From a home-based startup supplying 20 anoraks for 1 client only, with the support of Synergie Industries, Northern Garments grew into a modern garment Lean manufacturing facility located at Dawson,Yukon. There, it succeeded with our support to design, manufacture and sell a line of winter clothes with northern design. Furthermore, it succeeded to export outside of Yukon and Canada, with 1/3 of sales in other parts of Canada and 1/3 of sales in Scandinavia. Despite the competition in garment industry in global market, the example of Northern Garments proves that it’s possible to profitably manufacture and sell clothes in the world from a very remote and rural area (in the north of Yukon) when the company has all the needed expertise support.

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From Jake Duncan and Megan Waterman, owners of Northern Garments

2009-02-21

“As our company approaches a milestone in its development (…), we feel compelled to write in support of the highly effective pilot program that has greatly contributed to our company’s success.

As beneficiaries of the program, we believe the YBDP is an efficient and effective business development program worthy of evolving from a pilot initiative. In our opinion this is due to three main factors: the program’s inclusiveness and its ability to be flexible or adaptable; the program’s focus on enabling participants while leveraging skills and resources; and, the program’s ability to foster a vested interest in participating companies through networking and the formation of Business Advisory Boards (BAB).

Unlike many business development initiatives, the TBDP is inclusive and integrates expertise both from within government and from the private sector. The integration of these, sometimes diverse, perspectives provides well rounded guidance for new companies or companies that are trying to achieve the next level of success.

Typically programs are designed in a manner that proponents must conform to them and not the other way around. While we understand and respect the need for accountability and due process, especially in regards to the use of public funds to encourage the development of private business, we feel that the efficacy of many programs is lost in the process. In our opinion, programs should be adaptable enough to accommodate a spectrum of needs in order to achieve overall goals. The YBDP has been flexible enough to accommodate our changing needs and we believe this has translated into achieving efficiency and effectiveness as a program, as well as our overall goals.

The YBDP has enabled us to help ourselves and it has increased our own capacity to sustain our business. It has leveraged the skills and resources available to us which has in turn leveraged what we could have accomplished on our own. The contacts and credibility we have gained in the process will survive long after our involvement with the YBDP is ends.

Finally, and what we believe is the real genius behind the YBDP as a program, it has connected us to others within our industry in a meaningful way that has developed a vested interest in our business. To put this statement in context, through the YBDP we have been connected to experts within the apparel industry that have taken a professional interest in our business through their involvement in our YBDP Business Advisory Board (BAB) sessions. This has translated into real help and assistance that in most cases money just couldn’t buy!

Thank you for this opportunity to support a valuable program that has contributed so much to our emerging business. I hope that you and your colleagues are able to ensure the program’s longevity and that others are able to benefit from this program as much as we have. Please feel free to contact us with any questions and share our sentiments with whomever you deem appropriate.”