Working out of a 75,000-square-foot warehouse allows the companies to customize to meet specific needs.

In addition to its decades of experience, significant value, and expertise in stretch film and tape, the last few years at CPP have included a focus on becoming more environmentally responsible by encouraging clients to use less film and thinner board to lower their carbon footprint.

CPP’s origins were in catering to the garment industry, which at one time was huge in Montreal but changed drastically with the opening up of borders and removal of tariffs 20 years ago, leading to the majority of garments being manufactured overseas.

Pivoting on packaging
“We had to pivot a little when we then became an industrial packaging house and focused on products like stretch wrap, shrink film, and tape and boxes and bubble wrap,” says co-owner Brian Charney. While the market is competitive, the company is more than confident in its performance, abilities, and merchandise.

To remain competitive as well as moving with the times, CPP has been exploring the sustainability market and looking at how to be more environmentally friendly.

“Initially, we had a couple of [eco-friendly] products as we put our toe in the water, but no one seemed to want to pay extra for these products,” Charney says. “They want to be green, but without paying more. Finally, with one or two of our manufacturers and suppliers, we’ve created and are selling products that facilitate this.”

Stretch wrap—essentially very large rolls of plastic wrap used to wrap pallets—is a premier product line for CPP and the company has gravitated toward promoting films which can be down-gauged, meaning film thickness can be made thinner in the manufacturing process.

“It has performance equal to that of a much thicker film, so it becomes a bit less expensive per roll because it’s thinner. However, the performance is so good you don’t sacrifice load integrity,” Charney explains.

A thinner film means less is used, so the end user is now paying less per roll and is also using less film, benefitting the environment by reducing both the amount of plastic thrown away and the embedded carbon footprint.

“We’re really growing with this type of product, which is significant in an industry that was commodity-driven,” Charney says. “We’re managing to come up with a way for customers to use a lot less plastic. There’s a war on plastic these days, which I do understand, and it’s a necessary evil for now. But if everybody can use less, progress has been made.”

Environmental steps
Becoming more environmentally conscious requires people to be open-minded to trying something new, he adds, and he does see it happening more and more.

“I’ve had countless people that were using the 80 or 70 gauge who are now using 41 or 37 gauge… If you do the right thing, and you do it often enough, it should come back to you in the end. You have to do the right thing and hope that doing the right thing [for the environment] is right for everyone.”

CPP also sells a thin, white foam product used to protect articles susceptible to surface area scratching to keep them stable while in transit. In its ongoing effort to go green, however, CPP is looking to move from the white to a grey foam that contains 100 percent recycled content.

“Wherever we can, we’re jumping on board with sustainability. We’re doing anything that can help reduce that footprint.”

The new normal
The last few years have presented numerous challenges for all industries, but impressively, during the pandemic, CPP didn’t lose one day of work. While sales representatives weren’t able to visit clients on the road, the company managed to adapt and forge ahead.

“We kept going. We sell to a lot of companies in the food and pharmaceutical industries, and they were running 24/7,” Charney explains. The food industry in this instance encompassed companies selling to large chain grocery stores, and business was booming.

“Nobody was going out to restaurants; everybody was eating at home. These companies were running full-out and we managed somehow to keep them going, and never let down one of our customers even with supply chain nightmares.”

With product that used to take two weeks to arrive suddenly taking 14 weeks due to COVID disruptions, planning and purchasing took on heightened importance.

“It was scary initially. No one knew what the pandemic was going to be,” Charney says. “But we just invested money into purchasing and took our shot. Product might take longer, but let’s put it all in the pipeline now, and when other people were really out of product, we never were.”

This approach meant reaching out to clients and asking them to also plan ahead and provide their best projections.

“The truth is business was very good during that time. We managed to stay the course and excel,” he says. “We took an initial leap when it first began: if we normally bought two truckloads of a product, we put in an order for 15. It was a wise call at the time and worked out well. We kept all our customers running and nobody was ever without a product.”

Finding a niche
As well as distributing stretch film and foam, CPP works with Arcadian Paper Converters in the same facility, converting jumbo rolls of paper into sheets or small rolls of Kraft paper or newsprint. These are often used for stuffing and filling boxes or wrapping fragile items during a move. Arcadian also makes chipboard slip sheets that go under a skid for dividing and protective purposes.

“We have a little niche in this industry,” Charney says. “Whereas most of our competitors are purely distributors—they buy tape and they sell tape, as we do, of course—we have this niche where we’re a converter and sell to some of our competitors. We sell to end users, a niche that has some added value that not too many people have.”

CPP also has a sister operation, Canpaco, in Toronto and Leamington and a warehouse facility in Calgary. “That allows us to cater to some larger corporations that want us to service them nationally,” Charney says. “Because of our affiliation, we’re able to handle that.”

CPP also sells equipment, including stretch wrap machines and case sealers, and maintains its own in-house technical department to handle any service issues as needed. “If you have a problem, we can service your equipment,” he says. “We’re not a maintenance and repair company, but we do provide that service to our customer base.”

Standing out
This capability separates CPP from much of the competition, coupled with its extensive knowledge and years of experience in an industry filled with companies that often don’t have nearly the same resources.

“When you’re dealing with a more serious and established company like ourselves, we have a whole service department and technical department,” Charney says. “We sell equipment and we have a whole force here.”

He himself has 30-plus years of experience; his business partner John Taylor has been with the company for 40-plus years and their partner, Robert Appel, has over 38 years of expertise both in Montreal and Toronto, so together the three partners wield close to 110 years of knowledge and experience. CPP itself has been around for more than 85 years, with no signs of slowing down. “We’ve emerged from the pandemic stronger than we were before, and we’re continuing that drive forward,” he adds.

That drive includes focusing on high-performance films that can help the customer’s bottom line while contributing to sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint. “We’ve found a way to remain profitable and to save the end user some money… we’re reducing waste, one step at a time.”

Encouraging clients to embrace the drive toward sustainability is vital, but CPP intends to continue providing legacy products to those who still want it. But it won’t be the case forever, he adds.

“We are still going to have product for those companies, but that’s not the direction we’re focused on,” he says. “In the future—and I don’t know whether it’s one year or maybe three—we’ll only be selling those high-performance films because if the customers don’t want to come along, then we’ll have to find partners who do. Growing sales is of the utmost importance, but only in an environmentally responsible way. We all have to get on board, otherwise we’re all going to be in trouble.”

With its eye on the future and a strong dedication to doing what it can to help keep the planet green and healthy, CPP seems destined for even greater success. “We’re putting our head down and working hard while trying to help and trying to make money at the same time,” Charney says. “Our plans are to continue pushing forward and growing our company.”

The post Sustainable Sales One Step at a Time<p class="company">Canadian Paper & Packaging Co. Ltd.</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

At Sonoco, sustainability is a team effort. As one of the world’s foremost packaging and container manufacturers, Sonoco’s commitment to sustainability is about much more than packaging.

Reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by at least 25 percent by 2030, lowering water consumption, incorporating solar power and purchasing renewable energy in its operations are key initiatives to Sonoco living up to its motto: Better Packaging. Better Life.

Born into responsibility
Sonoco has been serious about sustainability since the company’s early days.

In 1899, a small team of 12 worked in a rented warehouse in Hartsville, South Carolina on the then-named Southern Novelty Company’s first product—a cone-shaped paper yarn carrier used for winding and transporting yarn. Renamed the Sonoco Products Company in 1923, the respected business today has over 300 operations globally, an expanded product line, and about 22,000 employees. Today, the company serves some of the world’s best-known brands with consumer, industrial and diversified packaging.

Sonoco serves the needs of diverse markets including food and powdered beverages, beauty and personal care, health care, household, construction, electronics and appliances, and textiles. Almost 125 years later, Sonoco remains committed to planet- and people-first packaging.

“Over the last decade, everyone has become more concerned about sustainability, especially global warming, but you can look back 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years, and Sonoco was engaged in that space,” says Ed Harrington, Director, Global Environmental.

