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HELPING SMES GROW Funds, advice and networking for small manufacturers — p36

AUGUST 2015 PM 40069240

WEATHERING THE STORM Wynn Machine, Edmonton, Alberta — p42

THRIVING IN THE COUNTRY H.M. Métal, Sainte-Sophiede-Lévrard, Québec — p54

MEETING CUSTOMER NEEDS Ace Machining, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia — p80

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AUGUST 2015 ß VOL. 110 ß NO. 6

www.canadianmetalworking.com

A LOOK INSIDE SPECIAL ISSUE: SMALL MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS (SMES) INCLUDING JOB SHOPS FEATURES LOOKING BACK: PLANT TOURS — 27 110 years of Canadian Metalworking

WEATHERING THE STORM — 42 Wynn Machine, Edmonton, AB

FEATURE STORY — 36

FOCUSED ON EFFICIENCY — 46

HELPING SMES GROW

Highline, Vonda, SK

SUPPORTING THE MINING INDUSTRY — 50

Programs offer funds, advice and networking support

Sussex Machine Shop, Sussex, NB

THRIVING IN THE COUNTRY — 54 H.M. Métal, Sainte-Sophie-de-Lévrard, QC

COMMITTED TO QUALITY — 58 Mahler Industries, Coquitlam, BC

GROWING UP ON THE PRAIRIES — 62 Walinga Machining Division, Carman, MB

50

42

INVESTING FOR THE FUTURE — 66 BGM Metalworks, Kingston, ON

KEEPING IT LOCAL — 72 Kensington Metal Products, Kensington, PEI

58 72 54 www.canadianmetalworking.com

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 AUGUST 2015 | 7

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AUGUST 2015 ß VOL. 110 ß NO. 6

www.canadianmetalworking.com

A LOOK INSIDE SPECIAL ISSUE: SMALL MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS (SMES) INCLUDING JOB SHOPS

76 80

FEATURES (CONT.) METAL SHOP REBORN — 76 Metal Corbert, Grand-Mère, QC

84

EXPANDING TO MEET CUSTOMER NEEDS — 80 Ace Machining, Dartmouth, NS

READY FOR TAKE OFF — 84 FusiA, Montréal, QC

MAKING METALS STRONGER — 94 Why heat treating is such an important process

94 DEPARTMENTS

UPCOMING IN METALWORKING

VIEW FROM THE FLOOR — 10 NEWS — 12 KEN HURWITZ ON FINANCE — 20 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT — 23 BUSINESS OF WELDING — 25 CMTS COUNTDOWN — 30 TOOL TECH — 32 CNC SOLUTIONS — 34

With the Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show (CMTS) fast approaching, we are dedicating our September issue to previewing the highlights, exhibits, and products that you will see at the show.

We will also be covering a wide range of topics, including tube and pipe lasers, ironworkers, welding safety, and deburring.

Also, on www.canadianmetalworking.com, visit our “Productivity Centre” section on the homepage to get the latest tips, case studies, how-to videos, and articles on ramping up productivity on the shop floor.

And don’t forget to follow along and engage with us on social media – look for us on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook!

FAB AND WELDING NEWS — 88 TOOL TALK — 97

BY THE NUMBERS — 106

8 | AUGUST 2015

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On the cover: The workers of Ace Machining of Dartmouth, NS. (L-R) Liam Snider, Ryan Kothlow, Cory Rafuse, Andrew Race, Nikolay Kulakevich, Thomas Dalton, Mike Hines, Ron Wallace, Stephen MacDonald, Wayne Rhodenizer, and Marc Lemire.

Staff not in photo: Liam MacLellan, Brandon Allen and Alexis Pelley. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Amada_8-2015_CM_Aloma_Shim_Layout 1 7/15/15 8:53 AM Page 1

Single-Source Fred Grove, President (left) & Bob Wolpink, Plant Manager of Aloma Shim and Manufacturing.

Leader.

“The exceptional ROI and outstanding service on our first purchase made Amada the clear singlesource choice for our next two purchases.”

— Fred Grove, President Aloma Shim and Manufacturing

Amada provides the optimal fabricating solutions.

Aloma Shim is a leading full-service ISO 9001:2008 Registered Contract Manufacturing Company. Located in a 98,000 sq. ft. facility in Verona, Pennsylvania, the company specializes in the manufacturing of precision OEM & custom fabricated parts, standard & custom shims, alignment devices and accessories. To maintain a leadership position, the company partnered with Amada and leveraged the latest technologies in fiber laser cutting, tube & angle laser cutting and robotic bending.

Aloma Shim’s president, Fred Grove, comments on that decision: “The FOL AJ Fiber Laser with automation improved production efficiency by over 70%... one would think we added two new lasers not just one. We effectively operate the FOL AJ 24 hours a day with one operator and one laborer as opposed to 3 operators and one laborer on our other lasers.”

Plant Manager, Bob Wolpink comments on Amada’s robotic bending solution which has made a huge impact on Aloma Shim’s bending production: “The Astro 165W NT with its Automatic Tool Changer has reduced brake setup times by 500% and increased work center output by 150%.”

To gain the ability to quickly switch between flat sheet cutting and tube cutting, the company also purchased Amada’s FOM2 RI laser cutting system with an integrated Rotary Index. Bob Wolpink reflects on new levels of speed and efficiency: “The FOM2 RI increased our tubing material utilization by as much as 20% and increased our tube/angle cutting speeds by as much as 40%!”

The FOL 3015 A J Fiber Laser achieves cutting speeds up to 9,400 inches per minute and rapid traverse of over 13,000 inches per minute. ASLUL automation provides high-speed material handling at a rate to match the productivity of the Fiber Laser.

The FOM2 RI’s Rotary Index is located on one of three shuttle pallets — making it extremely easy to switch from f lat sheet cutting to tube or pipe cutting.

Amada’s leading-edge systems and technologies ensure: • Unmatched Productivity (The FOL AJ Fiber Laser provides cutting speeds up to 4 times faster than CO2 laser and a 7/8" rating in steel plate.

An ASLUL system maximizes “green-light-on” time by providing high-speed, automated storage and load/unload).

• The Ultimate Robotic Bending Solution (The Astro 165W NT processes large and heavy parts quickly and safely while outperforming manual operation times by up to 22% and reducing labor costs).

