At Specialty Technology and Research, Inc., better known as STAR, Inc., licensees are cared for like family and supported at every step. Founded in 1986, Columbus, Ohio-headquartered STAR has long worked on a licensee model. With a web page dedicated to Owning a STAR Seal Plant, the company outlines the many benefits of becoming a licensee. These include the provision of plant layout details, detailed engineering drawings, research and product development, technical support, quality control and assurance, technical training, and even marketing.

“It’s like a big family, and we always value the support of the licensees that we have,” says Girish C. Dubey, STAR Seal’s CEO and Founder. Dubey continues overseeing the company’s success in the pavement preservation industry and today, STAR has about 150 staff members in North America, 15 plants, and three international facilities, in Australia, China, and Mexico.

Designed for success: technology licensing
Compared to conventional franchising, STAR’s unique Technology Licensing program is much more cost-effective and is designed to set up licensees for success. As the company states, “Our sole responsibility is to support our member companies and their customers. STAR’s diversified management capabilities and strategies are highly focused and specifically designed to serve our members ensuring their future growth.” Backed by the strength of STAR, licensees benefit from negotiated prices for equipment and raw materials, connections with suppliers, directions on plant layout, equipment, staffing, and more.

“We always listen intently to all our licensees,” states Dubey of STAR, which holds monthly telephone conferences with all plants, discussing product and process development, equipment and raw material requirements, industry demand, and suggestions for improvement. These meetings are always productive, with plenty of ideas on how to prioritize projects. “There is nothing flowery; it is all meat and potatoes,” says Dubey, which makes sense because STAR licensees are on the front lines. The first to receive customer feedback, they receive full technical support and production processing support. Like a big family, every aspect of the business is discussed openly and honestly.

Built on sealcoating expertise
Long before founding STAR, Dubey studied chemistry, earning Master’s Degrees in Inorganic Chemistry from India’s Upadhyay Gorakhpur University and Polymer Chemistry from Wright State University. This saw him take on the role of technical manager at marine paint specialist Hempel before creating STAR and launching his first basic sealcoatings. These were followed by a line of additives to boost sealcoating performance and other products like STAR Supreme, STAR Aviator, and Better and Best.

“STAR Seal is the basic workhorse of the industry,” explains Dubey. “The Better grade is professional grade with better performance, and then there is Supreme. Our specialty product, STAR Aviator, is designed to meet FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) specifications for airports.”

Today, STAR is behind about three dozen different products, including sealcoatings, color coatings, crack fillers, traffic paint, primers and specialty products, and additives. Knowing its market extremely well, STAR doesn’t sell sundries like brushes, brooms, nozzles, or cleaning compounds. “Our focus is on technologically superior products in coatings and additives. That’s our main business,” states Dubey.

Along with legacy products like STAR Triton, STAR Spectrum, and STAR-Seal Refined Tar Sealers, the company has introduced two exciting products. One of them is Star LTCA, which stands for Low Temperature Cure Additive. This unique product is formulated to optimally cure in cooler temperatures, when sealcoating is usually not done. “With this additive, now you can take it down to 40°F, so that opens these seasons a bit more and gives a couple of weeks on both ends,” says Dubey. “The industry is so seasonal that this gives contractors a big advantage, having more weeks to do work early spring or late fall.”

Last year saw the company introduce STAR MAX-GRIP. An additive, STAR MAX-GRIP is based on specialty polymer latex and bonding agents and “is designed to reduce drying and cure times by 50 percent or more and improve adhesion of sealcoatings. Additionally, STAR MAX-GRIP improves the oil and chemical resistance of the sealcoating.”

As its name implies, STAR MAX-GRIP demonstrably improves the adhesive properties of sealcoating, especially in challenging areas like polished aggregates. Parking lots and driveways are asphalt mixed with aggregates and paved; over time, with age and usage, aggregates in the pavement become polished or slick, and it is hard for coatings to bond to slick surfaces. A polymer latex-based additive fortified with bonding agents, STAR MAX-GRIP is ideal for areas that must be resistant to chemicals and oil.

“It’s like painting a mirror,” Dubey explains. “Nothing will stick to it. This additive is great in those areas and all over, especially in areas experiencing more traffic, like exits and entrances.”

