Building in the Bulkley Valley

Nov 24. 06

The Economic Development Committee is proud to provide some financial support to Rayco Resphonics.

This new business in the Bulkley Valley builds world-class guitars for international distribution. There have been over 85 instruments built over the past four years by Mark Thibeault and Jason Friesen in their workshop. They currently have approximately 15 guitars on order and have been sustaining that amount of backorders with a delivery time of up to 20 weeks. Most of their sales have been concentrated throughout Washington, Alberta and British Columbia. This is due largely to the exposure their company has gained through sponsoring the International Bluegrass Associations Event of the Year, Wintergrass in Tacoma Washington. By sponsoring Wintergrass they have reached an audience in attendance of more than 42000 people over the last 3 years. Another festival with greater attendance is Merlefest in North Carolina where over 44000 were in attendance in April 2006 alone. By being part of Merlefest 2007, Rayco will gain significant visibility to a new audience. Increased visibility from their partnership with Merlefest will generate sales in another region. To prepare for the coming shows and meet the growing demand of their instruments and shorten lead times they will provide employment and apprenticeship opportunities to individuals in the Bulkley Valley.

The Economic Development committee was introduced in 2005 and works with an annual budget to foster economic development in all of the communities that Bulkley Valley Credit Union serves. For more information about the committee and the funding available, please contact the manager at your local branch. Committee members Sharon Robertson and Cindy Stucklberger were on hand to present the cheque to Rayco Resphonics last week.

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