At Sonoco, no sustainability initiative is too small, and all are focused on the greater good of the planet. This includes ensuring water used in the manufacturing process is treated to meet local standards and using recycled paper and packaging. “I think the biggest change over the last decade has been an increased urgency and activity around reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help with climate change,” says Harrington.

Using 2020 as its baseline, Sonoco has many such commitments through 2030. These include reducing energy use by at least eight percent in its manufacturing plants, recycling or causing to recycle 85 percent equivalent by weight of the products the company puts into the marketplace, reducing Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, conducting water risk studies and numerous others. (Learn more about Sonoco’s science-based sustainability targets at https://www.sonoco.com/na/sustainability.)

Responsibility goes global
Over the years, Sonoco has established itself as a leader in the global packaging industry. Building on its many strengths, Sonoco brought its environmental and sustainability teams together as one. With the current team’s 22 members, the company continues its focus on the environmental aspects of sustainability and is active in compliance, permitting and executing its global responsibilities.

“We believe in approaching sustainability ethically and holistically,” says Sonoco on its website. “That’s why we build sustainability into every area of our business and choose to explain our practices in terms of circularity.” Starting with leadership, the sustainability circle encompasses design, sourcing, production, supply chain and end-of-life.

Sonoco’s Director of Global Sustainability Services, Scott Byrne, explains that it is important to put the packaging industry in its proper context: “We don’t make packaging as a product. Packaging exists to serve a purpose for brand owners, for our customers. So the packaging that we make for the food and beverage industry exists to protect a food product, to keep it fresh, and extend the shelf life.”

Some packaging, such as Sonoco’s ThermoSafe®, includes valuable cold chain solutions like solid shipping boxes, foam bricks and gel packs. Used by clients in health care, life sciences and other key sectors, ThermoSafe assures the safe and effective transportation of temperature-sensitive products such as pharmaceuticals and vaccines over long distances.

Packaging put into perspective
“The packaging industry enables what we take for granted in the modern world,” says Byrne. “I think that context is sometimes lost, and people look at packaging in a vacuum.”

A misconception he sometimes hears is that the packaging industry, packaging converters, brand owners, and the recycling industry and markets don’t talk to each other and that packaging is simply put on the market with little understanding of the impact on the recycling value chain. For companies like Sonoco this, Byrne says, couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Sonoco is an excellent example of where we are as a packaging converter and as a recycler,” he says. “We have five material recovery facilities in the Southeast that collect residential recycling, and we have paper mills. We get that product from recycling facilities and use the recycled content, so we very much understand the impact of the packaging we put on the market.”

Working hard throughout the value chain, Sonoco gauges the impact of making changes to its fiber-based packages, how that interacts with MRFs (materials recovery facilities) and the impact on its paper mills.

Another misconception—one which is almost universal—is that recyclability is the be-all and end-all of sustainability attributes for packaging. Byrne says there are many other attributes to consider, such as using renewable materials, the ability of packaging to protect product or extend shelf life, and the overall carbon footprint.

“We talk about global warming,” he says. “That’s one of the biggest challenges facing the world, and recyclability is part of that, but usually end-of-life is a much smaller piece of the package’s total carbon footprint compared to things like the type of materials used, the amount of materials, transportation, logistics and conversion. Sometimes I think people get a little bit too caught up in end-of-life.”

Sustaining a future
From all-paper blister packaging to pouches, wraps, paperboard packaging and other forms, Sonoco is committed to “Packaging With Tomorrow in Mind™.” Through lines such as EnviroSense® (a four-time award winner), EnviroFlex®, and EnviroCan™, Sonoco is changing the face of packaging and sustainability. These revolutionary products provide customers with environmentally friendly alternatives.

Some, like PaperBlister™, are plastic-free and fully recyclable options for traditional blister packaging. Others, such as EnviroCan, are paperboard containers made from recycled and recyclable materials. And EnviroFlex is a line of sustainable, flexible packaging solutions “focused on recyclability and the use of post-consumer recycled content.”

Other packaging, like Sonopost®, provides sustainable ways to protect white goods like dishwashers and refrigerators from damage while reducing EPS (expanded polystyrene) and plastic packaging. In late 2022, the company announced a new protective packaging facility in Bursa, Turkey, just a year after the first Sonopost operation was established in Sochaczew, Poland.

“Growing demand for our proprietary Sonopost technology created the need for a second production facility,” said Adam Wood, Vice President and General Manager of Global Paper Products in Europe in a media release. “Our protective packaging design team is working hard with our customers who are aligned with us in creating fully sustainable, paper-based packaging that protects and preserves both their product and our planet for generations to come.”

Sonoco continues to introduce new and exciting products that further its commitment to the future of the planet. From mono-material polyethylene to paper-based structures for flexible packaging and PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) clamshells with wash-off label adhesive, (making them easier to recycle), the company continuously reaffirms its status as a visionary in the industry. Along with reducing scrap at its production facilities, Sonoco is committed to clean, renewable sources of energy, including solar, and is working on significant power purchase agreements in the United States and Europe, which will likely include solar and wind.

For a better life
“At Sonoco, we believe in ‘Better Packaging. Better Life.’ and with that comes our prioritization of safety,” says Cassandra Snelling, Marketing Manager, Global Sustainability.

“There is a correlation between sustainability and safety. After we complete any updates at our facilities—whether that be LED lighting or solar panels installed—we do surveys. And surveys have found, in the case of LED lighting installations, employees report feeling safer and happier in their workplace. There’s a correlation between doing the right thing and employee satisfaction.”

Such an approach dovetails with Sonoco’s belief that “we have an inherent responsibility to help improve the quality of life in the communities in which we serve,” says Snelling. The Sonoco Foundation, Sonoco’s philanthropic arm founded nearly 40 years ago, donates millions each year to non-profit organizations across the globe. The company’s employees also contribute time, funds, and talents to a multitude of worthy causes, including volunteering, serving on boards, raising funds and participating in other civic-oriented projects.

“People build businesses by doing the right thing,” concludes Snelling. At Sonoco, that practice looks like helping customers meet their sustainability goals and volume needs—leading the way in innovation and planet-friendly packaging and implementing world-class safety companywide.

The post Wrapping Products in Sustainability<p class="company">Sonoco</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

CNG is the result of the full integration in October 2020 of two specialty film producers, Next Generation Films, founded in 1994 in Lexington, Ohio and Charter NEX, founded in 2012 in Milton, Wisconsin.

Speaking to Packaging Strategies in November 2020, Kathy Bolhous, former CEO of Charter Nex who was named CEO of the newly merged company, said, “The new name represents who we are today. A unified company—one team, one mission—to produce the highest performing films for our customers through an exclusive focus on film, continuous investment in the latest film technologies, and an endless commitment to find a better way.”

In 2021, KKR, a private equity firm, announced it would be investing in Charter Next Generation, as an equal owner with Leonard Green & Partners who had previously invested in Charter NEX.

According to Miriam Gottfried’s 2021 article in Private Equity News, “As part of the deal, KKR and Leonard Green have agreed to make all of CGN’s [then] roughly 1,700 employees owners of the business. Granting stock to hourly wage earners at portfolio companies as a means of combating inequality is a priority for Pete Stavropol, KKR’s co-head of private equity for the Americas.”

As Bolhous told Gottfried, “What I’m really excited about now is this ability to reward my employees who have been such a key part of our success. It has been a dream of mine to offer this kind of broad-based leadership.”

CNG’s growth continued in 2022, with the acquisition of Polymer Film and Bag, Inc. of Massillon, Ohio, a Safe Quality Food (SQF) manufacturing company serving the industrial and food service markets.

When Larry Lanham, Polymer’s CEO and owner, considered divesting his business, he explained that, “My primary concern was to find the best possible home for my employees while providing the best possible care for my customers. I immediately thought of CNG, the preeminent supplier in this marketplace with a reputation for delivering both,” according to PR Newswire.

CNG provides engineering, extruding, and manufacturing services for mono and multilayer co-extruded and barrier films. As explained on its website, the company’s product line provides blown, cast, and barrier solutions to protect food, consumer, industrial, and health care items, by providing heat resistance and sterility, and creating barriers to oxygen, odor, ultraviolet rays, and moisture.