Marketing moves
STAR, Inc. and Girish Dubey have always excelled at marketing. Going back to the beginning, the company presented at industry conventions and shows and had a presence in magazine and print advertising. And as a sealcoating specialist, Dubey has written many technical papers. With marketing shifting largely away from print media, STAR has stepped up its online presence through its blog, which discusses advances in sealcoating, explores new products, and highlights projects completed by licensee plants. “People are talking more about our products, and it is working,” comments Dubey. “We have sharpened our marketing strategy and are putting more focus into certain aspects of that. We are launching a branding campaign for our name, which will be synonymous with quality, service, and integrity.”

As part of the branding program, the company is launching a new website dedicated strictly to persons interested in expanding into manufacturing, https://starsealmanufacturing.com/. People in the sealcoating industry tend to start small, keep growing, and, with the right support, reach a point where they have sufficient volumes of sealcoating and want to manufacture themselves, with STAR’s strong support. Others being approached include companies who do paving and subcontract the sealcoating to others. “So there are two pathways,” says Dubey. “People who do paving maintenance is a natural extension, but with hands-on experience in the industry.”

With considerable international turmoil at present, the company is emphasizing licensing opportunities in the United States instead of overseas, and is targeting locations along the eastern seaboard, the west coast, and the Midwest. There are many U.S. opportunities, and STAR is eyeing areas where it doesn’t currently have representation.

Another way STAR Seal supports its licensees is through its internal online magazine, which is distributed to all plants. The magazine showcases products and licensee activities, and contains articles on technical aspects of sealcoating, plant operations, and equipment. Plants are encouraged to share the magazine with their customers so they know about new products and activities.

At present, about 90 percent of STAR’s business is in commercial products, with the remaining 10 percent residential. Some businesses using STAR sealcoatings include big-box stores, commercial properties, industrial complexes, and homeowners associations. “Our aim is to enhance the performance of sealcoating, with very effective add-on offerings to the sealcoating,” states Dubey. Incorporating the right additives—even comprising just one or two percent of the product—makes the difference between a sealcoating performing and not performing. As Dubey explains, “We are always looking to do things in a different way and take full advantage of the known chemistry of ingredients.”

Proud of STAR Seal’s 40^th anniversary, Dubey and his team are planning promotions and celebrations, which will include recognizing the company’s many plants. “STAR is like a big family, and we always value the support of the licensees that we have, and we definitely want to show our appreciation,” he says. “2025 was one of our best years, and 2026 is tracking to be even better than last year. We are in the process of promoting for new plant locations, so I’m hoping we’ll have a couple of new plants next year.”

The post Protection and Preservation: The Importance of Sealcoating<p class="company">STAR, Inc.</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Positioned between two of Canada’s most influential economic centres, Halton Hills, Ontario is emerging as a destination of choice for companies seeking room to grow, access to talent, and long-term business support. Located in the heart of the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor, the community is leveraging its strategic location, available employment lands, and collaborative approach to economic development to attract investment across a range of high-value industries.

At the centre of these efforts is Invest Halton Hills, the Town’s economic development division. Invest Halton Hills has quickly established itself as a trusted partner for businesses looking to invest and expand in one of Canada’s most competitive economic regions.

“We function as part of the Town of Halton Hills, and our focus is twofold,” explains Graham Lowe, Senior Economic Development Officer. “It’s about supporting the growth of our existing businesses while also attracting new investment to the community.”

Working alongside Lowe is Tony Boutassis, Director of Economic Development, whose responsibilities include overseeing the Town’s Business Concierge Program. Together, their team provides support across investment attraction, business retention and expansion, tourism, agriculture, community improvement initiatives, and major development projects.

Location, location, location
Geography has always played a significant role in Halton Hills’ economic story. Situated between Toronto and Waterloo, the community benefits from direct access to two of Canada’s most dynamic economic ecosystems. Toronto serves as the country’s largest metropolitan market, while Waterloo has earned international recognition as a technology and innovation hub. “Our location gives businesses access to major markets, a large labour pool, strong transportation infrastructure, and established regional supply chains,” says Lowe.

For companies operating in manufacturing, food processing, agribusiness, clean technology, and advanced manufacturing industries, those advantages translate into operational efficiencies and easier access to customers, suppliers, and skilled workers.

