Meta, Shell, ATCO among buyers looking for local vendors

Edmonton-area vendors got a chance to pitch their products at the Regional Supply Chain Forum hosted in Strathcona County on Nov. 3. The event was convened by Strathcona County, Sturgeon County, the City of Fort Saskatchewan, and Lamont County to connect local suppliers with major buyers, including Meta, CFB Edmonton, ATCO, Shell, and Keyera. "We know that to small and medium-sized businesses, finding the right person to talk to at a large company can take months of calls, emails, and follow-ups. Tonight, many of those people that you're trying to track down are under this roof," said Reade Beaudoin, a senior economic development officer at Strathcona County. "For our larger industrial partners, this is a chance to meet capable local suppliers who are ready to grow with you and help strengthen your supply chains."

Conal MacMillan, communications director at Alberta's Industrial Heartland Association, told the crowd about some of the opportunities in the region and how they can be multiplied when there's a critical mass of industry in one place. The Industrial Heartland has seen about $50 billion of investment, MacMillan said, with about $30 billion coming from large projects: Dow's Path2Zero project and the Linde clean hydrogen facility supplying it; Meta's Sturgeon Data Centre and the Greenlight Electricity Centre supplying it; and Beacon AI's Heartland AI Data Centre Hub, which includes 200 natural gas engines.

While data centres are a big economic opportunity, MacMillan said, the real draw is the ability to build a natural gas power plant to power them. "That's really what makes the Industrial Heartland a strong spot for data centres to locate, because if you're going to build a power plant, this region already has a lot of power plants in it, and the natural gas feedstock … is in abundance and low-cost," MacMillan said. One of the most popular booths was for Meta's Sturgeon Data Centre, which is procuring skilled trades workers, suppliers, contractors, and professional services.