tAmbulance business akes a new turn

ANDREA KLASSEN

Western Canadian Pipeline

Marie Baiton, CAO of Tactical Emergency Medical Services Inc., is a self-described "oil junkie." But in the face of 2008-2009's economic downturn, Baiton found herself expanding her industrial ambulance business in a new direction - one that isn't related to the oil sector.

A year ago, TEMS Inc. began importing the four-by-four ambulances they use in the field for resale.

"We had brought up two ambulances for our company that were supposed to go to work and never did," Baiton recalls. "So we put those two ambulances up for sale. They sold quickly, and we found that there were people looking to make them into mechanics trucks. We just stumbled upon it really."

Since then, the company's also sold the emergency vehicles to mining operations and small town

ambulance services in B.C. and Saskatchewan. While Baiton says TEMS Inc. isn't going anywhere, it's the new business venture that's "carried" the company for the past year.

TEMS Inc. isn't the only oil and gas-related company looking to expand outside the sector, says Pete Loignon, innovations facilitator for the Economic Development Alliance of Southeast Alberta. Since December, he's heard from a number of companies looking to expand or diversify beyond their traditional roles.

"For example, fabricators are starting to talk about forming a cluster.. so they can bid on larger contracts," he says. "So it diversifies them, not necessarily out of the oil and gas industry, but it gives them more of a niche."

"The picture is becoming clearer out there in the gas world. So, of course, because the picture is getting clearer people are

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expanding their horizons."

Loignon says he sees the move to expand as a positive, but warns businesses considering a new venture to do their research before they commit.

"Diversifying into technology is probably not a good idea at this point, because technology is moving faster and faster," he explains. "Study the market, that would be one of the primary things to do. You don't want to

diversify into something that's not going to be here in five year's time."

Baiton says she too would encourage others to flex their entrepreneurial muscles and seek out business opportunities that are less volatile than those in the oil sector.

"It's not enough to deal with the volatility," she says. "You've got to have something else."

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