• Maximum Versatility (The FOM2 RI can process round, square, rectangle, C-channel, and angle iron — making it the most versatile Rotary Index laser cutting system available. An integrated Rotary Index provides the ability to switch from flat sheet cutting to tube cutting in 2 minutes or less).

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VIEW FROM THE FLOOR

PATIENCE AND PARTNERSHIPS

F

Do you have a story to tell?

We’re always interested in hearing from our readers about changes they’ve made to make their business better.

Reach out, we’d like to share your success!

or as long as this magazine has been publishing, and that goes back 110 years, there have been articles dedicated to providing an inside look at how shops across this country operate, where they came from and what they’re doing to keep going strong.

Our readers enjoy these articles, and I can only speak for myself, but as an editor, visiting shops is the best part of the job.

Being welcomed into a business, whether it’s by the company owner or the shop floor manager, the experience is always the same.

These people love what they do. They’re proud of the work they are doing and the new challenges they are facing on a daily basis.

Their passion is obvious.

We’ve dedicated most of this issue to sharing the stories of shops we’ve visited across the country so far this year. To be honest, we’ve had the opportunity to visit even more places than we could fit onto these pages, but we have plenty of issues to come.

Searching for common threads among the sites we’ve seen and the people we’ve met, aside from their general enthusiasm, it would have to be the genuine appreciation for the advancements new technology has introduced to their operations.

Whether it’s the time saved from fewer set-ups with multi-tasking machine tools, like lathes with live tooling or multi-axis mills, or the ability to better control internal

PUBLISHER STEVE DEVONPORT 416.442.5125 ß sdevonport@canadianmetalworking.com

production flow by bringing previously outsourced services like laser cutting or precision grinding in-house, or the introduction of robotic cells to automate welding or loading and unloading, or adding a coating or paint line, these Canadian shops keep pushing their businesses forward.

“You can’t be stagnant in this industry,” notes Paul Chissell, president of Wynn Machine and Manufacturing in Edmonton.

Closely tied to the energy supply chain in Alberta, Chissell has seen the taps turn on and off in the oil and gas sector many times, and he understands that for a family-owned business like his to survive it requires foresight, patience and perseverance.

It also requires strong relationships, and companies of all size remark on the importance of their talented workforce and the partnerships they form with their suppliers, and more importantly with their customers.

Despite the current oil price shock that has cooled off his local market, Chissell remains optimistic, because he’s taken steps in previous years to fortify the business, make those connections and position the company well for when the taps start flowing again.

Every shop in this country has a story to tell, and we’re here to listen.

DOUG PICKLYK, EDITOR dpicklyk@canadianmetalworking.com

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ROB SWAN 416.510.5225, cell 416.725.0145 ß rswan@canadianmetalworking.com

HOW TO REACH US Published by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc 80 Valleybrook Drive, North York, ON M3B 2S9 Phone: 416.442.5600 ß Fax: 416.510.5140

ACCOUNT MANAGER NICHOLAS HEALEY 416.442.5600 x3642 ß nhealey@canadianmetalworking.com

CM, established: 1905 is published 9 times per year by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc.

EDITOR DOUG PICKLYK 416.510.5206 ßdpicklyk@canadianmetalworking.com

SUBSCRIPTION RATES Canada $55.00 per year, Outside Canada $90.00 US per year, Single Copy Canada $8.00.

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RETURN UNDELIVERABLE TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR LISA WICHMANN 416.442.5600 x5101 ß lwichmann@canadianmanufacturing.com

All rights reserved. Printed in Canada. The contents of the publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, either in part or in full, including photocopying and recording, without the written consent of the copyright owner. Nor may any part of this publication be stored in a retrieval system of any nature without prior written consent.

ART DIRECTOR STEWART THOMAS 416-442-5600 x3212 ß sthomas@annexnewcom.ca CIRCULATION MANAGER SELINA RAHAMAN 416.442.5600 x3528 ß srahaman@annexnewcom.ca MARKET PRODUCTION MANAGER BARB VOWLES 416.510.5103 ß bvowles@annexnewcom.ca PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER PHYLLIS WRIGHT 416.442.6786 ß pwright@annexnewcom.ca PRESIDENT OF ANNEX BUSINESS MEDIA MIKE FREDERICKS VICE-PRESIDENT OF ANNEX BUSINESS MEDIA TIM DIMOPOULOS

10 | AUGUST 2015

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Content copyright © 2015 by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc, may not be reprinted without permission.

CM accepts no responsibility or liability for claims made for any product or service reported or advertised in this issue.

DISCLAIMER This publication is for informational purposes only.

The content and “expert” advice presented are not intended as a substitute for informed professional engineering advice. You should not act on information contained in this publication without seeking specific advice from qualified engineering professionals.

PRIVACY NOTICE From time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: Phone: 1.800.668.2374 Fax: 416.442.2191 Email: vmoore@annexnewcom.ca Mail to: Privacy Office, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Canadian Publications Mail Agreement: 40069240. ISSN: 0008-4379 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

CM receives unsolicited materials (including letters to the editor, press releases, promotional items and images) from time to time.

CM, its affiliates and assignees may use, reproduce, publish, re-publish, distribute, store and archive such unsolicited submissions in whole or in part in any form or medium whatsoever, without compensation of any sort.

www.canadianmetalworking.com

15-07-17 1:15 PM

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IN THE NEWS

CANADA’S AUTO INDUSTRY DRIVES UP PROFITS Canada’s new vehicle sales have been hitting record numbers for the past several months. In June, Canadians bought 177,857 new cars and light trucks, making it the best June ever.

Fiat Chrysler claimed top spot with 27,217 vehicles sold, while Ford came in second place at 26,776 vehicles.

General Motors trailed in third, selling 24,226 new vehicles in June.

However, it was luxury vehicles that saw the highest year-overyear boost, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. Land Rover, Acura, Porche and Lexus all had over 20 per cent growth. Scotiabank analyst Carlos Gomes reports that the lower gasoline prices have contributed to growth in sales of luxury SUVs this year, with luxury vehicles making up 10 per cent of Canada’s total new vehicle sales.

However, a Conference Board of Canada report suggests that it is the lower Canadian dollar that is propelling sales to new levels, helping Canada’s auto manufacturers reach new levels. The report, along with other indicators, points to 2015 being a highly profitable year for auto manufacturers.

The Spring 2015 Industrial Outlook report forecasts profits to reach

upwards of $2 billion this year, which is up from $1.3 billion last year.

