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Edmonton Companies News & Discussion

AIMco opening an office in downtown Calgary. I love how the story in the Herald mentions it has other offices in Toronto, Luxemborg and London - but doesn't even mention the head office is in Edmonton.

Do you expect anything less? All Calgary media is infected with impartiality towards the city. Despite this juvenile, constant cheerleading, the city is only marginally larger than Edmonton and has an empty downtown. If Edmontonians, Edmonton media, and the city put even half the effort that Calgary puts into marketing itself, Edmonton would be a much larger city with bigger reach.
 
Do you expect anything less? All Calgary media is infected with impartiality towards the city. Despite this juvenile, constant cheerleading, the city is only marginally larger than Edmonton and has an empty downtown. If Edmontonians, Edmonton media, and the city put even half the effort that Calgary puts into marketing itself, Edmonton would be a much larger city with bigger reach.
YYC’ers are like those guys that drive 3500HD duallies with a quad or 2 dirt bikes in the back. Then they stop and fill up for diesel, out steps a 5’6” Guido looking dude, with a high pitched voice and living as an aggressive dude with small man syndrome. All pomp and circumstance but no substance.
 
AIMco opening an office in downtown Calgary. I love how the story in the Herald mentions it has other offices in Toronto, Luxemborg and London - but doesn't even mention the head office is in Edmonton.

Will make the gradual transition of the head office from Edmonton to Calgary a lot easier and more under the radar this way.
 
^ literally…

Frankly I’m surprised they haven’t had a satellite office in Calgary this whole time
 
^^
I think that was Danielle Smith's plan back when she was leader of the Wildrose. Both ATB and AIMCO head offices moved to CGY if my memory serves me correctly. Plus other moves to effectively neuter Edmonton - overturning Council's decision to close the CC airport is something I remember her nattering on about.
 
^ literally…

Frankly I’m surprised they haven’t had a satellite office in Calgary this whole time

^^
I think that was Danielle Smith's plan back when she was leader of the Wildrose. Both ATB and AIMCO head offices moved to CGY if my memory serves me correctly. Plus other moves to effectively neuter Edmonton - overturning Council's decision to close the CC airport is something I remember her nattering on about.
While ATB still has its head office here, many functions have shifted to Calgary and many new operating units have opened up there instead of here, ala their venture group, their tech group, capital markets group, etc. The de facto HO is still in Edmonton but more and more has been run out of Calgary, and I can see the same happening with AIMCo. In my experience in the corporate world, there is no reason why Calgary needs an AIMCo office and operations couldnt continue to be executed from Edmonton. I havent seen Imperial, Suncor, Shell, etc. needing to open up a non-operational Edmonton corporate office to do corporate business here, despite the actual resource and facilities being located here.

In my previous life as an investment banker, many US investors or bankers that dealt with AIMCo were shocked when I told them it was HQ'd in Edmonton and not Calgary, so the world wont even notice when the inevitable shift to Calgary occurs anyway.
 
Where's the mayor? If this is the plan, it needs to be shown the light of day, ASAP. Completely unacceptable.
According to Google Maps the mayor is a 5 minute walk or 450m from AIMCo but I am not sure he's ever stepped foot into the CBD to assist with our business community. Iveson, and now Sohi have never demonstrated in my opinion the slightest inkling of business acumen. I truly believe that this city will continue to flounder business-wise because we simply just do not have those types of visionary people in council.

Edmonton does not have a history of being a business-first city or a city that places priority on keeping/growing the business we have, while being inviting to new business. We have a documented history of continuing to bleed business and talent out of the city (and unfortunately notably to Calgary). Whether you look at where companies set up, or you look at the number of graduates from schools like the U of A that go elsewhere, Edmonton is a feeder to city.

I am speaking anecdotally because a lot of my career in the corporate banking world I saw first hand how Edmonton is (unfavorably) viewed. You can dispute that all you want, and I certainly acknowledge that there are absolutely success stories in Edmonton no doubt, but generally speaking Edmonton is not a favourable corporate city and there is nothing I see with our current city leaders that this will change any time soon, as much as I very much would like to see it change.
 