CNG has the broadest portfolio of blown films on the market. Its advanced coextrusion process allows the production of mono and multilayer films, engineered for maximum strength, high level of flexibility and less scrap material, in fewer steps than competitors. The company has multiple lines capable of making barrier films with up to 11 layers, which protect products and prevent or minimize the migration of oxygen, liquids, oils, fats, and aromas for enhanced shelf life.

These products can be custom-designed with the appropriate combination of key properties such as moisture, oxygen, aroma, and chemical barriers; clarity and shelf appeal, tear performance; toughness; and easy-open features.

Within the barrier group are EVOH (Ethylene-vinyl alcohol) sealant films; Nylon sealant films, and Nylon EVOH sealant films, which provide the ultimate combination of toughness and high-barrier properties, which can be further customized for formability, clarity, and seal performance. Moisture barrier films can be tailored for various packaging formats, including pre-made pouches. Chemical barrier films are designed to hold substances such as alcohol or iodine and are built to provide exceptional chemical resistance and toughness. Among their applications are films designed especially for packaging raw protein products (meat or fish) and frozen food products.

Because of CNG’s investment in state-of-the-art equipment, it has the capability to produce small- to medium-sized runs of polyethylene, polypropylene, and nylon materials and can deliver up to 5-layer cast embossed film solutions. Film thicknesses range from 1.0 mil to 40 mil. Applications for cast film range from household items such as printed tablecloths to critical hospital-grade PPE masks and gowns.

The electronic, aerospace, medical, and other industries which depend on clean room technology to distribute clean, safe, and effective products can turn to CNG’s facility in Turners Falls, Massachusetts, which features a Class 7 clean room. There, an experienced manufacturing team operates with leading-edge equipment including a state-of-the-art vision system, a web cleaning system, in-line slitting, and a Class 5 air filtration system.

CNG also provides embossing services for clients wanting to enhance functionality and increase brand recognition. Engineered films, ranging in gauge from .09 to 40 mil and in width from 6 inches to 88 inches can be created in over 100 standard colors, with the option to match unique color requirements and choose from over 500 embossing patterns. Embossing adds a finishing touch to a product and provides additional benefits including more mass without the added weight, allowances for egress of air, adhesive capabilities, and barrier properties.

According to the company’s website, “We continually invest in our people and technology so we can operate lean, design for recyclability, have a redundancy in supply and strive for a greener tomorrow.”

CNG’s mission is to not only produce a great film product, but also to work with customers to produce fully sustainable packaging, from print to lamination to pouching. With environmental concerns in mind, the team is pleased to introduce Green Arrow™.

Using the latest in polymer and processing technologies, the Green Arrow™ platform of sustainable films has been designed to power a new generation of sustainable, flexible packaging without any trade-off in performance. They can be used in the new EVOH films for oxygen barrier and moisture barrier, and meet the How2Recycle® standards. For customers, this means that by choosing Green Arrow ™ for their company’s packaging, they are reducing their carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions by using post-consumer recycled (PCR) resins, and can now convert multi-material, unrecyclable packaging into recyclable, store drop-off approved formats.

The Green Arrow™ family of films produced with post-consumer recycled (PCR) content at the Milton facility has been GreenCircle Certified. This certification allows CNG to provide converters and brands with the traceability and transparency information they require for their packaging regarding sustainable packaging claims.

In keeping with its commitment to sustainability through reducing, reusing, and recycling, CNG is also proud to have been a corporate sponsor for the Nationwide Trex® Plastic Film Recycling Challenge since 2021.

Now in its 17^th year, the competition challenges students to collect and recycle as much polyethylene as possible in a six-month period, between America Recycles Day (November 15) and Earth Day (April 22). Top performing schools can win high-performance, sustainably made, wood-alternative products from Trex, the only decking company ever named as an Eco-Leader by Green Builder Media.

The 2022-23 challenge saw a record number of 780 schools take part, with students collecting a combined total of over 420,000 pounds of polyethylene plastic film—nearly 100,000 pounds more than the previous year.

The nine top schools from all regions of the country (three high schools, three middle and three elementary) each received a composite bench from Trex, and monetary prizes totaling $50,000 from CNG. An additional three schools also received monetary prizes for their social media community outreach programs.

Said Bolhous, “CNG is thrilled to once again be part of this important and impactful program. We are pleased to be able to help recognize and reward schools for their hard work and dedication to protecting and preserving our planet.” Participation in such a program is just one more example of the company’s continuing mission to find “a better way.”

The post A Better Way of Packaging<p class="company">Charter Next Generation</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

From automated coding, marking and labeling solutions, case sealing, and shrink packaging for a range of product shapes and sizes, to the various inks used, Engage’s highly innovative systems improve efficiency and performance for its customers and for the global supply chain.

Source of solutions
To deliver this range of solutions, Engage relies on its subsidiaries: Squid Ink, Eastey, and American Film and Machinery (AFM), which offer complementary capabilities and have been flawlessly integrated under the Engage umbrella.

Squid Ink is a specialized manufacturer of industrial coding and marking equipment for the packaging industry. Its industrial inkjet printers and fluids can be used to print information on a number of substrates, making it a leader in this regard.

Eastey is also a leader in its own right, as a manufacturer and supplier of heavy-duty shrink packaging equipment and other packaging tools and solutions, including its complete line of case tapers, case erectors, L-sealers, sleeve wrappers, shrink tunnels, and bundling equipment.

AFM also manufactures a complete line of shrink sleeve labelers, heat shrink tunnels, full body labelers, and tamper-evident seals for a variety of sectors, a market reach that’s impressive on all counts.

Better process, better output
Regardless of which Engage Technologies product line is being discussed, innovation is at the heart of every conversation and is built into the processes, the culture, and the DNA of the organization. This is one of the reasons the company fared so well during the pandemic.

While the pandemic illuminated flaws and weaknesses in the supply chain, bringing entire operations to their knees, Engage reveled in the challenge, sparking a new era of innovation and driving opportunities through process improvements and product enhancements. On the process side, training was a great place to start.

For CEO David Mylrea, a new virtual way of doing business that was accelerated by COVID was the game-changer. “The pandemic made us figure out how to do a better job of educating our employees, our district sales managers, and our distributor in the field on how to train people on our products for installation and service,” he explains.

Engage achieved this in two different ways: the company launched a YouTube channel complete with an extensive library of videos chronicling installation, service, sales, and maintenance support to train members of its network remotely on all its product lines, as well as a BlueVolt online training system which was developed in 2021 and greatly expanded its reach.

“As a result of the pandemic, we were able to pivot in terms of how we trained and how we educated our distribution network, so we reach over ten times more people today via our YouTube channel and our BlueVolt training than we did in the past,” says Mylrea, who still encourages people to take advantage of onsite training because, as the saying goes, “there’s no place like home.”

Another significant process improvement came in the way of ISO 9001:2015 certification. “We analyzed everything in detail and then went back and changed what needed to be changed to make us more efficient, with better products, better systems, better procedures,” says Mylrea, who notes that ISO certification was preceded by the adoption of and adherence to KAIZEN™ principles.

Vice President of Marketing Chad Carney provided an update regarding the ISO certification process: “We’ve just finished our third year of ISO certification,” he says. “It was renewed in April with no non-conformities, which is a credit to our employees and internal ISO teams.” Further to improving its overall function, ISO certification helped Engage land new business and has further enhanced the quality of its output, resulting in elevated customer acceptance rates and overall satisfaction.

Top marks for innovation
As well as process innovation, Engage Technologies generates impressive product innovation. Squid Ink recently revolutionized how companies can mark boxes or cases. By eliminating the need for labels or preprinted stickers in favor of printing directly on the box, the company was able to reduce costs and environmental impact in the process.

As Carney notes, “It costs ten times more to put a label on the box than it does to just print on the side of it,” and to top it off, our CoPilot® Gemini™ offers excellent resolution and variable print; whether it’s logos, bar codes, lot numbers, or batch codes, it can be printed in a single pass at speeds of up to 220 feet per minute.