“With more than 80 per cent of the vehicles produced in Canada exported to the U.S. market, the lower Canadian dollar is a boon to the industry’s bottom line,” said Fares Bounajm, Economist, with The Conference Board of Canada. “The lower exchange rate means that cars made in Canada fetch a higher price in Canadian dollars when they are sold in the U.S.” The Conference Board report also cautions that the market may be hitting a saturation point. And although Gomes points to the lower gasoline prices as being a positive factor in growth, this report argues the opposite, stating a weak labour market and the adverse effects of the collapse in oil prices on the Alberta economy will slow sales in Canada.

South of the border is an entirely different story. The U.S. labour market is robust and demand is high. So the Conference Board report indicates that strong sales growth is expected to continue until at least 2017.

When it comes to the production side of things, the outlook is somewhat challenging. The beginning of the year saw two major plants stalled

for retooling in preparation for the addition of new models, while GM’s Oshawa plant saw the loss of the Camaro model, forcing the company to slash its workforce. Overall, production is expected to rebound and grow towards the end of the year if automakers meet their expected deadlines.

The Spring 2015 Industrial Outlook report also purports that motor vehicle parts producers will also see great growth. The benefit of the lower loonie and extremely high North American vehicles sales will help tier suppliers.

“Parts producers were able to expand their markets both internationally and domestically to see 8.9 per cent growth in production last year. For 2015, we expect production to continue advancing at a robust, albeit, slower pace,” added Bounajm.

The strong sales growth across the board will help increase profits to approximately $2 billion. The challenge going forward, over the next few years, will be maintaining the strong momentum. However, it is generally accepted that over the next few years, domestic vehicle production will decline and demand in the U.S. will also fluctuate, gradually driving down profits.

Brampton Assembly Plant in Brampton, Ontario, Canada PHOTO: FCA

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IN THE NEWS

A REVIEW OF THE 51ST INTERNATIONAL PARIS AIR SHOW From June 15 to 21, 2015, hundreds of thousands of visitors headed to Paris, France with the hope of catching a glimpse of the latest and greatest aerospace innovations. And they would not be disappointed.

There were over 130 aircraft on display including some never before seen highlights. The Falcon 8X, Dassault Aviation’s latest business jet was shown to the public for the first time. Airbus also brought two new models, the A350 and A400M. Dassault Aviation’s Rafale, Bombardier’s CS 300, the JF17 fighter from Pakistan, the

Boeing 787 and the Airbus Group’s E-Fan all drew huge crowds.

There were over 2300 exhibitors from 48 different countries showing off their stuff. This year’s event proved rather lucrative for many major aerospace companies, with over $130 billion worth of orders announced. If it were a competition, Airbus would have taken the prize, with 421 aircraft orders, totaling $57 billion. Boeing also netting 331 aircraft orders, putting them at just over $50 billion. CFM International, ATR, and Embraer also brought in significant orders.

“This 51st Paris Le Bourget Air Show has been a remarkable success with record attendance by the public, a record number of exhibitors and more than 130 billion dollars’ worth of orders announced,” says Emeric d’Arcimoles, Chief Commissioner of the Air Show. “The impressive demonstrations put on by an air force pilot in Dassault Aviation’s Rafale, the presentation of Airbus’ A350, A380, A400M, Dassault Aviation’s Falcon 8X and other aircraft delighted the French President and the public from the first to the last day.”

PHOTO: ADRIEN DASTE

PHOTO: ADRIEN DASTE

14 | AUGUST 2015

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15-07-17 1:35 PM

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IN THE NEWS

RIO TINTO POURS FIRST ALUMINUM AT MODERNIZED KITIMAT FACILITY

Rio Tinto has spent billions of dollars in an attempt to modernize its Kitimat facility. The company has now announced it is preparing for its first shipments of metal from the worldclass aluminum smelter in Canada.

The modernized smelter achieved first production in June 2015 and now Rio Tinto is focused on safely ramping up towards its annual production rate of 420,000 tonnes.

The upgrade will increase production capacity by 48 per cent and result in Kitimat becoming one of the lowest cost smelters in the world.

The modernized smelter, which was

delivered in line with the revised schedule and budget, is powered exclusively by Rio Tinto’s wholly owned hydro power facility and uses the company’s proprietary AP40 smelting technology which will effectively cut the smelter’s overall emissions in half.

“The modernization of Kitimat will fundamentally transform its performance, moving it from the fourth quartile to the first decile of the industry cost curve,” says Aluminum chief executive Alf Barrios. “At full production, Kitimat will be one of the most efficient, greenest and lowest-cost smelters in the world.

Positioned in British Columbia on the west coast of Canada, Kitimat is well placed to serve rapidly growing demand for aluminum in the AsiaPacific region and to serve the North American market.”

“The start of aluminum production with the arrival of first hot metal marks a tremendous milestone for Rio Tinto and for the community of Kitimat,” says Derick Stinson, Chair Kitimat Chamber of Commerce. “The investment by Rio Tinto into the Kitimat Modernization Project, much like the original Kitimat smelter of the 1950’s, has provided the community of Kitimat with a solid foundation from which to grow and prosper and enable the next generation of Kitimat to take shape.”

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Rio Tinto’s modernized Kitimat smelter begins production PHOTO: CNW GROUP/RIO TINTO ALCAN

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IN THE NEWS

LINAMAR SUPPORTS TRAINING FOR SKILLED TRADES

( L-R) Jeff Scherer, President, Conestoga Students Inc.; Julia Biedermann, Executive Dean, School of Engineering and Information Technology and School of Trades and Apprenticeships; Linda Hasenfratz, CEO, Linamar Corporation; Shaun Scott, Director of Human Resources, Linamar Corporation; and John Tibbits, President, Conestoga College. PHOTO: CONESTOGA COLLEGE

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Linamar Corporation has agreed to donate $500,000 to Conestoga College over the next five years.

This will help support a new scholarship program for students pursuing education in preparation for careers in industrial skilled trades.

The Linamar Corporation Industrial Skilled Trades Scholarships will provide six students entering Conestoga’s Mechanical Technician – General Machinist two-year diploma program with more than $3,000 each.

The scholarship will be renewed for those who successfully complete their first year of studies with good academic standing and return to complete the program. In total the scholarship will fund half the costs for the program or more than $6,000 per student.

