Five minutes north of Regina, two turns off Highway 6, lies one of the cleanest factories in Saskatchewan, if not Canada. Cleanliness and a lack of clutter are the first things that strike you as you walk through the plant for the first time.

Inside Brandt Engineered Products 210 employees design, build, and put the finishing touches on a variety of innovative products for pipe mills, steel mills, and railroads. Brandt Engineered Products is one of three Brandt manufacturing companies in Regina, and they are all in need of welders, heavy-duty mechanics, fabricators, mechanical assemblers, truck mechanics, draftsmen and mechanical engineering technologists.

Jim Semple, the company's Vice President, says "We are experiencing an unprecedented demand for the equipment that our manufacturing plants produce.  All indications tell us that the demand will get even stronger.  That's why we are expanding two of our manufacturing facilities and recruiting dozens more skilled workers."

The booming economies of Saskatchewan and its neighboring province, Alberta, have led to a labour shortage in Regina, and many companies are looking overseas to fill those positions. For Brandt, Europe is one of the most attractive areas to look.

"We need people who are skilled in the manual trades.  Many European countries have a history of schooling people in trades skills from an early age.  In our experience this has made them excellent trades people."

Europeans are looking back, particularly the British ones. In the last few years, Brandt has hired at least three machinists from England, and it's hoping to attract more. Thirty-six year old Dave Garnett is one of those hires. Originally from Newcastle, Garnett has been with Brandt for two-and-a-half years. "We wanted to get out of the rat race of England," he said. "And basically it's something I've really wanted to do [for] probably about 15 years."

The twinkly-eyed shop supervisor started out working on a CNC Milling Centre, but it didn't take long for him to receive a promotion. It didn't take him long to get to Regina once he'd made up his mind, either. Garnett and his wife started thinking about moving four years ago. Although the prairies had never entered their minds as a possible location, when an old friend who immigrated to Regina told Garnett to come visit, he hopped in a plane, resume in hand. His first - and last - stop was Brandt. "I got offered the job that afternoon," he laughed.

Garnett said it took him and his wife, Wendy, eight months to move. It took them another year to really settle down. "Because you always have the temptations of Alberta and B.C.," he said. But now, Garnett admits he wouldn't go anywhere else.

"I think I'm home."

It's a feeling Neil Osborn is familiar with. The 46-year-old only arrived in Regina two and a half months ago, but he already feels more comfortable here than he did in Leicester, England.

"Less people, more space, just a complete sense of freedom," Osborn said. "I fell in love with the place the minute I landed."

Osborn and his wife, Bev, wanted to leave England many years ago, when their two children were young, but it didn't work out. A few years after their son and daughter finished high school and "got their own lives," their parents decided it was time to try again.

They spent almost two years "looking over the Internet for positions and responding to advertisements through Workopolis," but Osborn says there didn't appear to be a lot of work available. He took a chance and applied through a Regina-based employment firm looking for truckers and truck mechanics. Even though he didn't fit their qualifications they passed his name on to potential employers...including a manager at Brandt Engineered Products. The e-mails started flying, and before Osborn knew it, he was in Regina. "I had two interviews and sort of went home with a job offer in the back pocket," he remembered.

Several months later Osborn had moved to Regina and started his new position as assembly foreman. The work is actually a slight cut in responsibility from assistant chief engineer at a Leicester paper mill, but Osborn said he enjoys it more. "What I've seen at Brandt, they take care of their people and they've made me quite welcome," he said.

Both Osborn and Garnett talk about Brandt's dedication to its employees. The company regularly holds staff appreciation barbecues, golf tournaments, and even curling bonspiels.  Brandt's annual Christmas party is known for being one of the best in the city. Garnett's favorite memory is how Brandt treated its Regina staff to free tickets to the Rolling Stones concert in 2006. "They really go over and above what you expect," said Garnett. "Guys from England can't even believe it when I'm on the phone, because I boast" he laughed. "They can't get anything."

Jim Semple says it's all part of Brandt's management philosophy. "The Golden Rule pays big dividends.  We treat our people the way we like to be treated.  They reciprocate by producing good work and great products.  This leads to satisfied customers who keep coming back."

Over the years, Brandt has won a number of awards. It has been chosen eight times as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies, an award sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, National Post and Queens School of Business. It was awarded Business of the Year by Saskatchewan Business Magazine in 2003, and by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce in 1993. Brandt employs 1200 people across Western Canada, and is expected to make sales of one billion dollars in 2007. Brandt exports to countries as diverse as Brazil, Venezuela, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States.

Of course, it's not just the treatment from Brandt and potential promotions that attract people like the Osborns and the Garnetts. It's the Saskatchewan lifestyle as well. Both men say they are healthier and happier since moving, because they eat better food for less money, and are more active in Saskatchewan's wide-open spaces.

They also say they are financially better off. Garnett has noticed that his dollar just seems to stretch farther in Regina. "Eating out and doing things is way cheaper," he said. "We've both got a nice car, a nice house. We both seem to go out and get things here whereas in England it seemed to take forever."

House prices are a big attraction also. Garnett and Osborn both sold their homes in England and bought bigger, nicer homes in Regina for less money. Osborn's home (which he hasn't moved into yet) even has a hot tub and a pool table.

"If you've got younger children, school age, I would say yes, come here," he said. "Because I think the opportunities are better. There's less overcrowding, there's a lot more activities you can take part in, and of course, your standard of living is higher."

Osborn said the hardest part for him and his wife is missing the family they have left behind. But that could change. Both of their children are coming out to visit, in the hopes of finding work in Regina. They have invited Osborn's mother to retire in Regina, and even Bev's brother is considering making a move.

All in all, the two men say life is better than it has ever been....and neither of them have any regrets. Osborn and his wife are even looking into Canadian citizenship.

Brandt is very pleased with their success in recruiting skilled workers from overseas.  "It is certainly an initiative we will continue with," says Semple.  "A local shortage of skilled trades people is the #1 constraint we struggle with in expanding our businesses."

For more information please visit  http://www.brandt.ca