Rooted in its long-standing home of British Columbia, Canada, Overlanders Manufacturing LP has built a reputation as a highly capable and adaptable force in precision sheet metal fabrication. The company delivers comprehensive fabrication, manufacturing, and assembly services, but what truly sets it apart is the flexibility of its offerings. Whether acting as a full-service one-stop shop or coordinating seamlessly with trusted collaborators, Overlanders ensures that every client receives exactly the solution their project demands.
Fully certified to ISO 9001standards, the company relies on robust processes, from organizational structure to quality reporting and customer engagement, to drive consistent, mutually successful outcomes.
Overlanders Manufacturing has been active in Western Canada since the late 1970s, but over the last 18 to 24 months, much of the company’s capabilities have seen considerable in-house upgrades. For example, the team has rolled out new advanced laser automation capabilities, including the AI-powered and Industry 4.0-ready Prima Power Laser Genius+ laser cutter with additional parts-stacking robot—the company’s biggest capital purchase in several years.
Recently, Overlanders upgraded its Abbotsford facilities and now has the capacity to house pieces as large as the new Prima cutter, which takes up a large part of the building. The company has also expanded and created more dedicated space for assembly lines, including a dedicated assembly line that moves beyond simply bending, cutting, and painting metal. New robotics incorporated into the bending process further the company’s goal of weaving automation throughout its processes and allow a single operator to run several machines at once with greater accuracy.
When it comes to automation and technology, these are catch-all terms that Plant Manager Adam Stephenson believes should not be thrown around casually. Instead, Overlanders Manufacturing has always kept its finger on the pulse of the technology making waves in its field and how it can be employed to enhance the company’s capabilities. “It’s not just about replacing a machine but about increasing capability,” he says. This process is highly methodical by nature, but Stephenson explains that the Overlanders team subscribes to the mentality of seeing a business as a journey. While some companies are very goal-oriented, Overlanders Manufacturing will never be at a final ‘perfect’ state and is always looking to improve itself, which keeps everyone involved hungry and searching for better ways to serve clients.
The company also stays abreast of the latest best practices in safety and incorporates them into its processes. Even though Overlanders Manufacturing has been around for nearly a half century, Stephenson says that leadership is always interrogating itself and exploring how to best provide top customer service while balancing safety and efficiency, often while syncing its systems with those of its customers and considering client satisfaction through that lens. Since the company’s work can be found in a variety of industries including energy, medical, construction, transportation, and more, safe and reliable practices are paramount to its continued success.
Overlanders Manufacturing has proudly been part of the Exchange Income Corporation (EIC) family for quite some time, having been acquired in 2006, and EIC has been a fundamental part of why it has stayed ahead in the industry. The business is also an active collaborator with its fellow EIC-owned companies, including BC-based machine shop Hansen Industries, learning and sharing from one another’s processes. Hansen has become a close partner, as both companies share overlapping capabilities and benefit from one another’s capacity. There is much work that can be done within this partnership, says Stephenson, to optimize output and deliver greater capabilities and flexibility to customers.
He explains that such collaborations can take a number of forms, such as working with the Manufacturing Safety Alliance (MSA) on safety presentations and training. Industry learning is a big part of a typical year, with an example being factory tours Overlanders recently attended in October as part of a presentation for the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce’s annual manufacturing industry tour through the area. Events like these are part of the company’s strong local presence, as is its participation in the MSA’s Make It Safe conference, also in October.
Certainly, this has been a busy year for Overlanders Manufacturing judging by the volume of customer demand, and this has led to a strong bottom line as the year draws to a close, despite ongoing market turmoil. As well as the ability to effectively support clients in both Canada and the United States, the company has also been able to extract information on customer needs to regarding shipping internationally, which has had its own difficulties this year. With many challenges in the current market, the team aims to be flexible, always looking for new opportunities. “We are able to adapt our process to what people need, even during challenging times,” says Stephenson.
Looking ahead to a new year, he says that the company will be spending a lot of its time determining how to increase both its capacity and efficiency. This is Overlanders Manufacturing’s biggest goal and will prove the strength of its lead times. There are also big plans to optimize the company’s existing systems and expand equipment in the areas where it has been most successful in order to align with that growth. Customers are eagerly continuing to order, so the company wants to make sure that it has the right equipment to deliver, as well as the right people in its workforce to achieve these goals.
The team has grown quite a bit—including Adam Stephenson’s joining—in the past couple of years, and he believes this growth will continue based on the company’s overall strength across 2025. “The biggest driver of success is continuing to be a leader in what we do,” he says, and quality is one of the reasons people choose Overlanders Manufacturing time and time again.
Having been around for so long, Overlanders Manufacturing has robust processes and core tools in place that give customers the assurance and peace of mind they need. The team has also since spent its tenure establishing itself in its local community of Abbotsford and the greater Vancouver area. This can be seen in its social media presence as the business openly celebrates both the cultural diversity of the area it calls home as well as the many people who make up its proud and capable workforce.
There is no doubt that 2026 is shaping up to be an exciting time for Overlanders Manufacturing. Continuing to promote the strengths of its approach to customer relationships and industry partnerships, this team has been able to keep busy and work hard through challenging situations. At the same time, it stands out in the minds and memories of customers, peers, and the people who make it work every day.
