istock july 2015 BCBusiness 107
I
t's hard to understate the impor-
tance of the U.S. dollar (USD)
to
businesses in B.C., both big and
small. Whether you're importing
coffee or exporting lumber, or perhaps
paying contractors abroad in
USD, the
dollar matters. So in a year where our
dollar fell from 93.83 U.S. cents on July
6, 2014, to below 80 cents six months
later, many companies on our Top 100
list are feeling the effects of a weakened
exchange—albeit not the same effects
they may have felt just decades ago.
"The impact of currency on business
is a more complicated story than it was
20 years ago," explains Craig Williams,
vice-president of B.C. for Canadian
Manufacturers and Exporters. Thanks
to globalization, B.C. companies are
Friends in
Low Places
the
Top
1oo
it was a crazy year for the canadian
dollar. how companies like catalyst
paper are hedging their bets
by Jacob Parry
A SOLID PLAN
Catalyst Paper hedges
against a volatile dollar
by locking in exchange
rates in its contracts