Six additional scholarships will be awarded to qualified applicants each year. Recipients will be offered co-op term employment with Linamar during their program as well as fulltime employment upon successful completion.

The scholarship program was announced at a presentation at Conestoga’s Cambridge campus.

“We are so pleased to be partnering with Conestoga on this important initiative,” said Linamar CEO Linda Hasenfratz. “This partnership will allow us to encourage our smartest and most innovative young people into a career in manufacturing to our mutual benefit.”

“Attracting and retaining talent to meet the workforce needs of the manufacturing sector is critical to the continued growth and prosperity of our region,” said Conestoga President John Tibbits. “We are very pleased to work with Linamar to provide opportunities for youth to pursue the education and training that will prepare them to support the success and global competitiveness of manufacturing employers here in our community.” www.canadianmetalworking.com

15-07-17 2:20 PM

IN THE NEWS The Honourable Wade MacLauchlan, Premier of Prince Edward Island (centre) is joined by (from R to L) Arnold Croken, General Manager of the Summerside Regional Development Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture, to the Minister of National Revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; Jeff Poirier, President of Vector Aerospace Engine Services - Atlantic; and Shawn McCarvill, President of Slemon Park Corporation at the announcement of the addition of a fourth engine test cell at Vector’s facility in Slemon Park.

PHOTO: VECTOR AEROSPACE

VECTOR AEROSPACE GETS FUNDING BOOST Prince Edward Island is supporting the aerospace industry by providing more than $5 million in provincial government support to expand one company’s operations.

This is part of a commitment to help grow the economy and build on Island successes says Premier Wade MacLauchlan.

“Vector Aerospace is a cornerstone of this province’s aerospace industry and the second biggest private sector employer on the Island,” said MacLauchlan.

Over $4 million will be provided through Finance PEI’s Century Fund, repayable over a 15 year term. The province will also provide a non-repayable contribution of $1.3 million, which will be paid out in 2017 should Vector maintain or exceed current staffing levels. Vector Aerospace has also signed a new 15 year lease with Slemon Park Corporation.

“The company provides hundreds of high paying jobs in a rural part of the province and makes a major contribution to our economy,” said Minister of Economic Development and Tourism Heath MacDonald.

Vector Aerospace Engine Services Atlantic currently employs 440 workers at its Slemon Park facility. Vector provides aircraft engine repair, restoration and overhaul services to companies worldwide. www.canadianmetalworking.com

06CMW-News.indd 19

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15-07-17 1:35 PM

FINANCE

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

BY KEN HURWITZ

A

question I get asked from a lot of customers is what do I see others doing that contributes to their success. Since most of my customers are in essence doing the same things it is easy to spot the differences between the successful shops and ones who have stayed flat or become stagnant.

I have been lucky enough to do business with some of the most successful shops and individuals in the manufacturing industry, so I thought this month I’d share some of best business practices.

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU DO WELL I know this is a simplistic and obvious statement, but it is amazing how quickly shops can get caught up in trying to be all things to their customers. The most successful shops have a product, or a family of products, they do extremely well and this is what they stick too. Often I see customers who predominantly do milling work go out and buy a CNC lathe to try and diversify, but ultimately the lathe doesn’t get used to its optimum capacity. This leads to people and/or money getting tied up in a machine when scarce resources are best focused elsewhere. There were many life lessons taught to me by my grandfather, but the one which seems to be most applicable for both life and business is: “Good people always tend to attract both business and opportunities for other good people.”

DISTINGUISH YOURSELF AND YOUR PRODUCTS To continue from point one, hopefully your specialty is not common20 | AUGUST 2015

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place in the industry. The other day I was talking with a potential client who wanted to put financing in place for both a large 3-axis bridge-type vertical machining centre and a 5-axis CNC milling machine. There were very good reasons for both machines, plus the bridge machine was considerably less expensive and could be delivered from the dealer’s stock. However, we started to talk about what he could generate with each machine from a monthly revenue standpoint, and it became obvious putting financing in place for the 5-axis machine made the most sense even though it was more expensive and was a factory order with a five month delivery. The amount he can charge for the 5-axis work, which is much more complicated, and where he does not face as much competition, made it an obvious choice. From a business perspective, the revenue the machine would generate far outweighed the monthly payment.

FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND HOLD ONTO THEM A business owner is always its best salesman, and particularly in the manufacturing industry where experience and expertise attracts customers and gives them confidence.

That said, it is almost impossible to run every facet of a business. There are many reasons why machine inquiries do not turn into sales, but the one I hear more than any other sounds something like this: “Ken, I know you’ll get the financing in place, but who will run the machine once it gets here?” Finding good people is very difficult, maybe the toughest part of the industry, so when you do find them do what you can to hold onto them. Most business owners I deal with know how to program, set-up and run a machine, but if you are in the shop running a machine then who is out there securing new business or looking after existing customers?

DON’T TRY TO HIT HOME RUNS It’s every entrepreneur’s dream to land the big fish, but I have seen successful companies, including my own family business, get into trouble because they took a large order that they just did not have the capacity to handle. In our case, we sold a huge package of machine tools to a good customer. The company started a division to do automotive production (unfortunately they did not follow point one), and we guaranteed the financing, which they could not secure on their own. When the deal went bad and the customer closed, we had to take all the machines back and pay off the funder, which crippled our cash flow. Decisions for equipment should be based on a long term vision and accumulated slowly over time.

RE-INVEST IN YOUR COMPANY Wherever possible it is best to keep profits within the company and use them to finance product development and growth. Many assets can be financed, not only equipment but tooling packages, accessories, software, etc. However when it comes to growth, like new product development or hiring a new salesman, these things cannot be financed and really are the best use of company’s resources. The ancillary benefit of having retained earnings, defined as the portion of net income that is retained by the company as opposed to being distributed to shareholders, is it keeps your lenders very happy.

There are lots of reasons why some individuals find success where others do not, but often it is the simple stuff that makes the difference.

Ken Hurwitz is the Senior Account Manager with Blue Chip Leasing Corp. in Toronto. With years of experience in the machine tool industry, Ken now helps all kinds of manufacturers with their capital needs.

Contact Ken at (416) 614-5878 or ken@bluechipleasing.com. www.canadianmetalworking.com

15-07-17 1:17 PM

Easier, quicker, more precise:

The new CHAIN SHARP CS-X from PFERD allows you to sharpen chain saws and harvester bars quickly and efficiently. Unlike sharpening with a conventional round file, CS-X sharpens the tooth and adjusts raker depth in one easy step. Simply turn the tool over to sharpen the teeth on the other side.