According to Google Maps the mayor is a 5 minute walk or 450m from AIMCo but I am not sure he's ever stepped foot into the CBD to assist with our business community. Iveson, and now Sohi have never demonstrated in my opinion the slightest inkling of business acumen. I truly believe that this city will continue to flounder business-wise because we simply just do not have those types of visionary people in council.

Edmonton does not have a history of being a business-first city or a city that places priority on keeping/growing the business we have, while being inviting to new business. We have a documented history of continuing to bleed business and talent out of the city (and unfortunately notably to Calgary). Whether you look at where companies set up, or you look at the number of graduates from schools like the U of A that go elsewhere, Edmonton is a feeder to city.

I am speaking anecdotally because a lot of my career in the corporate banking world I saw first hand how Edmonton is (unfavorably) viewed. You can dispute that all you want, and I certainly acknowledge that there are absolutely success stories in Edmonton no doubt, but generally speaking Edmonton is not a favourable corporate city and there is nothing I see with our current city leaders that this will change any time soon, as much as I very much would like to see it change.
It is interesting though, that AIMCo is a Crown Corporation (or something similar to that). I mean, this is not exactly "business", it is government.
 
Okay, guys, here's another example. While the Premier, Mayors, MLAs, media, and everyone else was "hyping up" a new air strip in Calgary, this quietly went under the radar (bolding added):

September 23, 2022 (Edmonton Metropolitan Region) – Green Transitions Holding (GTH), a leading European developer of clean energy projects, has announced it has established Varme Energy, which will be headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.


Varme will build partnerships with local municipalities and private industry to secure waste supplies that will be used as feedstocks in its waste-to-energy facilities. The proprietary technology will divert waste from landfills, lowering methane emissions, and transforming waste into a usable energy source that can be transferred back to the grid.


This is the first expansion of Green Transition Holding outside of Europe. Varme has a portfolio of over $600 million in planned capital projects in active development in Alberta.


The proposed projects will also integrate carbon capture and storage technologies in order to further reduce carbon emissions.


“Green Transition Holding has been thrilled at the traction of our first overseas expansion, we see tremendous opportunity for our energy from waste technology in the Canadian marketplace. There is a strong cultural alignment between Norwegian and Canadian business that has helped drive Varme forward in a positive way.” said Andreas Karlsen, Head of Energy-from-Waste, Green Transition Holding.


“Varme has established our headquarters in Edmonton because of the city’s position as ground zero for the Canadian energy transition. The scale and sophistication of our Industrial Heartland, coupled with the best CCS cap rock in the world make Edmonton an ideal sandbox for Varme. Our current corporate objective is to deploy over $600M in capital to a portfolio of 3 facilities in Alberta,” said Sean Collins, CEO of Varme Energy.


“This exciting announcement from Green Transition Holdings underscores the strong value proposition offered in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland (AIH) for companies looking to develop value-add energy projects. The industrial cluster benefits, coupled with proximity to municipal waste sources, make Alberta and AIH an attractive location for waste-to-energy projects global companies,” says Mark Plamondon, Executive Director of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association.


“The circular economy proposed by Varme Energy is a great example of putting our waste to work. This innovative clean energy project is a unique, high-impact investment that creates high-quality local jobs and supports economic diversification while contributing to the decarbonization of Alberta’s energy mix,” says Rick Christiaanse, CEO of Invest Alberta.


“This exciting new expansion further positions the Edmonton region as a smart place to invest in clean tech and renewable energy. More and more companies are taking advantage of the region’s expertise and young, educated, talent pool, and we look forward to seeing more growth as leaders in Canada’s energy transition and a low-carbon future,” says Malcolm Bruce, CEO of Edmonton Global.