Additionally, the CoPilot® Max™ is a new product that can operate using a range of inks including oil-based, solvent-based, UV cure, and more. This enables printing on virtually any substrate, an ability that has propelled Squid Ink into markets that were not previously accessible.

On the Eastey side, Carney says, “A lot of what we do are variations on a theme. So, we have shrink-sleeve wrapping equipment and we offer them in a variety of sizes to fit the user’s product. Whether it’s something small like a tray of bottled water to windows, garage doors, or kayaks—you name it, we can shrink-wrap a wide variety of products by simply modifying the machine to fit a number of different markets.”

At AFM, instead of variable sizes, it boasts systems with variable speeds: 60 to 100 products per minute at entry level; intermediate systems that can process 300 products per minute; or high-speed machinery that can achieve 500 products per minute at the top end.

“We’re constantly trying to find out what’s going on in the market and attend to those market needs,” says Mylrea, and the way Engage does this is by engaging its market through a distributors council, which is used to communicate with members from different areas of the country.

For Mylrea, “the input we get from our distributors is tremendous. We talk about everything from current products, issues, opportunities, customer service, modifications, access to additional info, improving our warranty statements, and improving our product manuals, to ‘what do you want to see us do next? What kind of enhancements do you want to see on our equipment?’”

Growing in every way
To better support its customers with its expanded product lines, Engage has expanded its physical footprint as well. Eastey’s recent move to an advanced new manufacturing facility in Big Lake, Minnesota takes the company from 20,000 to 50,000 square feet of production space with a dramatic growth in capacity.

“Previously, when we would have a factory acceptance test for some of our big bundlers it would essentially shut down the plant because it took half the plant to do the test. Then once we shipped it out, things could start moving again. Now we can have 20 factory acceptance tests happening all at once and it won’t impact our ability to continue working,” explains Mylrea.

Growth has been not only physical, but fiscal as well. Engage is coming off three blockbuster years of growth, and fiscal year 2023 shows just as much, if not more promise thanks to the culture of continuous improvement that’s been infused throughout the company’s ranks. To top it off, all the efforts are paying off as Engage was named a 2023 Top Workplace in Minnesota by the Star Tribune.

With this notable success behind it, the goal once again is to organically triple the size of the company, just as Mylrea believed was possible when he took the helm in 2017. All it will take is more of the same: continuous improvement, purposeful innovation, and the infrastructure to sustain growth and maintain the quality and value that have brought Engage to this point.

The post How Do You Package Innovation? This Is the Company to Ask.<p class="company">Engage Technologies Corporation</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Mainway’s experienced and knowledgeable team simplify the installation process for customers, with “a local team that can design and install your warehouse operations,” Pereira explains. They design systems using proven and trusted technology to ensure that their solution can evolve along with the industry. As a result, Mainway solutions are “for now and for your future operations as well.”

The company’s tailored systems are strongly supported by its value-added follow-up services, including emergency repairs, service, support, preventative maintenance, parts supply, mechanical and electrical work, retrofits, relocation, installations, along with programmable logic controls (PLC), and panel builds.

To bolster their already impressive list of capabilities, Pereira notes, “In the last three years we have designed and started manufacturing our own line of 24V Motor Driven Roller (MDR) conveyor, with a lead time of 10 to 12 weeks.” These highly efficient conveyors feature run-on-demand zones and plug and play options, while supporting a module and ergonomic design. Mainway proudly manufactures their conveyor in Ontario, being able to carry the Ontario Made seal, delivering the superior quality that comes with a product made in-house.

“It’s important that it’s Ontario Made,” says Pereira. “We’re able to source our supplies within Ontario, driving an internal supply chain. It’s vital that we can control our lead times and our supply, being able to ensure product availability in the event of future supply chain disruptions.”

With their decades of honed experience behind them, they have been able to amass an impressive and diverse list of big-name clients which includes DHL, FedEx, Canpar, Toyota, BookDepot, Shoppers Drug Mart, Air Canada Cargo, Carquest, Loomis Express, Yusen Logistics, and many more. The ideal Mainway customer “is a warehouse, facility or distribution centre looking to automate or take advantage of their warehouse space, especially in today’s market,” Pereira summarizes. “Everything since COVID has moved toward more ecommerce, more online [purchasing] platforms, while the ongoing struggle of inflation adds to an organization’s rising costs.” The Mainway team can help these customers improve efficiency and productivity while saving on costs by employing integrated systems.

Indeed, Mainway can deliver its turnkey solutions virtually anywhere in Canada. “If you look to any warehouse and distribution, fulfillment, or logistics operation—we are able to support them from a Canada-wide standpoint. Our largest site right now is in Calgary; however, we have dozens of sites spanning this vast nation. Since introducing our conveyor, it’s been installed inside of Auto Shack, Delmar, Decathlon, Carquest, and FedEx. Large-scale adoption of our new conveyor has taken place over just the last three years, since the company began production, so this is only the beginning.”

The company’s targeted solution is recommended for a range of needs, including “any warehouse operation that can use automated conveyors that has a growing number of SKUs and products that they need to manage, because everything since COVID and the boom in ecommerce has really [become] individualized.”

For example, a retailer might receive an order for a number of random items, from eyeliner and toothbrushes to potato chips and pillowcases. “All that now needs to be both sorted and packed and then itemized. And all that needs to be done in a warehouse management system that goes and fulfills your order and puts all these different items in the box,” Pereira explains.

“There are so many factors that are going into a warehouse now,” he continues. “It’s not just simply emptying a truck, itemizing it, stocking it on a shelf, and then waiting for an order to come in and go out.” For instance, a big box store that has to deal with a massive shipment coming in could receive a variety of mixed pallets that may include cereal boxes, followed by a few unrelated food items in the back of the truck. “There’s more nuance and complexity with solving growing issues in that field. There are both the limitations of the warehouse and then the limitations—or what the expectations are—of the amount of product they need to store, send, ship, or pack.”

Dealing with complex needs requires a complex solution. Oftentimes this means thinking outside of the box to deliver a personalized design that fits specific challenges. Take Book Depot, for example. The bargain bookseller boasts one of the largest selections of any retailer in North America, creating a substantial challenge when it comes to distributing so many different units. Add to this that the distribution headquarters is housed in a historical building converted to meet modern needs. The Mainway team had to consider the unique aspects of the building and the specific distribution challenges when designing an effective automated system. “Mainway and our team put conveyors on the floor, on the ceiling, and running throughout the warehouse connecting the front and back of house.”

Designing a unique automated system like Book Depot’s requires a nimble, flexible approach. “We consider ourselves very agnostic when it comes to designing a system,” Pereira says. “We don’t want to be pigeon-holed to supplying only one partner’s equipment or tech because that would limit our ability to provide a full and complete system.”

Certainly, close partnerships with trusted players within the industry help Mainway deliver the best solutions. Key partners include Packsize, Intralox, Modula, FMH, CASI, Cognex, Ryson, and GreyOrange. Partnering with these companies is “crucial because it allows us the flexibility to offer a complete solution, not just the conveyor portion. It gives us the flexibility to focus on any kind of space. We can now design a complete system, from a 10,000-square-foot warehouse to a million-square-foot warehouse.”

The team works hard to stay a step ahead of industry trends and challenges in order to meet future market needs. Perhaps most notably is the increasing pressure to become carbon neutral and phase out the use of plastics. “A lot of companies are looking to shift to a cardboard-only option,” Pereira shares. “We believe there’s a huge future in that, with companies wanting to really go into sustainability-based approaches. I think it’s a win-win for everybody; when the time comes that companies have to adjust to a plastic-free environment, we’re here.” As always, the goal will be to support clients with a smooth, effective transition to a new automated system, “so no company has a hiccup or time-down.”

The Mainway team is eager to continue along the same successful path they are currently on. “We would like to maintain our course,” Pereira says. “The Canadian market is growing exponentially, especially in the last few years. So what we really want to focus on is offering a complete system and supplementing that with our services and maintenance.” Armed with a solid, proven track record, this goal should be an easy one for the company to achieve.