Chain sharpening has never been so easy, quick and precise.

PFERD’s CHAIN SHARP CS-X has sharpeners for virtually all popular chain pitches and brands.

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15-07-17 12:02 PM

Created to deliver power and precision and controlled by the open-architecture, user-friendly OSP-P control, the GENOS M560-V is a lot of machine for the money.

Because its suited for any metal from titanium to aluminum, it’s perfect for mold & die work or any general machining that calls for high precision and extreme rigidity. Built on Okuma’s proven, double-column design and featuring a standard 15k spindle and 22x51 table, the ultra-rigid, thermally stable construction withstands thermal deformation, which reduces thermal growth and increases machining performance.

If you want power and performance at an affordable price, look into the GENOS M560-V. The road to tomorrow starts here. Open possibilities.

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15-07-17 12:03 PM

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

HIRING FOR TALENT “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

— Antoine de Saint Exupéry

BY ANDREW WOOD

I

n a previous Business Management article we outlined five major steps required to plan a successful restructuring event in an organization. Within that article we stated two core beliefs: • To view restructuring as a positive event, recalibrate the existing business structure to embrace and support a ground-breaking strategic goal.

• Always reorganize in direct support of a strategy, and leave the placement and recruitment of individuals to the final stages. Never Structure before Strategy.

This brings us to this month’s topic: Hiring for Talent. Whether you are working though a broad reorganization plan, or simply have a position unstaffed, always make final hiring decisions based upon an individual’s talents, not strictly upon skill set.

Early in my career as a turnaround specialist I started to recognize that some of my best newly-hired employees were individuals who were fairly new to Canada. Reasonably educated, they had certain eagerness and intuitiveness that I initially assumed was some vague cultural difference from my own Canadian experience.

What I recognized immediately was that they required less management support, they achieved goals quicker and that they collaborated broadly within the organization. The ROI on investing in these individuals was significant and seemingly limitless.

Later in my career, I started to wonder if a common trait amongst www.canadianmetalworking.com

06CMW-BusMgmt.indd 23

these employees was the same that encouraged them to move half-way around the world and start a fresh life in Canada. Define it as you like, risk-taker, entrepreneurial, goal-oriented. What I recognized is that these people set a strategic goal, determined a process to achieve it and went ‘all-in’ to achieve the goal.

Whatever that certain “DNA makeup” was, building teams staffed with these individuals yielded strong positive results and dynamic team cultures. I needed to figure out a way to identify this trait in all potential employees.

The key factor I now attempt to measure is the degree by which individuals ‘self-manage’. This is an intuitiveness to grasp the larger concept of what they are expected to achieve, reverse engineer the steps required to deliver on that expectation, and then undertake them without seeking step-by-step permissions by their superiors.

MORE THAN CHARISMA A significant pitfall that recruiters and employers fall into when hiring is to have an ill-defined process for sifting through the list of resumes that a well-placed ad generates.

When particular experience “at level” is required, skill set is paramount.

But after the narrow pool of potential candidates who meet the minimum criteria is found, how does an organization determine the “best fit”?

We all respond positively to the gregarious individual or the relationship salesperson loaded with charisma in the interview. But they may not be the best individuals to bring on board. In fact, the practice can become a significant hiring pitfall. We are seduced by personality and have not determined whether these individuals will help achieve your strategic goals.

HOW TO HIRE TALENT IN PRACTICAL TERMS Step 1 — Construct a short questionnaire to forward to candidates prior to any face to face contact. Ask open-ended questions that require full explanations both business and personal. Seek out major life projects that they would be proud to “brag” about. Ask how they would generate interest in your products or services.

Whether they are a candidate for a sales position or not is irrelevant.

What you seek to yield is not the specific answers but the thought process as they lay out their answers.

You will gain insight into their actual written style and the quality of work they deliver. Far different than a carefully vetted resume, open-ended questions will generate some surprising and interesting traits.

Step 2 — Subject your short-list candidates to a Personality Assessment Tool, preferably one specific to self-management traits. Ensure the assessment is a “normative” data collection, a tool that allows candidates to respond in a more precise manner by indicating the degree to which they exhibit a given trait. Avoid tools that uses the individual as the frame of reference; thus providing scores that can only be interpreted in relation to other personality traits within the individual. In doing so, between-person comparisons, which are the basis for employee selection, cannot be undertaken.

These approaches help at building a team of individuals that do not require tasking, just a strong leader to show them the goals and vision.

Andrew Wood has held senior positions in manufacturing, supply chain and other industries and sits on TEC, Canada’s Trusted Advisors Council. andrewjmwood@changeagent.ca.

AUGUST 2015 | 23

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15-07-17 2:39 PM

THE BUSINESS OF WELDING

THE ABCS OF ACORN

BY IAN CAMPBELL

I

n the past I’ve alluded to work that was being undertaken at the CWB Group to address some of the issues around welder training and recruiting. As some of you may have noticed, this work—in the form of the CWB Institute’s Acorn—has now been officially released. So you might be asking: what is Acorn and what does it do for industry?

A IS FOR ACTION Acorn is training content and support systems that provide a solution for schools and industry that are looking to train, test, reward and recruit welding professionals at a consistent and uniform national level. Acorn is about setting an industry-driven benchmark with regards to training, and then backing it up with the tools and content educators need to deliver to that (or hopefully higher) level. It turns out that this dovetails nicely with proposed updates to the Red Seal Welder—a program we strongly support. Everyone is a partner with respect to trade education, so Acorn is fully vendor neutral, constant in delivery and format, and fully modular. It can be easily adopted into existing educational programs, or used to create new ones to service growing demand.

At a basic level Acorn is comprised of two major functions: providing training resources to educators, and providing uniform skills assessments to industry. To ensure consistency and uniform quality, these are managed at the national level by CWB. So, you might ask why CWB is doing all this. Well, CWB is willing www.canadianmetalworking.com

06CMW-WeldBus.indd 25

to make the investment and it has the resources to make it happen quickly and to a very high standard.

It’s also worth pointing out that CWB is the only nationally-mandated welding body, both from a membership and regulatory perspective. One could argue they should have been doing this work years ago.