The Town’s economic development strategy is closely aligned with broader provincial and federal priorities, particularly in sectors that are shaping Canada’s future economy. Advanced manufacturing, food and beverage processing, clean technology, renewable energy, and agribusiness remain key areas of focus.

“Our goal is to position Halton Hills as a high-value, future-ready employment location within the Greater Toronto Area,” Lowe says. “We want to attract investment that creates quality jobs, strengthens our business community, expands the tax base, and supports sustainable growth.”

Industrial opportunities
One of Halton Hills’ most significant competitive advantages is something increasingly difficult to find within the Greater Toronto Area: available industrial land. As neighbouring municipalities continue to experience land constraints, Halton Hills offers businesses opportunities to establish new facilities on greenfield sites while remaining connected to the GTA’s vast economic network.

This opportunity is concentrated within the Premier Gateway Employment Area, which encompasses approximately 2,200 acres of prestige industrial land.

According to Boutassis, the Premier Gateway represents the Town’s most important economic asset. “It provides excellent access to the 400-series highway network, the broader GTA, Southwestern Ontario, Pearson International Airport, and U.S. markets,” he says. The area is expected to accommodate a substantial share of Halton Hills’ future employment growth as new industrial developments and serviced lands become available.

What makes the Premier Gateway particularly attractive is its rarity. Across much of the GTA, new industrial development increasingly requires redevelopment of existing sites. Halton Hills offers businesses the ability to build facilities designed specifically for their operational needs. “Many municipalities adjacent to us are running out of available land,” Boutassis explains. “We still have opportunities for companies that need room to grow.”

Additional employment lands are also being brought online through long-term planning initiatives, helping ensure that future investors continue to have options within the community.

Building business success
Location alone is rarely enough to secure major investment. Companies evaluating new jurisdictions often consider factors such as approval timelines, municipal responsiveness, access to information, and the ease of navigating development processes. To address these concerns, Invest Halton Hills has developed a hands-on approach that guides businesses through every stage of investment.

The Town’s Business Concierge Program serves as a central point of contact for major projects, helping coordinate across multiple municipal departments while providing clarity around requirements and approvals. “Our approach is very coordinated,” says Boutassis. “We provide site selection assistance, labour market information, connections to partners, and support in understanding municipal processes.”

The program is designed to identify potential challenges early and ensure that businesses have access to the information they need to move projects forward efficiently. For a municipality of approximately 65,000 residents, the level of support available through Invest Halton Hills is notable. “Many larger cities have business concierge programs,” Lowe says. “What’s unique here is that we’re able to provide that same level of sophistication while maintaining the responsiveness and accessibility of a smaller community.”

That combination allows businesses to work directly with municipal staff who have a personal investment in project success while benefiting from services often associated with much larger urban centres. The impact of this approach can be seen in one of Halton Hills’ most significant recent investment successes: Conestoga Cold Storage.

The company selected Halton Hills for a major cold storage development that represents a multimillion dollar investment across multiple phases. While cold storage facilities are often viewed through the lens of logistics, Lowe emphasizes that Conestoga’s operation represents something much more sophisticated. “This is a highly automated cold storage operation powered by proprietary technologies and advanced robotics,” he says. “They’ve developed their technology in-house, and much of the facility is automated.”

The operation utilizes advanced robotics and proprietary systems to manage inventory within highly specialized cold storage environments. The project also demonstrates the broader economic opportunities that can emerge when anchor investments take root.

The full food supply chain
Once a major logistics and food supply chain operator establishes a presence in a community, related businesses often follow. Food manufacturers, processors, distributors, and suppliers benefit from proximity to critical infrastructure and industry partners.

“We’re seeing increased interest from food and beverage companies that want to be close to those supply chain assets,” Lowe says. The result is a growing ecosystem that strengthens Halton Hills’ position within Canada’s food production and distribution network. Among all of Halton Hills’ target sectors, food and beverage processing stands out as one of its strongest value propositions.

The region’s agricultural heritage, transportation connectivity, and proximity to major consumer markets create an environment where businesses throughout the food supply chain can thrive. “In our part of Ontario, you have the full food supply chain,” Lowe says. “From agricultural producers to processors to transportation and logistics, everything is connected.”

