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Bishop's Falls, Nfld. - Small Town with a Big Heart

Business East, February/March 2000

Bishop's Falls would appear, at first glance, to have absolutely no reason to thrive, let alone exist. Like Moncton, New Brunswick, back in the 80's, Bishop's Falls lost its stature as the province's railway hub. The town's future seemed in jeopardy. Stuck in the middle of the island, 280 kilometres from Corner Brook and 400 kilometres from the provincial capital of St. John's, Bishop's Falls residents could have been forgiven for simply packing up and getting out...moving perhaps to a larger town on the island but, more likely, to the mainland, in an attempt to escape "the Rock's" crushing unemployment rate, now even more desperate with the closure of the Newfoundland Railway. That would have been the easiest thing to do...just get out. But Newfoundlanders are known for never doing things the easy way. Some would even accuse the islanders as being stubborn to the point of obstinacy. Those people would, in fact, be dead on the mark, and it's that very quality that has seen Bishop's Falls not only survive the railway shutdown, but thrive.

The Bishop's Falls Development Corporation (BFDC) came into being immediately after the 1989 closure of the Newfoundland Railway. Its mandate was (and still is) to generate long-term employment through diversification. Lately, the mandate has been expanded to embrace a more regional focus as the corporation strives to assist the Exploits Valley in the development of its manufacturing sector.

Nancy Hanrahan of the corporation says a lot of credit for the economic success of the Bishop's Falls area has to go to the federal cash infusion following the railway closure.

"Because we were most definitely a railway town, the government pumped $7 million into the local economy to try to lessen the blow," she recalls. "Our entire economy, like that of Port aux Basques, revolved around the railway. Anyway, the money led to the formation of the Bishop's Falls Development Corporation."

Over the past two years, the federal dollars have stopped flowing. The corporation realized that in order to continue, its mandate would have to be expanded to allow for a more regional focus. That was done, and it's been full speed ahead ever since.

Bishop's Falls has done very well for itself under the guiding hand of the development corporation.

"We have Newfoundland Styro," Hanrahan says. "It's a division of Truefoam out of Nova Scotia. We also have Hi-Point Industries which provides oil-absorbents. They're doing really well. Then there is Islander RV, the wide body recreational vehicle manufacturer. They are the largest RV manufacturer in the province. When you put it all together, Bishop's Falls has an incredible number of manufacturers given the size of the town at about 4,500 people."

Hanrahan is not content to just sit back and enjoy the corporation's past success stories. There is always work to be done if new business is to be attracted to the town.

"We've invested a fair amount of money into new infrastructure to help us attract new business. In fact, we have a large building in the industrial park that I hope we'll see filled within a few months. At this point, I can't say more, but it's something we're actively working on."

Hanrahan says while transportation ease is considered a major factor in corporate decisions to locate companies in one place or the other, the loss of the railway more than ten years ago has not had the negative, long-term impact on the town that many predicted.

"I don't think we've been hurt that badly," she says. "Being that we are located smack in the middle of Newfoundland gives us some advantages. For example, we are close to the seaport at Botwood. We have our own airport, albeit a small one, but we are close to Gander International Airport. That's a real plus."

In looking back, Hanrahan recalls that about 75 local jobs were lost when the railway pulled the plug. However, she said the corporation has managed to see all those jobs replaced and even a few more added. She concedes that the unemployment rate is still high at about 20 percent but is confident that will change as the Bishop's Falls Development Corporation attracts more and more business to their little piece of Newfoundland. If enthusiasm counts for anything, Hanrahan will see her community's business base grow. As noted before, Newfoundlanders can be pretty persistent. The recent successes of Bishop's Falls provide all the evidence needed that this quality can pay dividends and, in fact, has already.

In The Press

• Local manufacturer named as one of Top 50 CEO's for 2001 in Atlantic Canada (Atlantic Business Magazine April/May 2001)
• Economic boom expected by mayor (The Advertiser October 23, 2000)
• An ACOA Success Story (The Telegram October 30, 2000)
• Nfld. Styro expansion means new opportunity (The Advertiser August 3, 2000)
• Bishop's Falls, Nfld. - Small Town with a Big Heart (Business East, February/March 2000)
• Irish manufacturing deal inked (The Advertiser)