Turns out they did, but it was back in the 30’s, then again in the 60’s…

And we all know how much has changed since then.

The reality is it’s easy to talk, make lists, have meetings, and make proposals—the hard (and expensive) part is the actual development and implementation. Ask an educator and you will find out that the funding for initiatives the size of Acorn is very hard to find, which means real largescale change can take forever.

B IS FOR BIG So how big is Acorn? In short: very big. It covers six career streams (welder, metal fabricator, welding supervisor, welding inspector, NDE technician and welding engineer) covered off through 90-plus individual courses, which can be delivered at three different skill levels, all of which can be presented to students through today’s common education channels (online, hybrid, in-shop and classroom). This is supported by hundreds of standardized tests, practical exercises and national assessments.

Further, Acorn provides a national skill matching and recruiting portal with industry-endorsed credentials. This means that CWB has taken the guesswork out of training and hiring. If a candidate has been through an Acorn program, he or she will have been measured to national standards and awarded credentials based on actual demonstrated skills.

Need a specific skill? You can now search for your ideal candidate through the portal (AcornConnect).

Need a specific industry competency assessment developed and delivered?

Acorn can support that too, as well as matching credentials, and have it delivered nation-wide. Simply put, as a hiring manager your training needs, your credentials, your future employees can all be accommodated with Acorn.

But to be fair, this is not just about employers. Acorn educators and students will also obviously benefit.

A lot of work has gone into making sure all content is written for the needs of current learners in a modern learning environment.

This means having learning content on-line and in-class as well as in-shop, supported by in-hand learning on their mobile devices. It also means making content engaging and “sticky” through extensive use of video, augmented reality and illustrations—with the focus on supporting “visual learning.” As we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words, as are hands-on learning exercises, of which there are thousands within Acorn.

C IS FOR COST One last thing worth noting about Acorn, it’s very low cost. Actually, it’s free to all publicly-funded Canadian high schools, and the post-secondary licensing costs are heavily subsidized by the CWB Group. Why is CWB doing this?

Action is needed now, or we will be in big trouble in a few years.

Want to find out more about Acorn?

Visit the website at www.cwbgroup. org/acorn.

As mentioned earlier, with Acorn everyone is a partner, and regardless of your place in the industry there’s something for you to benefit from and contribute to.

Ian Campbell is director of marketing and new product development with CWB. AUGUST 2015 | 25

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15-07-17 12:04 PM

LOOKING BACK: PLANT TOURS

The punch department at the Canadian Westinghouse Co.

F

or as long as this magazine has been around, pages in each issue have been devoted to exploring the inner workings of manufacturing plants across the country. As we continue to celebrate the 110th anniversary of Canadian Metalworking, in this issue we’ll revisit a couple interesting plant tours from the first year of publication in 1905.

Every issue that year included a section called Modern Canadian Manufacturing Plants. Sites visited in 1905 included: The Allis-Chalmers-Bullock Works in Rockfield, Que., a manufacturer of electrical machines; Waterous Engine Works in Brantford. Ont.; Canadian Pacific Railway’s Angus Shop in Montreal (twice); Canada Car Company’s plant in Montreal, a manufacturer of train cars; The Northern Electric Co. Ltd. in Montreal, maker of telephones and switchboards; Matthews

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06CMW-LookingBack.indd 27

Bros. Ltd. in Toronto, a picture frame maker; and the Packard Electric motor car plant in St. Catharines, Ont., featured in our last issue.

All of the tours included sections about the building construction, plant layout and in most cases a detailed listing of equipment on the shop floors. Two tours stand out:

CANADIAN WESTINGHOUSE COMPANY The review of the Westinghouse facility was glowing: “the new works are a model of economy and effectiveness for the manufacture of electrical machinery.”

The decision to set up a shop in Canada was applauded: “So great have been the exports of the Westinghouse products to Canada that an examination into the conditions of a few years ago led to the decision to establish a separate company with manufacturing AUGUST 2015 | 27

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The Pittsburgh lathe at Westinghouse with a swing of 18 inches and 22-foot bed.

works in Canada, Hamilton being chosen because of its all-round advantages.”

Products being manufactured in the Hamilton plant included: “alternating and direct current generators and motors, including railway motors; controllers, transformers, switches and switch-boards; rheostats, measuring instruments, including meters; arc-lamps and various subsidiary lines.”

When describing the design and construction of the building itself, attention was paid to the comfort of the workers: “A creditable feature of the general plan is the splendid arrangement for the conve-

The most accurate.

The most choices.

nience of employees. Of this equipment the toilet rooms are the most noticeable…The equipment throughout is of enamelled iron, and hot and cold water is always to be had.”

Detailing the equipment on the shop floor, there is a listing of drill presses, milling machines, planers, and boring mills. “One of the most striking machines in the shop is an 8 spindle adjustable drill, made by the Baush Machine Tool Co.…and an accompanying item of interest is a special boring and milling machine combined, made by the BementPond Machine Tool Co.” In the punching department machinery consisted of “straight and other types of shears made by Brown-Boggs, Limited, Hamilton, and of a line of punch presses of different sizes, half of which were supplied by the Toledo Machine Tool Co. and the other half by the McGregor, Gourlay Co.” The article walks readers through each department including shafting, bearing, screwing, testing and finally the tool room.

In summing up the tour the author was thoroughly impressed: “In the plant of the Canadian Westinghouse Co. are exemplified the most modern ideas of industrial construction and operation, and the works are certainly a valuable addition to Canada’s industries.”

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Inside the lamp shop at Robert Mitchell Co. Works in Montreal.

THE ROBERT MITCHELL COMPANY The tour of the Robert Mitchell Co. in Montreal, manufacturers of brass goods of all kinds, was taken shortly after the company had moved in and was impressive in scale. “The new factory occupies a whole block, the buildings being 180 by 400 ft., fronting on Belaire Ave., St. Henry, Montreal, and touching St. Antoine street on the north-west and St. James street on the southeast, on each of which a line of the Montreal Street Railway runs.”

As described, the walls of the www.canadianmetalworking.com

15-07-17 1:26 PM

building were brick and for the main building a large part of the surface was glass.

“This, together with a saw-tooth roof, supplied with windows facing the north, makes the place unusually bright within.”

A note was made of steps taken to ensure the comfort of the workers: “A commendable feature of the plant is the attention that has been devoted to the comfort and well-being of the workmen...the roof was so arranged that no direct sunlight could enter to interfere with the work.