The post Complete Automated Solutions<p class="company">Mainway Handling Systems</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Originally starting with a turnkey automation group in Saint Joseph, Michigan, Edgewater has grown to include an additional turnkey automation group in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a fabrication group and another turnkey automation with contract manufacturing group in Buchanan, Michigan, and a west coast sales office in Sacramento, California. With a customer base including Fortune 1000 companies, Edgewater prides itself on being flexible and able to respond and pivot quickly and professionally.

Award-winning service
An A3 Certified Robot Integrator and a Fanuc Authorized System Integrator (Level 5)—the world’s leading supplier of robotics—Edgewater is a proud member of the Association for Manufacturing Technology and has other well-known and respected partners, such as Rockwell Automation, Promess, Cognex, and the Rexroth Bosch Group.

Founded in 2001, Edgewater continues to receive praise from customers and awards for its outstanding work. In 2004, the company celebrated its third year receiving the Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce Award for supporting the local business community. Just a few years later, in 2007, Edgewater made Inc. Magazine’s list of America’s 5,000 fastest-growing private companies for the first time, achieved again in 2008 and 2012. Other awards soon followed, including being named one the ‘Top 50 Companies to Watch’ by the State of Michigan (2010), and a Technology Award from Delphi Automotive PLC (2014).

Growing its staff and services, Edgewater Automation lives up to its motto every day: ‘Innovate. Automate. Succeed.’ With an ISO 9001:2015 Certified Quality Management System, Edgewater works with customers on every aspect of their projects, including project management, engineering, manufacturing, and customer support. Taking on work small and large, Edgewater applies the same professionalism to every project.

Committed to customers
Providing customers with robotic solutions, vision systems, motion control, and more requires not only years of experience, but vision and planning. Edgewater realizes that customers have their own budgets to balance and deadlines to meet. Equipped with the right people, a massive combined production space of more than 286,000 square feet across four locations, and the latest technology, Edgewater takes customers’ visions and transforms them into realities.

From concept to initial design to manufacturing, final commissioning, testing and training, and communication at every stage, Edgewater brings everything together under one roof. This one-stop approach to projects increases accountability and wards against any potential issues. The end result is exceeding customer expectations, timely delivery, and completing projects on budget. This time-tested approach has been successful with both new and repeat customers, who return to Edgewater for their professionalism, quality, and unsurpassed service.

Assembly systems, test systems, material handling systems, data acquisition, and logistics are just a few of Edgewater’s overall competencies, which also encompass fabricating machined structures and parts as well as contract manufacturing services. Continuing to build on its strong reputation, Edgewater continues serving the needs of customers in diverse markets, providing solutions for products such as medical devices, HVAC systems, lighting, circuit boards, surgical instruments, batteries, housewares, and more.

Building the future
The history of Edgewater Automation is one of success and growth. To meet the needs of its many customers, the company expanded its original facility in Saint Joseph, Michigan. The first expansion in 2004, just a few years after Edgewater was founded, saw the addition of 24,000 square feet. In the years to come, this was followed by other expansions in 2007, 2012, and 2013.

Along with adding to its original facility, the company launched a 43,000-square-foot facility with turnkey automation capabilities in Spartanburg, South Carolina and another 49,600-square-foot facility in Buchanan, Michigan for its manufacturing division. In 2020, this was followed by yet another 34,500-square-foot facility in Buchanan for a turnkey automation and contract manufacturing group. Along with that, Edgewater added 111,400 square feet of space in Buchanan for large-scale projects.

Valuing its customers and employees alike, Edgewater keeps paving the way for the future through its Apprenticeship Program and Engineering Internship Program. While apprentices must meet specific terms and conditions to qualify and remain in the program, there are numerous benefits, from paid tuition to insurance benefits and a 401(k). Similarly, becoming an Edgewater Automation intern helps young high school graduates gain valuable, paid workplace experience while boosting their résumé and skills. More information on the Engineering Internship Program and Apprenticeship Program is available at https://edgewaterautomation.com/internship-program/ and https://edgewaterautomation.com/apprenticeship-program/.

Thriving through challenges
While many companies faced tough times during the pandemic, Edgewater kept moving, making innovations and investments for the betterment of the company and its customers.

Soon before COVID was declared a pandemic in 2020, the company launched its Buchanan Automation division, located about half an hour from its existing facility in Saint Joseph. The fully equipped Buchanan division represents a multi-million-dollar investment for Edgewater. Occupying the Buchanan building since 2014—when the fabrication division started—the decision to start the automation group was finalized in late 2019.

“As a next step toward offering the market a unique experience with our company, Edgewater has launched a full-scale offering contract manufacturing facility,” explains Jamen Blake, Managing Director for Buchanan Automation. For the company, with its staff of skilled engineers, technicians, and many years of experience in custom automation, “this represents a natural progression for us. With a high-level team capable of designing and building custom automation, Edgewater is able to quickly adapt our expertise to help customers build smaller items on a much larger scale,” he says.

“Rather than just large-format projects that take up a ton of square footage, these are projects that may range from the size of a desktop computer to the size of a vending machine,” says Blake. “Instead of building one of them, we build hundreds, or thousands, of them. This new offering has allowed us to maintain a strong flow of work through our shop floor while helping to balance the peaks and valleys of custom automation that can come in waves and go just as quickly,” he says.

“We are also doing some development projects for customers as well, where they’ve got a prototype in mind but don’t have the budget for a full-blown build,” shares Blake. “So, we are working with a handful of customers in developing their solutions, and that could lead to huge wins for both them and us if these projects come to life. We are also working with businesses to help them engineer their solutions. Getting in on the ground level with some companies still bringing their [level of] automation up has been another growth opportunity for us. We can help guide them in that process, and contribute from an engineering and build standpoint, and build prototypes. So that’s been a good way we’ve been able to help our existing customers grow and find new ones as well,” he says.

“Along with having much more space than before, another advantage this recent expansion offers Edgewater is a new opportunity for finding talent; with Saint Joseph being on the north end of Berrien County and Buchanan being on the south end, the company can draw from a much larger talent pool. Collaborating with local schools and colleges to provide job shadowing opportunities, the company also offers internships and apprenticeships. Additionally, Edgewater remains a long-time sponsor and supporter of the First Robotics program, STEM education, mentorship, and supporting local schools through technology offerings, financial donations, and even space so students can set up their own robots,” says Tim Tate, Managing Director of the Saint Joseph Automation Group.

“Edgewater is a passionate supporter of area school systems. We have always been a big supporter of the technology programs schools are offering by sharing our expertise and talent with their students,” explains Tate. “It is something we believe in; it’s important that companies like ours get involved with these programs early so we can continue to share the opportunities our trade offers to students who are interested in STEM-based learning.”

Broadening markets
With its diverse skill set, Edgewater is seeing a big push toward newer sectors, including medical—typically to make devices for use outside the body—consumer goods products, and automotive, especially the electric vehicle (EV) market.

With consistent growth, Edgewater is perfectly positioned to meet the automation needs of all customers. Promoting the company through its information-packed website and social media tools like Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, Edgewater is also active in trade shows throughout the year, where the team showcases its many offerings. These include ATX West (California), Assembly Show South (Nashville, Tennessee), the Automate Show (Detroit, Michigan), ATX East (New York City, New York) and the Advanced Manufacturing Expo (Grand Rapids, Michigan). Upcoming for the company is the Pack Expo Show in Las Vegas this September, and the Assembly Show in Chicago in October.

“Edgewater is a company that’s always growing,” says Tate. “We are looking to solidify ourselves in several different niches and markets including contract manufacturing. We are growing our footprint, offering more locations to bring in new hires and more talent, and ramping up our training efforts. Additionally, we are sharpening our processes internally to ensure that we have good onboarding and training for new people.” We look forward to seeing the further growth and success that surely lies ahead for this dynamic company.

The post The Future of Automation<p class="company">Edgewater Automation</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Based in Waterloo, Ontario, this respected name in the industry is known for sophisticated customer support and for delivering superb quality without fail. This explains its considerable list of longstanding customers, including some of the planet’s biggest fabricators. As RAMP is especially famous for its autonomous mobile robot technology, customers come from as far away as Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and beyond. It is also known for its planar motor technology, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), and reporting alongside standard products and services like automated assembly and test equipment.

