Wesco's customers reach around the world to China, Brazil, Europe and Africa. But its largest foreign market is Canada, which accounted for 25 percent of its $7.5 billion in sales last year, Brailer said.

“It's a very favorable market, stable and growing,” Brailer said. “It's a market that we have looked at for some time.”

American firms often cite Canada's stability — economic and political — as well as cultural similarities among the attractions. Proximity also is important, said Lyn Doverspike, director of the U.S. Commercial Service Pittsburgh office, part of the International Trade Administration.

Shipping costs to Canada are lower, as materials can be sent by truck or rail rather than airplane. Also, the high percentage of Canadians living within 100 miles of the U.S. border offers more immediate access to customers, she said.

“You can reach out and touch your customers,” she said.

Bauer, of L.B. Foster, said there were fewer regulatory hurdles compared to doing business in other nations.

That said, American business owners need to understand key differences in labor practices and regulations.

For example, one of Bauer's engineers in Vancouver is expecting a baby soon. Canadian mothers are allowed to take up to a year of maternity leave, some of it paid. That is far more than the 12 weeks of unpaid leave in the United States under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

“Those are things to plan for,” he said.

Still, Canada is among the world's most friendly markets for U.S. companies, he said.

“There's a great marketplace up there,” he said. “It's easy to do business with those customers.”

Chris Fleisher is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7854 or cfleisher@tribweb.com.

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