“In addition to having cheerful and well-lighted shops, lavatories have been provided in the basement, installed with the latest improvements known in plumbing practice.

White enamelled hand basins provided with hot and cold water have been put in, and at these nearly one hundred men may wash at one time.

“There is also a large lunch and reading-room, well lighted and heated, 150 by 50 feet, generously provided with tables and chairs, lockers for the workmen’s clothes, and gas stoves for making tea or coffee during the noon hour.

“Another feature in this connection is the exhaust ventilating system for carrying away all dust from the emery and bucking machines in the cleaning and polishing departments. This is no doubt a guarantee of better health on the part of those employed, and more efficient service, which attention to the comfort and well-being of the workmen could well be followed by many another industrial establishment.”

This shop included a foundry along with a cleaning and polishing department where the rough castings were cut and then put through rumblers. Parts then went to the emory wheels to be trimmed, polished or buffed and sent for plating.

The shop made lamps, valves and gas meters. During the writer’s visit there were about 2,000 gas meters in different stages of completion. “This department has a capacity of 350 meters a week, and from it has been supplied over 15,000 meters to one gas company alone in Canada.”

The plant had a copper shop for the manufacturing goods such as copper tanks, ordinary kettles and tank www.canadianmetalworking.com

06CMW-LookingBack.indd 29

kettles. There was also ornamental iron work done in the facility, forging iron lamps, iron grills for “bank and office counters,” as well as door and window grills.

Highlighted by the hot and cold running water at the employees’ disposal, this is another plant that scored high in 1905.

“While there are many larger manufacturing plants and industrial companies in Canada, there are many points in connection with the factory described that might serve as an example for others.”

Booth #1733 AUGUST 2015 | 29

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SPECIAL EVENING FOR JOB SHOPS Highlights include latest industry technologies and meet-and-greet with Leafs’ legend.

COUNTDOWN T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L CENTRE

SEPTEMBER 28 – OCTOBER 1, 2015

MISSISSAUG A

I

f you’re one of the thousands of small- to medium-sized manufacturers vital to Canada’s supply chain, the country’s premier manufacturing event has an offer you may find hard to refuse.

SME, organizers of the Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show (CMTS)— to be held September 28 to October 1 at The International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario—have announced they will be extending the show’s hours for a special evening celebrating independent job shops.

The show organizers have teamed up with national Canada distributor Elliott Matsuura on Wednesday, September 30 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. to present Job Shop Appreciation Night.

Job shop owners, staff and their adult family members will have access to an expansive exhibition of the latest manufacturing technologies on today’s market, and an opportunity to mingle with NHL Alumni Darryl Sittler.

“Elliott Matsuura is pleased to once again partner with SME at CMTS for Job Shop Appreciation Night. We look forward to meeting the many independent job shop leaders as they visit CMTS and have a chance to meet Darryl Sittler,” said Frank Haydar, president, Elliott Matsuura Canada.

“Independent job shops are the backbone of Canada’s manufacturing industry, which is key to the province’s economic health, and we understand how important it is for smaller suppliers to stay current and informed of new industry developments,” says Julie Pike, event manager of CMTS. “We’ve extended CMTS show hours this evening to make it easier for small to medium businesses to find solutions, and network with colleagues and potential customers under one roof in an easy-going, enjoyable atmosphere.”

CMTS brings together more than 8,000

manufacturing professionals over four days to source the latest advancements in technologies and solutions in the machine tool, tooling and workholding, metalworking, advanced manufacturing including 3D printing/additive manufacturing, automation and robotics, and design engineering.

The event also draws a growing national and international audience from major industries including automotive, aerospace, medical and energy, among others.

For more information and to register for the CMTS 2015, visit www.cmts.ca or call 1-888322-7333, ext. 4435.

Originally from Kitchener, Ontario, Darryl Sittler starred with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League before being selected in the first round of the 1970 NHL draft (8th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs. At the age of 24, Sittler became the second youngest captain in team history. He played with the Leafs for 12 seasons, ending his playing career with stints in Philadelphia and Detroit. He was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989. Meet the Leafs Legend at the CMTS Job Shop Appreciation Night, Wednesday, September 30.

30 | AUGUST 2015

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THE NEW E-WELD

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15-07-17 12:05 PM

TOOL TECH

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF CHIPS

BY RAFI RAVOACH

I

n metalworking, a major cause of damage to tooling is chip interference. To help overcome this problem, chipformers are now widely used on cutting tools for the purposes of chip control.

In short, chipformers are specially designed geometric depressions located after the cutting edges of turning inserts. They channel the machined chips and produce the desired chip shapes that can be effectively controlled. These efficient chip forms consume less power; they result in reduced heat generation and most importantly they are able to quickly evacuate the work zone.

Newly designed turning chipbreakers have been specially formulated to decrease the volume of chips removed from the workpieces during the machining process, which consequently provides efficient chip removal from conveyor belts.

The new turning chipbreakers break the chips into smaller pieces, which enables better workpiece surface finish, prevents chips from tangling around the workpiece during the machining process and simplifies chip removal from the machine.

As a pioneer in the field of chipformer design, ISCAR has a long history of developing and introducing products with advanced chipformers that aid the efficient removal of chips from the tool and workpiece area.

Prompted by the global turning industry’s needs, the latest range of chipformers began as concepts that were assessed and developed by finite element analysis programs. This meticulous evaluation and development process ensured the production of a range of advanced prototypes.

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The R&D department then undertook comprehensive practical machining trials, replicating a wide range of turning applications across a variety of metals. This process resulted in further refinements. Only after it became clear that the geometries of the new chipformers represented a major leap forward were the latest products introduced to the market.

Through the use of these new turning inserts and their chipformers, less heat is generated, the problem of chips attaching themselves to cutting tools and components is eliminated, workpiece quality is improved, insert life is extended and productivity gains are achieved.

The nature of the chips produced in the turning process varies, depending on the material being turned, the type of tool being used, feeds and speeds being applied, and the rate of cutting fluid applied. As the new tool ranges include chipformers capable of satisfying the vast majority of turning tasks and accommodating a wide range of materials, a product code has been applied to each range.

Three new chipformers, R3P, M3P and F3P, were developed for rough medium and finishing turning of steel.