This leading Canadian automation systems integrator and product developer has a team of over 30 people who live, eat, and sleep systems integration, a skill that has led to the company’s reputation spreading by word-of-mouth. Combining forces with its parent company, Samuel Automation Solutions Group, in 2022 has given RAMP the presence and backing it needed to reach an entirely new level.

The team has a rare depth of expertise in the field, and its pioneering spirit drives the firm to continue pushing the boundaries of possibility. As a result, its clients are typically very pleased with its products and services.

“Our supplier partners benefit from having the products they distribute performing exceptionally in the field. This high performance becomes a showcase of their capabilities and ours,” says Mike Balzan, Director of Sales.

After welcoming its first customers in 2010, the company’s first large expansion happened in 2015 with a move to a new facility. Within the next five years, RAMP broke several more sales records, making it an ideal acquisition for Samuel Automation Solutions Group, North America’s renowned complex automation giant.

As developing equipment can take five months to a year, to provide customers with top-quality equipment performance, the design team, insists on conducting an in-depth conceptualization, gathering all the information needed. This phase includes gathering materials and components, defining the manufacturing process, and ensuring that the team has the capabilities to fabricate according to specifications. Thanks to the rapidly changing nature of technology, it is not uncommon in this industry to work with concepts for which the required materials do not exist yet; consequently, material sourcing typically precedes in-depth testing to ensure that what works in theory also works in practice.

Once all the preliminary work is complete, price estimations are followed by a complex design process, prototyping, and fabrication before integration and pretesting happen. Once the customer is satisfied, equipment is shipped and assembled again and the integration and pretesting process is repeated before the installation is considered complete and the project is signed off.

There are several benefits to partnering with RAMP, including the company’s significant investments in design and technological capabilities which create huge gains for its customers. “Our design capabilities guarantee the success of projects. This allows our supply partners to become part of the project specifications,” says Balzan. “This ensures repeat business and internal notability, which is very powerful when customer manufacturing engineering departments are assessing new projects and setting standards.”

It is important to use RAMP, Inc. equipment according to its specifications to ensure optimum performance and longevity. Failing to do this can cause problems as the aftermath of premature product failure due to the incorrect use of machines can be nothing short of spectacular—with dire consequences and far-reaching, unfair damage to the good name of well-qualified, respected developers.

The company’s close relationships with supply firms and the educational aspect of its work are, therefore, imperative to maintaining its reputation for excellence—another element at which the company has always excelled. RAMP, Inc.’s well-known endurance in all fields has garnered the firm significant recognition, recently landing it the nod for its two biggest projects to date.

Due to its customers’ continued success, the company has continued to grow despite the economic challenges of recent years. Part of its strength lies in its well-equipped, modern facilities, with over 20,000 square feet of workspace enhanced by a custom operations management system to ensure smooth workflow.

“We have exceptional talent here at RAMP. Having a small team, we must be leaders in our disciplines—both in senior and junior positions,” says Balzan. “Our hiring practices are very selective, and we have a great group of people here. The customer feedback I get is great and it feels good to hear this from all levels.”

Indeed, the company has a history of tenacity. Right in the beginning, its initial team of four completed an enormous order considering the company’s size at the time, chasing a near-impossible deadline with everything they had in them. As employee number four, Balzan was part of that team. Doing everything from applications engineering to sales, project management, and more, he came to know the company inside out.

“I recall drilling and tapping hundreds of holes to the point that I had to wear insulated gloves to keep my hands from burning because the hand drill I was using was so hot,” he says. The hard work paid off as that client’s business brought historical expansion to the company.

“Our whole team was assembling, under the direction of our Manufacturing Manager, Ken McDonald. Once we got all the assemblies ready, our Vice President of Operations, Tom Nitsche, drove the forklift and loaded the trucks to meet the deadline,” Balzan adds. Ready to roll at eleven p.m. on a Friday, suffice it to say that this small group takes great satisfaction in looking back on the value of that work and delivering a huge system that worked perfectly. Grit and innovation have continued to define RAMP to this day.

Its hiring process is thus one of great discernment, and retaining the workforce it has handpicked over many years is one of the company’s priorities. While training new staff comes with its challenges, the company finds that its engineering team’s hard-earned, industry-specific knowledge and experience go a long way toward building the expertise needed to outperform the competition.

In addition, the company puts a lot of time into supporting local colleges in producing the future workforce, with Balzan as an industry representative at Conestoga College. He also serves on two program advisory committees, chairing one. As part of these efforts, the company takes in co-op students from both the college and the University of Waterloo, and nearly all participants are employed following their internships.

Ensuring the continuous development of staff remains imperative. As such, salaries compare to some of the best in the industry. The company also creates a sense of ownership by working with staff to develop each person’s vision for their future career development. That not only provides people with a road map but makes the firm’s intentions in terms of promotion clear. By removing doubt and uncertainty from people’s career equations and adding the element of opportunity, the company goes a long way toward building staff retention and labour stability.

In addition, seeing that people live rewarding lives beyond their desks, workstations, and the field is a priority at RAMP. This commitment comes with a host of work possibilities, like flex-time, offsite office hours, and more. RAMP also offers a specialized incentive program whereby staff members are financially rewarded every year for their contributions over and above their day-to-day tasks. The outcome is that people are always willing to go the extra mile when the pressure is on.

With this focus to succeed, RAMP, Inc. continues to meet the future, fully focused on diversification. Balzan reports market projections from five years ago going as expected with regard to the increase of artificial intelligence and automation. As such, growth remains constant, and as the Samuel group continues to improve its capabilities and asset base in conjunction with the company’s sales, expanding its geographic reach will no doubt continue to prove lucrative.

The post Taking Automation Integration to New Levels<p class="company">RAMP, Inc.</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

As President and CEO at Promation—a leading integrator and automation, robotic systems, and tooling manufacturer—Zimny took the time to re-evaluate the company’s operations and approach to staff and clients alike.

A work in progress, Promation today is stronger and more successful than ever.

“We recognized some weaknesses in the company during the pandemic, fleshed things out, and reorganized,” Zimny says of the Oakville, Ontario-based business that he founded in his basement in 1995. “We made a clear split between business development and operations in terms of the work division, increased accountability in operations, and really expanded business development in the company.”

For Zimny, the pandemic was a call to action, one he still feels strongly about. Promation stepped up to take an active role, manufacturing face shields and ventilators and supplying other solutions to fight the virus.

Staff members began working at home, and today the company maintains a 50 percent hybrid model, something Zimny believes in. Recognizing the dedication of this staff of about 100, he gave everyone on the shop floor a raise. And while Promation is still measuring the results of its policy changes, the company continues improving its human resources policies, benefitting the business and customers alike.

A one-stop shop providing state-of-the-art robotic and automation solutions, Promation is active in the automotive, nuclear, industrial, aerospace and defense, life sciences, and food and beverage sectors. By providing clients with a broad range of solutions and services founded on decades of combined experience, Promation helps customers increase production, lower operating costs, boost quality, and improve employee safety.

Providing tremendous value, Promation’s capabilities encompass in-house manufacturing and fabrication, 3D printing, robotics, functional testing, assembly systems, pick-and-place, automated storage and retrieval systems, and control system integration. Yet, as successful as the company is, Promation believes it can always improve.

“If you follow the Harvard Business Review monthly, you’ll find that Promation applies many if not all modern ideas about how to approach human resources in business,” Zimny says. “It’s not always easy to implement or understand, but if you have an open mind and do the required reading, and you get feedback from your employees and analyze the market, you can make adjustments and policies in response to the market. That’s my message to everybody. If you don’t do that, someone will replace you. That’s how strongly I feel about it,” he emphasizes.