Companies located in Halton Hills can reach approximately 150 million consumers within a day’s drive, providing efficient access to both Canadian and U.S. markets. The community is already home to a diverse collection of food-related businesses, ranging from multinational corporations to rapidly growing entrepreneurial ventures. Among them are major industry names such as Kraft Heinz and Cargill Chocolate, alongside innovative companies including Freshouse Foods, Terra Cotta Cookies, and Vision Food Innovations, whose products are distributed nationally.

The sector’s continued growth is supported by a combination of market access, transportation infrastructure, industrial land availability, and competitive development costs.

Sustainability at the forefront
According to Lowe, development charges and real estate costs in Halton Hills often remain more competitive than many neighbouring GTA municipalities, providing additional advantages for expanding businesses. And as economic growth and environmental responsibility are increasingly interconnected—particularly as investors place greater emphasis on sustainability during site selection—Halton Hills has embraced this reality by integrating sustainability into both municipal planning and economic development initiatives. According to Lowe, many companies now evaluate communities based on factors such as energy efficiency, green building standards, waste reduction strategies, and access to cleaner energy sources.

The Town has spent years developing policies and initiatives that support this shift. Climate planning, low-carbon transition strategies, green building initiatives, and sustainable infrastructure investments all play a role in shaping future growth.

The focus extends beyond policy statements and into practical implementation. Municipal capital planning, land-use decisions, and economic development strategies are increasingly viewed through a sustainability lens. That alignment positions Halton Hills to compete for investment from companies that prioritize environmental performance alongside operational efficiency.

A rich pipeline of talent
Of course, a strong workforce remains one of the most important factors influencing business investment decisions. Halton Hills benefits from access to one of North America’s largest labour markets, with approximately 4.7 million people located within commuting distance. The region’s transportation connections support significant commuter movement throughout the Greater Toronto Area, giving employers access to talent from a wide geographic area.

At the same time, the community itself boasts a highly educated population. According to Lowe, approximately 75 percent of local residents possess post-secondary credentials, exceeding provincial averages. Educational institutions across Southern Ontario further strengthen the talent pipeline, with more than 20 colleges and universities located within an hour’s drive of Halton Hills, many of which operate specialized research centres and industry-focused programs. For sectors such as advanced manufacturing, food innovation, agriculture, engineering, and technology, these institutions provide ongoing access to skilled graduates and collaborative opportunities.

“We have access to a highly educated local workforce, a massive regional labour pool, and strong connections to post-secondary institutions,” Lowe says. Those factors help companies meet both their immediate hiring needs and long-term workforce development goals.

Quality of life, always
Amidst its economic ambitions, Halton Hills remains committed to protecting the qualities that make the community attractive to residents and businesses alike. Growth is guided by a planning framework that directs employment development to designated areas while preserving established neighbourhoods, agricultural lands, and natural spaces. “We don’t pursue growth for growth’s sake,” Boutassis says. “It needs to support the broader community through jobs, services, infrastructure, sustainability, and quality of life.”

The Town’s two primary urban centres, Georgetown and Acton, retain their distinct character, while employment growth is concentrated within areas specifically designated for industrial and commercial activity. This approach helps maintain the balance between economic opportunity and community livability. For residents and visitors, that means access to parks, trails, green spaces, and recreational amenities. For businesses, it means operating within a community that understands the importance of long-term planning and sustainable development.

As Halton Hills continues to evolve, its economic development team sees significant opportunities on the horizon. The community already supports approximately 23,000 jobs and more than 1,400 businesses. Additional employment lands, ongoing infrastructure investments, and a growing reputation among investors position the Town for continued success.

For Lowe, the formula is straightforward. “The fundamentals are already here,” he says. “We have the land, we have access to talent, we’re connected to major markets, and we’re ready for investment.”

As companies evaluate locations across Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area, Halton Hills is increasingly demonstrating that growth need not mean choosing between business opportunity and quality of life. Instead, Halton Hills offers a combination of both, supported by strategic planning and a clear vision for the future.

The post From Vision to Investment<p class="company">Invest Halton Hills</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Here, dedication to supporting local businesses’ expansion and prosperity is imperative, and the Economic Development team addresses this need with a broad blend of skills and local awareness that affords the opportunity to give individual support and strategic insights for growth.

By adopting cooperation, teamwork, innovation, development, honesty, and openness and supporting community involvement, the Economic Development team stays ahead in the constantly changing scene by promoting innovative thinking and adopting new technologies, acting in the best interests of those they serve, and forging a strong bond with the community, working with local businesses, groups, and citizens to understand their needs and contribute to their success.

