And some of the credit for the success goes to Team Canada Inc. Of course, it helps to have a revolutionary new product, and that's exactly what Nexwood's building material is. Because the product does not splinter, warp, blister, corrode or rot, it is ideal for outdoor applications, such as docks, patios, walkways and pool decks. Since it was founded four years ago, Nexwood has grown from a small research and development group to a manufacturing operation with approximately 40 production workers and eight engineers in Brampton, Ontario, and a small sales force based in LaSalle, Quebec. The company currently sells its products in Canada and the United States, and has plans to go further afield.
Construction materials are subject to numerous regulations and building codes.
There can be many complications and considerable expense involved in the process of manoeuvring through the approval process to comply with those codes in a foreign market. Beyond that is the challenge of setting up distributorships. The ITC also helped with marketing. In 1997, Suwanda accepted an invitation from the Ontario ITC to participate in a Market Orientation Mission to Dallas, Texas. The contacts made there led to significant sales in the United States.