“You can do all these different projects when you have a mature and innovative workforce, so they can supply their expertise and ingenuity to the projects in a consistent manner,” says Zimny. Recognizing the pandemic-related concerns of staff, such as rising inflation, the company introduced a set of new human resources policies to remain abreast of current markets and trends. Before COVID, Promation built up the capabilities of its human resources department; during the pandemic, Zimny and his team observed, adjusted, learned, and implemented changes.

Today, the company is finalizing its policies, which include increased benefits to employees overall and a generous vacation package. With a clear hybrid policy, Promation supports staff members working from home. Changing its management structure as a result of the pandemic, the company also empowered mid-level management so they could engage more and make better decisions on their own for the good of the business.

For Zimny, one of the biggest post-pandemic revelations was how to engage with employees on a different level and with greater empathy. Staff and clients alike went through uncertainty and tough times during COVID, which saw a greater need for empathy, recognizing their issues, and dealing with them in a positive way.

“Empathy for us means looking more carefully at employees,” he says. “Listen, talk, and don’t dismiss them.” This openness, combined with upgraded business strategies, increased benefits, and professional training, is seeing staff members complete work more efficiently and with less supervision, and is also helping retain clients.

“Employees are responding with superb performance,” Zimny says proudly. “Not only do we innovate for customers, but we innovate in our organization, and constantly learn how to improve Promation.” Thriving on a diversity of perspectives, the team is actively looking at ways to bring more women into the company and into engineering manufacturing more broadly.

While COVID indeed proved disastrous for some companies, it was a motivator for Promation. Active in many market segments, Promation has seen significant growth in nuclear, electric vehicles (EVs), and aerospace, to name a few.

“We delivered the first nuclear decommissioning equipment in Canada, and that’s a huge achievement,” says Zimny of the company’s work with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) at Chalk River, Manitoba. “No one else is supplying decommissioning equipment in Canada on that scale. It’s a long-term project, and we are wrapping it up,” he shares.

“Promation has a reputation in the nuclear industry. We competed against other large companies in Canada, and we delivered the best solutions to CNL, and the best business package.”

The electric vehicle market is also a growth area for the company. This includes supplying robotic manufacturing systems for manufacturing batteries for major suppliers, along with providing robotic systems for EV motors.

Promation also expects to play a role in other projects in the works, including Volkswagen’s new battery manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, and the upcoming multi-billion-dollar Stellantis EV battery facility in the automotive manufacturing hub of Windsor, Ontario. “The electric vehicle market is a substantial part of our work going to the shop floor right now,” says Zimny, and the company is now supplying a major system to Tesla in the United States.

While he says that Canada is hesitating a bit on EVs, the sector is thriving in the U.S., and Promation is planning an expansion. “The market is pulling us in, so we have to be closer to our corporate customers in the U.S. for the electric vehicle market.”

Innovating during the pandemic also saw Promation broaden its aerospace base. Although Zimny can’t get into specifics because of confidentiality, he says Promation has created a unique, state-of-the-art robotic manufacturing system making engines lighter, and is the sole automation supplier of this critical component.

Zimny is such a believer in the product and so committed to its success that he, as the CEO, personally got involved in direct research and development. “We want to succeed, and it’s not easy,” he says. “If I hear ‘innovation is easy,’ then it’s not innovation,” he adds. “Any meaningful innovation brings tons of work in R&D. Innovation always supplies it and guarantees solutions. That’s our position on innovation. We embrace innovation—that is unquestionable—and we get results.”

Indeed, the road toward product development was far from smooth, with pandemic-related delays in the supply chain of components, electronics in particular. The project has been challenging technologically as it requires specialty sensors, unique solutions, and the ability to operate at high temperatures and high cycles.

During the pandemic, Promation took on other challenging, innovative products for other markets. For well-known valve manufacturer Dahl, the company developed a unique, fully automated, high-speed robotic assembly system that also tests the valves.

“It’s multiple robots doing very complicated assembly systems,” Zimny explains. “The achievement is that we managed multiple part numbers and multiple models—not just one valve, but hundreds. So it’s a flexible robotic assembly system for a multitude of valve sizes and configurations; that’s an achievement in itself. Again, this product was conceived during the pandemic.”

Although the company’s work in nuclear, electric vehicles, aerospace, and rapid robotic assembly and testing is strikingly diverse, one thing is for certain: Promation knows innovation. Applying skilful engineering and a systematic approach to innovation, the company continues passing on benefits to its customers and intends to keep creating success stories in the decades to come.

The post Promation Knows Innovation<p class="company">Promation</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

This Canadian company, founded in 1971, boasts two cutting-edge production buildings totalling 204,000 square feet where items for a variety of industries including automotive, electronics, and consumer goods—with a concentration on automotive chassis and underbody components—are produced.

In order to help keep the industry vibrant and moving forward, Prodomax is dedicated to attracting recent graduates through its ongoing close association with Georgian College, a reputable college also based in Barrie, Ontario. “We post jobs in the co-op portal specifically for students who need to get a co-op position in order to graduate,” says Brad Parcher, CEO. “We’ve been part of that program for many years.”

Prodomax has brought in both mechanical and electrical engineering technology students and skilled trades, many of who have ended up working for the company. “In fact, 30 percent of our staff are Georgian College graduates,” says Rene McKeown, Director of Human Resources. “We’re a blend of junior, intermediate, and senior level professionals with a skilled workforce, and roughly 25 employees who worked here as students are now full-time.”

Parcher, who sits on eight advisory boards for the Mechanical Engineering Technology program, also helps the college make decisions on curriculum, marketing, and putting the right programs in place to supply the right talent for the industry.

“There are several other manufacturers in town that sit on this board, as well,” he says. “Georgian College relies on us to help guide them, for instance when their curricula need to be updated.”

Prodomax also recently worked with the college on a micro skills program they offered, sending a number of employees who took advantage of the government-funded program. “We helped the college be successful in that because we supplied a number of students, which allowed the school to host the program and then give the benefits to the people,” says Parcher.

In fact, 32 spots were filled, he adds, and leading up to that, Prodomax, the City of Barrie, Georgian College, and a few other manufacturers worked together to identify programs that will help candidates build the right skill sets.

This collaboration wasn’t just for recent graduates, however; it was open to everyone to help build gainful employment in the area. “We’re actually working with them right now on leadership development programs,” adds McKeown. “We have 50 employees registered to attend their leadership program, and we’re working together to create content that’s tailored to Prodomax.”

The company also has 48 of its employees scheduled to attend project management training at Georgian College, collaborating with the school on creating content for these programs that will also benefit other employers in the region.

“We also worked with Innisdale Secondary School, where we awarded two recipients a scholarship—one for women in STEM and the other for academics,” McKeown adds. “They were to encourage and support women in engineering and STEM, and also people in our industry.”

This month, Prodomax is offering tours to the area high schools to encourage the younger generation to consider manufacturing or automation as potential careers, as well as providing co-op placements to high school students. “Two or three kids that came in here in Grade 11 and did co-op terms ended up graduating high school and coming to work here full-time in an apprenticeship,” Parcher says. “Not everybody goes to post-secondary right out of high school.”

Over the years, Prodomax has continually taken in students from local high schools, allowing them to spend several days a week experiencing firsthand how the business works. While the company has hired more than 40 people this year, the biggest challenge is finding the right intermediate-to-senior level person.

“We’re trying to accomplish that by growing people from within as well, which is why we’re developing leadership programs and doing project management, upgrading people’s skill sets and offering opportunities from within,” Parcher says.

Along with the leadership development program through York University’s Schulich School of Business, which 45 employees attended, this year the company is working with Georgian College on building a Leadership in Manufacturing program for 40 employees and a Project Management for Non-Project Managers program which includes developing 30 employees. Earlier this year, Prodomax ran a Finance for Non-Financial Managers training program that included 18 participants as well as Excel Training for 50 employees, all in addition to other training and development initiatives, such as SolidWorks and other technical training.

While Prodomax has built solid relationships with educational institutions in the Simcoe Region, it has many co-op students and permanent hires who are graduates from many other reputable colleges and universities in Canada and abroad.

