TIMMINS - Friends and family braved the weather to help celebrate a local business’s new home.
On Dec. 5, Great White North Technology Consulting had its grand opening and ribbon-cutting for its location on McIntyre Drive in Schumacher, and the work that went into the new digs was clear. The event also acknowledged the company’s 12th anniversary.
“We started this 12 years ago, basically at my kitchen table,” said owner Paul Brunet. “And this is what we have today. A group of 18 very hard-working people and clients all across the north.”
Great White North provides IT support for companies in Northern Ontario and Nunavut and has offices in Ottawa and Toronto.
“Great White North serves the entire north, not just Northern Ontario,” he said. “We help businesses make sense out of technology, to ensure they are able to do what they need to do without worrying about the technology aspects of things.
Their new building across from the McIntyre arena offers the staff room to grow and train their incoming staff and clients. They have a help desk on site and can help with hardware and software.
“We do a lot of our work remotely, and this is our own space now,” he said. “We were able to buy this place and do a whole revamp to make it look more like a technology company.”
The building was originally built in 1935.
“When we started this place looked like a museum,” said Brunet.
Many that attended the event had been in the space when it served as the Timmins Chamber of Commerce offices, and they noted how much brighter and open the building is now.
Great White North is also celebrating its 12th anniversary.
“We’ve had significant growth even since we’ve acquired this space,” said Burnet. ”A lot of the different companies that we deal with are in very remote areas, so I always enjoy helping to build that local capacity there as well.