Source: https://edmontonglobal.ca/media-rel...g-announces-expansion-to-the-edmonton-region/


Media attention to this story? Crickets. Again, here's a HQ moving to Alberta (to Edmonton), large capital investment, "new" economy sector... arguably a more substantive announcement, yet simply 0 attention - I didn't even know about it, until I went hunting, and I like to follow these things.
 
And this, which is a somewhat smaller investment in $, but sounds highly strategic in terms of AI sector growth:


September 20, 2022 (Edmonton Metropolitan Region) – Silicon Valley, MedTech company Level 42 AI, Inc (Level 42, CA, USA) has chosen the Edmonton region as the home for its new digital health subsidiary, Vibrome Ltd., the company announced today.

Level 42 AI – is a boutique deep-tech and AI innovation laboratory that has developed novel sensors and algorithms to “see”, “hear”, “touch”, and “feel” health information hidden in plain sight in the “noise” around us.

Vibrome Ltd., will transition Level 42 AI breakthrough technologies into fit-for-purpose solutions for health promotion in aging-in-place/seniors’ long-term care, and veterinary/animal care. By harnessing “noise” in health screening and early diagnostic signals, Vibrome, Ltd will enable a paradigm shift from reactive “sick care” to “proactive/preventive health care” for Albertans.

Level 42 AI will jump start Vibrome, Ltd.’s activities in the region by providing financial support, technical support, and transferring hardware and software solutions for customization and optimization. Vibrome, Ltd plans to hire local leadership, technical and administrative staff, creating up to 10 jobs in its first year with an initial investment of $500,000 plus.

Edmonton Global has played a pivotal role, along with ST Innovations from the University of Alberta, in supporting Vibrome, Ltd initiate activities in the Edmonton region through inbound visits from their CEO, touring the ecosystem and leveraging local networks to showcase the region as the best place to establish a Canadian subsidiary.
 
Okay, guys, here's another example. While the Premier, Mayors, MLAs, media, and everyone else was "hyping up" a new air strip in Calgary, this quietly went under the radar (bolding added):

September 23, 2022 (Edmonton Metropolitan Region) – Green Transitions Holding (GTH), a leading European developer of clean energy projects, has announced it has established Varme Energy, which will be headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.


Varme will build partnerships with local municipalities and private industry to secure waste supplies that will be used as feedstocks in its waste-to-energy facilities. The proprietary technology will divert waste from landfills, lowering methane emissions, and transforming waste into a usable energy source that can be transferred back to the grid.


This is the first expansion of Green Transition Holding outside of Europe. Varme has a portfolio of over $600 million in planned capital projects in active development in Alberta.


The proposed projects will also integrate carbon capture and storage technologies in order to further reduce carbon emissions.


“Green Transition Holding has been thrilled at the traction of our first overseas expansion, we see tremendous opportunity for our energy from waste technology in the Canadian marketplace. There is a strong cultural alignment between Norwegian and Canadian business that has helped drive Varme forward in a positive way.” said Andreas Karlsen, Head of Energy-from-Waste, Green Transition Holding.


“Varme has established our headquarters in Edmonton because of the city’s position as ground zero for the Canadian energy transition. The scale and sophistication of our Industrial Heartland, coupled with the best CCS cap rock in the world make Edmonton an ideal sandbox for Varme. Our current corporate objective is to deploy over $600M in capital to a portfolio of 3 facilities in Alberta,” said Sean Collins, CEO of Varme Energy.


“This exciting announcement from Green Transition Holdings underscores the strong value proposition offered in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland (AIH) for companies looking to develop value-add energy projects. The industrial cluster benefits, coupled with proximity to municipal waste sources, make Alberta and AIH an attractive location for waste-to-energy projects global companies,” says Mark Plamondon, Executive Director of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association.


“The circular economy proposed by Varme Energy is a great example of putting our waste to work. This innovative clean energy project is a unique, high-impact investment that creates high-quality local jobs and supports economic diversification while contributing to the decarbonization of Alberta’s energy mix,” says Rick Christiaanse, CEO of Invest Alberta.