Some of those recent successes include the progress of the North Florida Mega Industrial Park, as the first tenant, AgroLiquid, comes into full operation; a new 60-acre land purchase from a wholesale building supplier; and a $30 million wastewater treatment plant, all truly impressive accomplishments.

“After being rescheduled due to Hurricane Helene in September 2025, we celebrated the official grand opening of the North Florida Mega Industrial Park on November 7, 2025, dubbing it the Greatest Show on U.S. Highway 90,” says Jennifer Daniels, Economic Development Director.

Mayor Noah Walker served as the ringmaster, telling the story that was 20 years in the making, while Todd Powell, Weyerhaeuser’s Vice President of Real Estate from the inception of the project, shared remarks, along with comments from the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners Tim Murphy; longtime supporter and former commissioner Ron Williams; AgroLiquid’s local plant manager Jeff Herald; Congresswoman Kat Cammack; and Daniels herself.

“This day really honored everyone who played a part in creating this fantastic asset that will be a catalyst for growth and prosperity for Columbia County and the entire north central Florida region,” she says.

In fact, the volume of interest in the park has more than doubled, with most of those leads being viable projects, she adds. “We’ve had several very significant projects come back to the table after going quiet for a couple of years. Leads are coming from a wider array of sources and are much more real, not just speculative.”

In terms of improvements to infrastructure, Columbia County has recently allocated millions in investments for expansions to roads and rail and a new water main. Funded by a legislative appropriation of just under $3 million in 2022, the main entrance road, NFMIP Parkway West, is now under construction with an anticipated completion of late Q4 2026.

In 2023, the Florida Legislature awarded Columbia County $5 million to construct a water treatment facility on site. After realizing that construction of an entire plant was no longer feasible with a $5 million budget, that funding was shifted to build a new water mainline from the City of Lake City’s Price Creek Water Treatment Plant to NFMIP Parkway West, allowing Lake City to be the complete utility provider and eliminating duplication of services. That project is anticipated to be complete by June of 2027.

In 2025, Columbia County received a $2 million Rural Infrastructure Fund Grant Award for the construction of rail within the NFMIP. Those funds are being utilized to construct two side tracks—designed and constructed by Pinsly Railroad Company—used for pulling railcars off of the park’s mainline to prevent queueing, crossing NFMIP Parkway West, and extending approximately 1,500 feet into the catalyst site, the largest area of contiguous acreage within the NFMIP. Because of the civil work already completed as part of the parkway construction, the rail project is expected to be completed by Q3 of 2027.

“This key piece of critical infrastructure is another check in the boxes that help eliminate risk factors for potential industries,” Daniels says. “Having rail on the ground within the largest parcel of the NFMIP is a game changer.”

In local business, the Busy Bee Travel Center’s substantial new location in Ellisville, spanning 75,000 square feet, is slated for completion by early 2027. “Elizabeth and Lucas Waring, owners of Busy Bee, Florida’s own infamous chain of comfy and clean convenience stores, first approached Columbia County Economic Development in 2019 with the idea to build their biggest and best store yet,” Daniels tells us.

This means expanding the footprint of an existing store on Highway 441/41 S and I-75 in Ellisville, an unincorporated area of Columbia County. After working for several years to acquire the adjacent land, the Warings officially and publicly announced the project in May of 2023, an $80 million private investment that will bring approximately 200 jobs along with Busy Bee’s signature sweets and treats, quirky trinkets and gifts, and a new brick oven pizzeria not found in any other location.

“Due to the size and scope of the project, improvements needed to be made along Highway 441/41S and the adjacent county road, Howell Street,” adds Daniels. A $5 million Rural Infrastructure Fund Grant awarded in 2024 is funding the construction of a signalized service road, diverting truck traffic eastward, paralleling Highway 441/41S, behind the SunStop Convenience Store before coming out on the highway.

Additionally, FDOT is completing approximately $40 million in improvements to both sides of I-75, including lowering the highway under the overpass to correct a decades-old safety concern for tractor-trailers.

The addition of an almost 80,000-square-foot convenience store will also require upgrades to the wastewater system in Ellisville, now managed by the North Florida Water Utility, a joint utility authority partnering with Columbia and Suwannee Counties together in an effort to lower the cost of county-owned utilities simply via economies of scale. Funding efforts are currently underway to increase the capacity.

