With the fitting motto of “Complex process machinery and equipment made easy,” Firing Industries Ltd. is known as one of the leading Canadian suppliers of innovative process equipment. The company has a team of skilled employees representing the top industrial equipment manufacturers worldwide.
Firing Industries offers comprehensive equipment solutions for material handling projects and assists clients in choosing the best equipment for the job. Working with suppliers such as Hosokawa, PIAB, Kason, Marion, Matcon, Auburn FilterSense, and ABCO, to name a few, Firing strives to provide top quality service through dedicated, experienced employees who take the company’s success to heart.
Entering a prosperous 52 years, Firing was founded by Lars Firing in Montreal in 1973. The company, headquartered in Niagara-on-the-Lake, has offices supporting clients’ needs across Canada.
Firing Industries is involved in many industries and solves material handling and processing problems in a variety of sectors, including foundry, steel, food, chemical, and pharmaceuticals, selecting and supplying technically complex process machinery and equipment and employing a professional, consultative, and problem-solving approach to help support the general planning of individual projects.
The company is led by President and owner Michel Dubuc, supported by a dedicated team of experienced engineers and administrative staff. “Our main focus is on handling powders, but we also work with liquids at times—conveying, metering, packaging, and blending products,” Michel explains.
“Typically, we distribute equipment on behalf of our principals—Piab, Matcon, Kason, Marion, and others—and often that means selling individual pieces of machinery,” says Michel. “However, in some cases, we also get involved in complete system solutions.” For example, if a customer needs to feed multiple powders into an extruder as part of their process, Firing Industries can provide the expertise and equipment to make it happen.
“We take on projects where we supply everything—from structural analysis and fabrication of mezzanines and supports to providing all the necessary equipment,” Michel explains. “It’s truly a comprehensive solution from start to finish.”
Comprehensive solutions
Providing electrical, pneumatic, and mechanical installation, Firing helps clients with a variety of highly sophisticated projects via vacuum transfer systems, metering systems, mixing systems, micronization systems, storage solutions, packaging systems, and more.
“Because of our close ties with our principals, we can fast-track the project and ultimately deliver it at a favorable cost. We handle engineering and the process design ourselves,” says Michel.
Firing’s industry partnerships are truly impressive, dealing with “all of the majors,” many in the food sector—still a growing industry in Canada—along with the pharmaceutical sector, the mineral sector, transforming components into lithium batteries, and the plastics sector.
Determined to remain relevant and embracing growth, Firing Industries also has several projects in the works involving various waste products in the building sector. “The growth is there for sure,” says Michel.
While that kind of growth is important, maintaining the right balance with staffing is essential. “We have a strong team made up of the right people, and we manage the growth of our day-to-day operations accordingly,” he says.
On being “very specific”
In equipment sales, you have to be very technical and understand the requirements and needs of the customer almost to perfection, Michel stresses. When the customer selects the equipment based on their needs and budget, sometimes Firing offers three different solutions—but the final decision is always the customer’s.
“We have a solid team behind us,” says Michel, who, with his daughter, Danielle Dubuc, Vice President of Business Development, cites Jeff, Roman, Jim, Chris, Luis, and David in the engineering department, with strength in administration from Emily, Denise, Mohamed, Evan, and Steve as key supporters throughout projects. For any company, finding the right mix of employees is crucial to building the best possible organization.
Always pushing the boundaries in research and development, Firing often creates custom equipment tailored to unique customer needs—sometimes designing solutions that have never been made before. Currently, the team is finalizing and testing a specialized bulk bag unloader with its clients. “We offer different versions based on the customer’s requirements and budget,” Michel explains. “There’s a simple model suited for the pharmaceutical and food industries, and a more advanced version for those same sectors. This equipment is valued between $30,000 and $50,000.” This innovative unloader addresses many common problems associated with traditional bulk bags.
Firing plans to showcase this standout product at the upcoming Advanced Design & Manufacturing Toronto expo, taking place October 21-23, 2025, where the team will be present. “We will be featuring our principals such as Piab, Kason, and Hosokawa, amongst others. It’s nice to reconvene with customers and competitors there,” Michel notes.
The SR&ED program
The SR&ED program supports Firing’s research and development efforts by providing government tax credits for time spent on innovation. Since 1986, Canada’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program has encouraged technological advancement, awarding $3 billion annually to around 20,000 Canadian tech companies.
Danielle explains, “Not everyone qualifies for these credits, so we’re fortunate. We earn them by solving industry inefficiencies, like improving a pasta manufacturer’s product conveying process.”
Eligible small and medium-sized Canadian businesses, especially Canadian Controlled Private Corporations (CCPCs), receive substantial federal and provincial subsidies.
In effect, Firing Industries contributes to solutions for companies, and the government recognizes the effort on behalf of the company for that. “The team is doing a phenomenal job,” Danielle adds. It is an enviable position to be in—and one that should serve the company well in its future work as an innovator and problem-solver.
