For the town of Carlyle, the year of 2010 proved to be another successful one in terms of business growth.
With the entire region seeing significant growth over the past years, thanks in large part to the oil industry, Carlyle has been particularly successful in attracting new businesses.
Priding itself on being a business centre, 2010 saw more than 160 business licences issued by the town.
Out of this number, more than 10 were new businesses, established just within the last year.
One of these new business was Lonestar Vacuum.
The Sylvan, AB based company established a new location in Carlyle as of 2010, having decided on Carlyle for a number of reasons.
"We did a job for an inspector, and it led us to come down here for what was supposed to be a while," said Doug Eichelberg, the area supervisor for Lonestar. "It turned into stay for an extra week, then stay another week, then stay a week after that."
"The people down here were so friendly, and business was really good, so in the end it was decided to locate a branch here," Eichelberg said. "Now we have about 14 people working, all of whom have come from our operations elsewhere."
"People who came to Alberta originally from Saskatchewan really want to come back to the province," Eichelberg explained. "Most of the guys we've brought out so far are originally from Saskatchewan, and I think we have another five guys from the province trying to get out here."
Another new business which just opened its doors this month was the Eight Words Café.
Located on Main Street, this coffee shop and eatery is the second area business opened by entrepreneur Mike Ellis.
Ellis, whose other concern is Mike's Café in Arcola, a community he is presently mayor in, was extremely happy with his crowds the first two days of business.
"It's been great so far," Ellis said. "We kind of expected to open the doors, and have it a little slow for a while."
"Instead the numbers have been steady throughout the day, and dizzying around lunch," Ellis continued. "Business seems to be booming in Carlyle."
One of the immediate side effects of this continued expansion within the business community proved to be budgetary.
When the town had opened new commercial lots on the east side of town facing highway 9, initial estimates for the rate of sale of those properties was held conservatively low in the budget for 2010.
However, sales proved to far outstrip these low-ball estimates, and in fact, of the 11 new lots prepared by the town, only five remain available.
Businesses that build a new facility within town are eligible to apply for a tax break equal to 50 percent of property tax the first year of business, than 25 percent for the next two years.
The tax exemption must be applied for through town office however, and is not given automatically.
Another of the many businesses that have appeared in town is Â鶹ÊÓƵeast Rentals.
"We've been in business for a few years now, and have worked in the area, but we just opened up a location in Carlyle recently," said Lee Ashfield of Â鶹ÊÓƵeast Rentals. "We've been really busy in the area, and things are still going strong."
Â鶹ÊÓƵeast Rentals employs nine people, and according to Ashfield, they are kept busy.
"We're keeping up right now, but there is never a dull moment," Ashfield said. "As long as things keep moving, I think we'll be quite busy for some time to come."
Â鶹ÊÓƵeast Rentals deals with all manner of different oilfield equipment rentals, including pressure vessels, tanks, and trucking.