In terms of the county’s Planning and Zoning Department, Columbia County and Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. are partnering to provide a full, complete, and thorough review and revision to the county’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations, a project that includes a robust community engagement process and pop-up events throughout the county within the 18-month project timeline. This is important for two reasons, says Daniels: the first is to give current residents within the county a voice in the rules that determine where, what, and how growth and development happen around the county. By creating commercial overlay corridors around interstate exits, paths are created for quicker permitting, directing commercial growth to areas where it makes sense for commuters, and attracting business to areas that may have been overlooked and neglected for many years. By updating the Future Land Use in these corridors, homeowners who may be contemplating putting their homes on the market can now ask for commercial prices, putting more money back into their pockets.

Secondly, Columbia County will have a playbook on hand, complete with the rules and requirements, so potential industries don’t have to guess if they fit within the county’s standards.

“One of the first check boxes of any economic development project is if the zoning and comp plan designation already supports the use,” Daniels explains. “Updates to either can cost a company up to 18 months. Modern LDRs with clear industrial zoning, streamlined concurrency requirements, and predictable review times are a clear indicator that Columbia County is easy to do business with and in.”

The county certainly has much to celebrate, and other recent accomplishments include partnering with the City of Lake City to complete infrastructure improvements at both the NFMIP and SR 47/I-75, water/sewer/gas improvements that will open land for both commercial and industrial development in areas of the county where that growth makes sense, creating jobs and increasing ad valorem tax revenue.

“ClearSky Health Rehabilitation Hospital is also now open,” says Daniels of the 36-bed, $45 million private capital investment that provides state-of-the-art, compassionate care for patients recovering from strokes, brain injuries, and other complex conditions.

Approval of two residential development tax rebate incentives resulting in the construction of a total of 120 duplex/townhouses is also cause for celebration, as no multi-family projects had been constructed in the county for more than 10 years, while construction of Recoil Trampoline Park—a brand-new 30,000-square-foot facility—will bring a much-needed entertainment option to the county while also serving as an amenity to attract larger industry.

Challenges, Daniels says, include visibility. “While the Department of Commerce and both the state and local Chambers of Commerce are advocates of Columbia County, we are often still not top-of-mind compared to other Florida metros like Jacksonville or Ocala when site selectors are in the market.”

Restrictions around water usage and capacities, along with other utility infrastructure, are also still a struggle. While there has been tremendous progression over the last five to eight years, there are still many areas of the county that are underserved with water, sewer, gas, and fiber. The potential loss of revenue due to property tax reform is also a concern.

“Many people don’t understand the true implications,” stresses Daniels. “Those dollars pay for fire and ambulance services, public libraries, and our 4-H and Extension Office programs, not to mention the impact on our school system.”

When asked about what lies ahead, Daniels has some ambitious ideas. “In the next few years, I’d love for our Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) program to grow, creating additional resources, funding, and opportunities for our legacy businesses that are looking to expand.”

She’d also like to have at least two new tenants in the NFMIP—“extra credit” if one of those is an aerospace/aviation/military project partnering with SpaceFlorida—along with partnering with the City of Lake City to develop the Gateway Regional Airport, eventually creating a cargo hub to utilize the FTZ designation.

“I also want to establish a Building Construction Technology Center with Florida Gateway College, building the talent pipeline needed for attracting advanced manufacturing jobs,” she says, along with attracting additional amenities that include resort hotels or an event venue so Florida’s Gateway can host regional and national conferences and events.

“Personally, I’d like to expand my opportunities for serving on local, regional, and statewide boards and committees,” Daniels adds. “Not only does this bring me joy, but it gives me a platform to share Columbia County and rural Florida with a wider audience.”

While those might be future aspirations, there are a number of amazing attributes Columbia County offers today for residents, visitors, and potential businesses looking to enjoy all the area has to provide. These include affordability; access to good healthcare, education, and community events; and growing amenities such as new restaurants, family entertainment centers, and expanded sports parks and facilities, all attracting younger families to the community.

“Columbia County has small-town character with genuine community involvement: festivals, sports, parades, and a sense of people knowing and looking out for each other,” Daniels says.