The company’s diverse workforce includes many international employees as well as women in manufacturing, management, engineering, and production roles. “We advocate for women in the industry for manufacturing, technical, and leadership roles,” says McKeown. “We also ensure our compensation is conducted equitably and there are no gaps based on gender. We want to hire more women in our industry as a whole, and we’re trying to promote that through our Women’s Network, which is one of the reasons why we’re encouraging women in STEM through our scholarship program.”

Along with the Women’s Network, Prodomax has also launched an IDEA Committee of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility to encourage inclusion and diversity within the company. “For instance, through the committee we asked our employees what countries they would like to represent at Prodomax,” says McKeown. “We purchased and hung flags for everyone who completed the survey and the result really represents our diversity.”

While recruitment and developing talent can be challenging, it has also led to some key accomplishments, particularly through the establishment of new company training platforms. “We didn’t need them 10 years ago because there was enough supply of skilled labour,” says Parcher. “On-the-job training sufficed, but with having to bring in a lot more new people in the past two or three years, it’s changed the landscape a lot for us.”

And recruitment is vital for this company, which has experienced years of growth and aims to do so for many years to come, supplying chassis body parts to its core group of large Tier 1 automotive companies in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.

“The systems we build are primarily in the body in the structural part of the vehicle—the metallic body structure and welded parts, for the most part,” explains Parcher. “We don’t do plastics and we don’t do the engine powertrain.”

Prodomax doesn’t necessarily take aim at continuous new business, instead choosing to focus on its established customers that it has had good relationships with for more than 20 years. And that dedication and commitment is not only for its customers, but also its employees.

“We work hard but play hard as well,” McKeown says, referencing the company’s annual Town Hall BBQ and team building events, Employee Appreciation Event in September at Horseshoe Valley, and Holiday Luncheon at Liberty North in December. “Our employees also plan their own company functions and this year they’re going to Mont Tremblant for a weekend of fun. Last year they ran ski lessons at the various ski lodges in the surrounding area.

“The health and safety of our employees is something we also do not take lightly,” McKeown says. “Our management team is actively engaging with employees and collaborates regularly to ensure our practices are sound.” The company also frequently hires employee referrals and has paid out $20,000 in employee referral bonuses in the last 12 months.

Indeed, the Prodomax culture is one of collaboration and social responsibility, with the team giving back to the community through recycling efforts, the CN Tower Climb for Nature, the Great Cycle Challenge to fight kids’ cancer, food drives for the food bank, and toy drives, with the company also making donations to increase the overall funds raised.

Prodomax’s longstanding commitment to its community has not gone unnoticed, with an August, 2023 visit from the City of Barrie’s Mayor to speak with the management team about some of the challenges the company has faced and what initiatives can be undertaken in the future to help other area manufacturers succeed.

To be sure, Prodomax has succeeded in numerous ways over the past 50 years, and future plans include moderate, controlled growth. “We’re growing and we have positions open,” McKeown says.

The team also continues to invest in itself, having recently renovated the office and cafeteria, constructed a ramp for accessibility, and updated their website, demonstrating their dedication to not only helping the community but continuing to take pride in their work and presence in the community.

“We’ve got a long-established reputation in the industry,” says Parcher. “We’ve been located in Barrie for more than 50 years, which kind of sets us apart from some similar companies that haven’t been around as long. We’re proud of that. We also have a pretty deep knowledge base here in the systems that we build. It’s really hard to get that anywhere else.”

The post Building Tomorrow’s Industry<p class="company">Prodomax</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Forming partnerships with industry giants including JTEKT, Mitsubishi EDM, Roeders, Milltronics, Chevalier, and OPS-Ingersoll, Clausing Industrial, Takisawa, TITAN, and Roku-roku, KM represents many of the biggest names in 5 axis milling, high-speed milling, electrical discharge machining (EDM), turning, and grinding technology. Selecting only the best, KM chooses which lines to represent based not only on superior quality but support and service.

“We’ve had suppliers in the past that did not have good support and service, and they’re no longer in our stable,” says Larry Byers, who has served as company President since 1988, with his brother, Vice President Pat Byers, beside him. “So we try very hard to find quality companies that take care of our customers like we take care of them. You don’t stay in business for 81 years by not taking care of your customers.”

The three pillars of KM Industrial Machinery are quality, support, and service. By working only with the finest machinery manufacturers, KM ensures quality products and servicing. Many of the brands, such as Chevalier and Milltronics, have been a part of KM for about 40 years while others like Clausing Industrial have been with the company since the 1940s. One of KM’s largest lines remains renowned Japanese multinational Mitsubishi.

Like many of the manufacturers whose products are sold through KM, the company has a long and respected history. Founded during World War II, it was purchased by Larry’s father, Walter R. Byers, in 1972, and has been in the family ever since. Larry’s kids are part of the team: Daniel as Manufacturing/Sales Engineer and daughter Renee in Accounting/Inside Sales.

Throughout the years, KM Industrial Machinery has enjoyed the good times and survived the bad, from wars to recessions to pandemics. One of the key factors in KM’s longevity is consistency in the marketplace. “We represent some excellent products, better than we’ve ever had,” says Byers.

Like other businesses, KM Industrial Machinery faced challenges during the time of pandemic-related protocols and dysfunctional supply chains. The company is based in Kalamazoo—also home to some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical, medical device, aerospace, and defense manufacturers—and received letters from several key customers who asserted that they could not sustain their own essential production without KM’s services.

“We were declared essential by our customers,” says Byers. “We are a machine tool sales company, and everything starts with the machine tool. Every mold, die, aerospace component, and medical implant starts with the machine tool, so, absolutely, our industry is essential,” he says. “Not to mention our service staff that has to maintain thousands of machine tools in the field, being in the business as long as we’ve been. And those thousands of machine tools are still in operation and need to be maintained, serviced, and supported. So we consider that essential.”

In addition, KM is known not only for selling industrial machinery but also for providing consumables vital to keeping EDM, turning, grinding, and milling machines running, including EDM consumables such as brass, coated, taper, and stratified wires, EDM dielectric oils, EDM drills, tubes, graphite, and much more. Recognizing the importance of its many customers to the economy and refusing to be caught off-guard, Byers and his team decided to stock up on critical components and consumables in the early days of the pandemic. Once COVID was declared a pandemic in March 2020, supply chains worldwide became strained.

Fortunately, by the time these issues became critical, the company’s warehouse was bulging with consumable products and machine components. Although a significant investment, it was one KM had to make, and fast. “Our goal was, and is, keeping our customers running,” says Byers. “Our customers include defense and military—there are wars going on in the world—and they need critical components to keep their production going,” he emphasizes.

“Consumables keep us active with our customers as well. It’s a service to our customers, to keep them running. During COVID, that was our purposeful intention: to keep supplies ready and available for them. It was expensive, but it was well worth it. If enough people shut down, the whole economy would have locked up.”

In business for 81 years, KM Industrial Machinery realizes the importance of keeping up with the latest products and technology. All its suppliers have ongoing training, which KM attends along with various trade shows at home and abroad. The biggest is EMO, a European manufacturing industry trade show. EMO dates back to 1950 and is held every odd-numbered year. Keeping up with industry changes is critical, and education at KM never stops.

“It’s part of the day-to-day business we’re in,” says Byers, “and that’s what’s exciting about it. We get to see different processes, how products are made, and access a lot of technology.”

Over the years, KM has certainly witnessed many changes to the industry, including automation. “Automation is huge for us; we’re constantly reinventing ourselves,” says Byers. “Although artificial intelligence (AI) hasn’t yet affected KM directly, the industry is constantly evolving and the company often works with customers who are embracing robotics.

In the meantime, KM never forgets that it’s the basics that build relationships—like providing an invitingly spacious showroom and meticulously ensuring that vital consumables are always stocked up.

As for the future, Byers says KM will continue to grow and will keep servicing its customers the way it has for over 80 years: with respect and professionalism. And with no interest in retiring any time soon, Byers vows that KM will continue to be family-owned and operated, and for one of the best reasons there is: “We’re having fun, and we’re going to continue having fun.”

The post When the Best Manufacturers Work, This Is Who They Work With<p class="company">KM Industrial Machinery</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.