'Sew' far 'sew' good

Page 11

The Goodfish Lake Sewing and Garment Company will soon be bursting at the seams as a new garment line takes off.

The company, owned by the Whitefish (Goodfish) Lake First Nation, is expecting some big profits from its plan to outfit construction workers in Fort McMurray.

The new product line is expected to increase sales by 50 per cent.

The company manufactures fire retardant work wear and winter and summer work clothing for the petro-chemical industry. They also have an industrial dry-cleaning and laundering plant which cleans industrial work wear and provides a heavy duty laundry facility for the work camps.

With location being everything in the business world, the factory is set up in the ideal spot.

The factory, approximately 200 km northeast of Edmonton, is in the centre of major gas pipeline activity, and the access point to an ever expanding oil patch.

The new product line will create 15 additional jobs at the newly opened factory. The company currently has 25 full time and five part time staff on the payroll. A large majority of the thirty staff members is Aboriginal

Funding for the business was made possible with the assistance of the government and the community. The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development gave the First Nation $450,000 to help with the factory expansion. The Whitefish(Goodfish) First Nation itself contributed another $230,000 to their home-town business.