Additionally, innovative minds at Florida Gateway College and the Columbia County School System Career and Technical Education Department are exploring ideas that challenge the rural stereotype, providing educational opportunities for future generations while staying true to local roots.

Boasting an abundance of natural springs, waterways, and a waterfall, as well as hundreds of thousands of acres of National Forest, Columbia County provides a refreshing break from the hustle of a technology-driven society.

“Columbia County is Florida’s Gateway, welcoming people here since 1832,” says Daniels. “You can drive an hour to go to Jacksonville Beach, two-and-a-half hours to hang out with Mickey Mouse, or five hours to salsa the night away in Miami, but something I’ve learned and take to heart is that all roads lead to Columbia County.”

The post Florida’s Gateway: All Roads Lead to Columbia County<p class="company">Columbia County Economic Development</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

As a modern, future-focused operation, Altro comprises three packaging-related companies as part of a single group of family businesses: Altro Labels, CanCorr, and Norlands Box Company. While the company is still relatively young, this works in its advantage as it embraces cutting-edge technologies, making this team faster and more nimble than many of its competitors.

Taking change in its stride, the global economic fluctuations of the past decade have served the group well. As the sudden rise in demand for paper packaging during the e-commerce boom in the pandemic years fueled tremendous growth, it became the company’s most lucrative period to date—one that contributed to long-term fiscal stability.

The team at Altro has always kept a close eye on its market, and with its early years providing sufficient opportunity to thoroughly study the pre-pandemic market, it quickly became clear that what was needed in the local area was corrugated paper packaging products and reliable supply chain processes. Requiring a significant investment, Altro Industries Inc. responded to the market gap with state-of-the-art corrugator equipment, establishing a sheet feeder facility that became CanCorr. CanCorr’s 100,000-square-foot facility was completed in 2022.

The new company went into operation with full velocity, bringing novel offerings to market, which garnered it the loyal following of many smaller companies needing smaller packaging batches. “In six months, we filled up one capacity. Now, we’re sitting at about 80 percent capacity at CanCorr, running in three shifts,” says Baha Naemi, Co-founder and Managing Partner.

But this was just the beginning. Based in Surrey, British Columbia, the Naemi family’s next outfit, Norlands Box Company, followed in quick succession. Complete with an in- and outbound sales team, this company turns CanCorr’s corrugated paper into boxes. It helped the group go from humble beginnings to employing more than 150 team members in a total of 300,000 square feet. In the process, the company’s team has truly become a family.

As a result, Naemi is open about the realities of needing trustworthy people. “The only reason we were able to grow was because of our employees and being able to identify similar-minded people who are looking at growth, especially in a country and in an industry that’s not known to be very aggressively growth-minded,” he says.

Thanks to this future-forward approach, Altro’s integrated team and strategic investments enabled the company to meet the paper packaging market at the right angle at the right time—when many large corporations in the industry lacked service delivery and diversity. In meeting this need, the group also changed the overall landscape of corrugated paper packaging in Canada for the better.

As the country is considered a comparatively small market on a global scale, super-sized North American paper mills traditionally divided the local geography. In the process, their Canadian clientele was roughly divided into East and West North America, requiring large orders to be considered for product and service partnerships with them.

Altro changed all that when it started serving regional box converters and independent Canadian businesses with paper packaging products in smaller quantities to suit their business demands, serving everyone from manufacturers to supermarkets. The success of the approach is evident in its output.

As an operator that runs only full trucks from its facilities, Altro dispatches around 50 containers of paper packaging in a given 24-hour cycle, supporting Canadian businesses all the way. “We utilize local distribution, and we try to use as many Canadian trades and Canadian partners as possible as well as a Canadian supply chain,” Naemi tells us.

While lucrative, this trade is not without its challenges. Paper mills are one of them. As a result of having no paper mill in Western Canada, Altro is pursuing the possibility of investing in such infrastructure once its operations are ready to handle the addition of another facility, either fully or partially.

Beyond the paper mill challenge, however, future markets look promising. With as many as 70 percent of the brands it supplies demanding fully recycled paper packaging, the industry is alive and well—a trend set to continue. Based on the well-managed balance Canada strikes between deforestation and reforestation, Naemi’s forecast is positive.

“Quite honestly, environmentally, [recycled paper packaging] makes more sense than plastics or anything else that they’re coming up with as alternatives to plastics, because wood is not going anywhere,” he confirms. It is this dynamic that made the industry a worthy investment opportunity for the Naemi family in the first place.