“This exciting new expansion further positions the Edmonton region as a smart place to invest in clean tech and renewable energy. More and more companies are taking advantage of the region’s expertise and young, educated, talent pool, and we look forward to seeing more growth as leaders in Canada’s energy transition and a low-carbon future,” says Malcolm Bruce, CEO of Edmonton Global.

Source: https://edmontonglobal.ca/media-rel...g-announces-expansion-to-the-edmonton-region/


Media attention to this story? Crickets. Again, here's a HQ moving to Alberta (to Edmonton), large capital investment, "new" economy sector... arguably a more substantive announcement, yet simply 0 attention - I didn't even know about it, until I went hunting, and I like to follow these things.
Great job! Keep them coming! Nice contrast to other posters on here who always post YYC’s wins and piss on our own
 
Okay, guys, here's another example. While the Premier, Mayors, MLAs, media, and everyone else was "hyping up" a new air strip in Calgary, this quietly went under the radar (bolding added):

September 23, 2022 (Edmonton Metropolitan Region) – Green Transitions Holding (GTH), a leading European developer of clean energy projects, has announced it has established Varme Energy, which will be headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.


Varme will build partnerships with local municipalities and private industry to secure waste supplies that will be used as feedstocks in its waste-to-energy facilities. The proprietary technology will divert waste from landfills, lowering methane emissions, and transforming waste into a usable energy source that can be transferred back to the grid.


This is the first expansion of Green Transition Holding outside of Europe. Varme has a portfolio of over $600 million in planned capital projects in active development in Alberta.


The proposed projects will also integrate carbon capture and storage technologies in order to further reduce carbon emissions.


“Green Transition Holding has been thrilled at the traction of our first overseas expansion, we see tremendous opportunity for our energy from waste technology in the Canadian marketplace. There is a strong cultural alignment between Norwegian and Canadian business that has helped drive Varme forward in a positive way.” said Andreas Karlsen, Head of Energy-from-Waste, Green Transition Holding.


“Varme has established our headquarters in Edmonton because of the city’s position as ground zero for the Canadian energy transition. The scale and sophistication of our Industrial Heartland, coupled with the best CCS cap rock in the world make Edmonton an ideal sandbox for Varme. Our current corporate objective is to deploy over $600M in capital to a portfolio of 3 facilities in Alberta,” said Sean Collins, CEO of Varme Energy.


“This exciting announcement from Green Transition Holdings underscores the strong value proposition offered in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland (AIH) for companies looking to develop value-add energy projects. The industrial cluster benefits, coupled with proximity to municipal waste sources, make Alberta and AIH an attractive location for waste-to-energy projects global companies,” says Mark Plamondon, Executive Director of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association.


“The circular economy proposed by Varme Energy is a great example of putting our waste to work. This innovative clean energy project is a unique, high-impact investment that creates high-quality local jobs and supports economic diversification while contributing to the decarbonization of Alberta’s energy mix,” says Rick Christiaanse, CEO of Invest Alberta.


“This exciting new expansion further positions the Edmonton region as a smart place to invest in clean tech and renewable energy. More and more companies are taking advantage of the region’s expertise and young, educated, talent pool, and we look forward to seeing more growth as leaders in Canada’s energy transition and a low-carbon future,” says Malcolm Bruce, CEO of Edmonton Global.

Source: https://edmontonglobal.ca/media-rel...g-announces-expansion-to-the-edmonton-region/


Media attention to this story? Crickets. Again, here's a HQ moving to Alberta (to Edmonton), large capital investment, "new" economy sector... arguably a more substantive announcement, yet simply 0 attention - I didn't even know about it, until I went hunting, and I like to follow these things.

Thanks for searching this out and sharing. Given that this release just came out today, hopefully our local media, the mayor and whatever agency the city funds to promote itself will highlight this through social media and traditional media. I agree overall this city doesn't do well at self promotion.
 
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