Sudbury Area Mining Supply & Service Association Creates Enormous Wealth for Northern Ontario – by Dick DeStefano

Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA). His column was originally published in Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal, a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury. destefan@isys.ca

The recent Doyletech study of the mining supply & service sector provided significant data indicating that this sector has close to 500 companies in Northern Ontario that sell more than 50 per cent of their products and services to mining companies. This is a large industrial sector within this important geographical region. Results demonstrate that this sector created more than 23,000 jobs and generated more than $5.6 billion in gross sales in 2008.

The six months of face-to-face interviews of over 150 companies established this industry sector as a vital contributor to wealth and employment in the four major cities of Northern Ontario.

The Sudbury Area Mining Supply & Service Association (SAMSSA) was created in 2003 to bring together a critical mass of these companies in order to assess their importance and provide ongoing intelligence and business contacts within the global mining market. The founders supported the premise that collective branding of the tools, talent and technology on a massive scale would attract important economic benefits to the region and companies involved.

Since SAMSSA’s inception, we have continually monitored the activities of our members and encouraged their growth and reach. Following the recent research project, a request was made to Rick Clayton, lead researcher of the Doyletech team, to summarize the value of SAMSSA and its members within the overall conclusions. The results prove again that SAMSSA’s basic assumptions were actually underestimated.

SAMSSA members accounted for 42 per cent of all companies interviewed in this project, indicating the influence SAMSSA has as an organization in stimulating wealth in Northern Ontario. The numbers from the Doyletech EcoWin computer model demonstrate the following:

  • When indirect as well as direct effects were taken into account, total annual spending by SAMSSA members in the Northern Ontario economy was calculated to be  $2.433 billion
  • There are approximately 9,600 indirect and direct jobs created annually through the activities of the 110 SAMSSA members
  • The federal government gains a total of  $673 million every year from SAMSSA  members
  • The provincial government gains a total of  $491 million annually
  • The municipal governments gain $52 million every year

It has estimated that 50 per cent of the revenues went to cover employee costs and 40 per cent went to other procurement spending and returns to capital (profit, loan repayments, depreciation etc.) within the Northern Ontario region. It is also assumed that 10 per cent would leave Ontario altogether.

While these are illustrative figures, Rick Clayton of Doyletech believes these numbers are very reliable and give a reasonable picture of the value SAMSSA members bring to the Northern Ontario economy within the context of this important sector.

SAMSSA is proud of its accomplishments and members’ successes in the global market and will continue to make every effort to sustain this sector and its job opportunities for citizens in Northern Ontario.

www.samssa.ca