Looking at how the industry is unfolding and evolving today, this visionary leader sees artificial intelligence (AI) as a game changer for the corrugated paper packaging industry. His take on the fear of workforce replacement is perhaps best described as pragmatic. “If you’re worried about AI replacing you, then you have to be the one who is a proponent of AI in your own department, no matter what you do,” he says. “What that does is it gives you the knowledge base of what you can do to improve your own scope of activities,” he highlights, advising staff members to turn AI into a tool to enhance their performance rather than replace them. This strategy, he advises, creates an environment wherein a company’s leadership is unable to replace proactive individuals with technology.

As a result, such technologies are employed to improve overall efficiency by streamlining logistics, scheduling, machine learning, and other functions. To fine-tune its approach, the company is partnering with university departments to develop custom algorithms to refine its processes.

Naemi is a big proponent of family businesses—especially around midlife when maturity makes it easier to put things into perspective while improving people’s natural ability to lead. This appears to be a strategy leveraged by many successful businesses. “Not many people know that more than 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies are still family-controlled. And that means there’s huge potential in running a family business,” he says.

Naemi ascribes the success of family businesses to common goals, shared visions, and highly functional leadership processes that stand in stark contrast to those often found in standard corporate environments, where it is not uncommon for members to lose sight of their common goals. For him, running a firm alongside siblings means streamlined, integrated decision-making and better-controlled bottom lines. Both are considered imperative aspects of any successful manufacturing operation.

While the group continues exporting 50 percent of its products to the United States, recent geopolitical shifts have turned local market psychology toward renewed economic expansion. As a result, the corrugated paper industry has also shifted. Altro is proof that recently implemented tariffs have strengthened how Canadians view locally manufactured goods and services, and Naemi reports that this dynamic has brought entrepreneurs together in new ways to develop improved economic outcomes with a long-term vision.

Considering British Columbia and Alberta’s comparatively small economies, these leaders know that simply placing value on numbers is no good if their businesses are to remain in stride with the market. Therefore, the company considers the greater economic climate of its own ecosystem of companies in relation to their abilities and resources. The approach has allowed Altro to develop uncanny agility within its market, adapting at impressive speed to its customers’ needs and demands.

At Altro, the renewed growth mindset of the nation is further reflected and supported by its staff, many of whom are immigrants like its owners, who moved to Canada from Iran nearly three decades ago. Canada’s potential has always been a motivating force behind the family’s and the team’s aspirations to create a better future for all, and this sense of altruism appears to naturally attract employees who share a similar mindset. For that reason, the company supports its people in finding and securing good housing and schools, ensuring that the families connected to it are well established and cared for.

Moreover, team members receive generous incentives for pursuing personal growth and furthering their education. By ensuring that its employees, systems, and facilities perform at optimal efficiency and by removing the complexities and cost of American imports, Altro provides its Canadian partners with stability and predictability alongside top-quality corrugated paper packaging they can count on.

For the same reason, the group considers itself a respectful competitor to legitimate Canadian businesses in the same market. “We are very respectful of genuine businesses that are not owned by private equity firms in the market just making some quick money and passing it on to the next private equity,” Naemi points out. “Any business that is looking at building an actual long-term business in British Columbia, we are very cordial with,” he continues. The reason is simple: many of Altro’s competitors are also its customers, making for a genuinely amicable business environment where healthy competition and mutual support help create a vibrant trade environment.

Proud of what the company has achieved in a market where prices of everything from commodities to real estate are currently inflated, competition is rife, and human resources are sparse, Altro Industries Inc. is a shining example of what is possible when a company commits to long-term success with resilience and watertight economic contingency plans. Now, its strategy for continued success includes further growing its presence in the Western Canadian paper packaging sector to secure its future plans over the next two to three decades.

Maintaining its loyalty to local communities, the company aims to expand its presence, particularly in British Columbia and Alberta, while cultivating its market share in the United States. In the process, it is exploring possibilities in procuring the services of a local paper mill, either as part of its own portfolio or through partnership, as most of the paper pulp produced in Western Canada is still exported. In establishing its own operations, Altro’s goal would be to keep pulp in the country for its own use. As Naemi says, “That will give us assurance that the business can stay for a long time to come.”

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