ROUGH The R3P chipbreaker is for rough machining of steel with reinforced cutting edge. It has a positive rake angle to reduce cutting forces and for smooth cutting. The machining application range is 4.0-12 mm depth of cut (DOC) and 0.4-1.0 mm/rev (Fig. 1).

MEDIUM For medium machining of steel and using a reinforced cutting edge, the M3P chipbreaker features a positive rake angle to reduce cutting forces and for smooth cutting. The machining application range is 0.5- to 6-mm DOC and 0.15-0.60 mm/rev (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

FINISHING The F3P chipbreaker for finishing also has positive rake angles for smooth cutting, reduced cutting forces and reduced insert wear, all leading to increased tool life. The finishing machining application area is 0.40- to 2.0-mm DOC and 0.05 to 0.25 mm/rev (Fig. 3).

Globally, many companies are currently enjoying the multiple benefits of using advanced inserts featuring advanced chipformers. Users are reporting that the problem of chips attaching themselves to cutting tools Fig. 3

Fig. 1

and components has been totally eliminated and that tools are lasting longer and workpiece quality has been improved.

Rafi Ravoach is ISO Turning product manager with Iscar. www.canadianmetalworking.com

15-07-21 2:27 PM

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CNC SOLUTIONS

THE ROAD TO 24/7 MACHINING

BY MARK RENTSCHLER

F

orecasting customer demand is never easy, but many successful manufacturers are prepared to handle any requirements that come their way, thanks to investment in repeatable, scalable and cost-effective flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) to accomplish 24/7 machining. In developing these systems, manufacturers are capable of achieving up to 95 per cent spindle utilization while improving flexibility, quality and responsiveness.

The roadmap to 24/7 machining is composed of five fundamental technology and process elements: • Robust machining centers • Pallet interchangeability • Dynamic scheduling • Data monitoring and reporting • Standardized tooling and fixturing Many manufacturers may have already addressed one or several of these fundamental elements; however, when implemented together simultaneously, these elements create repeatable, scalable, flexible and cost-effective machining processes.

least amount of maintenance.

An ideal machine supplier should also offer single-source planning, design, engineering and implementation of an automated material-handling system to accompany its machining platforms. The automated system should be highly flexible, requiring little operator intervention, and easily scalable to keep up with future capacity demands.

Critical to an automated system is the cell controller, which should provide dynamic scheduling capabilities and smart monitoring functions to ensure the highest degree of unattended reliability.

ROBUST MACHINING CENTERS

PALLET INTERCHANGEABILITY

Establishing a 24/7 machining cell begins with the selection of a reliable machine-tool supplier that offers exceptionally rugged equipment and unrelenting support. Productivity, quality and reliability should be fundamental to the design and manufacture of a machine tool. These attributes can be identified through several key features such as extrarigid base castings and sophisticated thermal management of key machine components. Simplified mechanical design elements are oftentimes the most reliable and also require the

One of the most critical attributes of the flexibility of a 24/7 machining cell is the interchangeability of pallets between varying machine platforms. This capability enables

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companies to maximize the unique benefits and efficiencies of each machine based on the required machining processes of each part.

An example of this is the identically matched quality standards designed into Makino pallets. This design allows for seamless transfer of pallets between different machining platforms, such as a 5-axis D500 VMC and a 4-axis a51nx HMC in a 400mm pallet cell. Pallet interchangeability not only improves the overall flexibility of a 24/7 machining cell, but it also allows for dynamic scheduling and maximum process efficiency through proper balancing of both 4and 5-axis applications.

DYNAMIC SCHEDULING Production demands over the life cycle of a contract can be unpredictable, leading to quick shifts in product mix or volume. Automated 24/7 machining systems with dynamic scheduling capabilities provide the agility and flexibility to respond immediately to changing production requirements with true pull demand. With these capabilities, manufacturers can avoid more frequent setups, increased labor demands and extended lead-times, which ultimately have a negative impact on productivity, profitability and competitiveness.

The material-handling systems’ cell control software must be capable of monitoring and controlling a wide variety of parts and production requirements within the automated cell. The software should allow for more flexible management and scheduling to meet the changing demands of customers’ producwww.canadianmetalworking.com

15-07-17 1:13 PM

tion orders. An ideal cell controller should also connect and coordinate tool-data information between a company’s tooling department, operators and machinery, facilitating instantaneous transfer and storage of all tool data.

ing in machines with expansive tool magazines, manufacturers can load redundant tooling for uninterrupted, unmanned machining once wear limits on the tools have been met.

Companies with offline tool-management departments can also maintain strict requirements for tooling characteristics via RFID chips, run-out monitoring, tool balancing, Cpk (process capability index) calculations, and standardized operating and tool setup parameters.

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DATA MONITORING AND REPORTING Data monitoring and reporting are key features to a 24/7 machining cell that provides manufacturers with greater visibility into workflow efficiency and tool management. Within the cell controller, operators should be able to oversee production data, tool data, production results, alarm history and machine utilization. For instance, if a load imbalance exists within the cell based on widely varied runtimes, operators and managers can more easily and quickly identify the bottleneck and adjust production schedules to obtain the greatest efficiency. Through operator experience and automated reports, companies can also focus on nurturing a shop culture that is in continuous pursuit of efficiency improvements.

STANDARDIZED TOOLING AND FIXTURING The last stage of implementing a 24/7 machining system involves standardization of fixtures and tooling in order to eliminate interruptions to production and machine utilization.

A simple means for accomplishing standardization of tooling is to establish a set list of tools that can be applied to all programmed machine processes. If the machines within the FMS are equipped with identical tool magazines, it can help ensure that any part can be produced on any machine at any time. By investwww.canadianmetalworking.com

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A setup solution that successfully engineers standardized tombstones, clamps and fixtures can be a key component to a company’s pull-demand production requirements, ensuring that a customer can order any part at a moment’s notice with guaranteed results. Setup methods need to not only confirm the repeatability of the machining process but also provide for flexibility and interchangeability. To achieve this level of standardization, some companies custom design their tombstones, clamps and fixtures, or purchase only from pre-approved suppliers to ensure repeatability.

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AUGUST 2015 | 35

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FROM COAST TO COAST Over the past few months, Canadian Metalworking has been travelling across the country visiting small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) and job shops. With a wide range of industries served and processes offered, shops gladly opened their doors and shared their stories.

To illustrate the strength and diversity of the small and medium size manufacturing business sector in Canada, we have showcased their successes with an “Inside Look.”

To kick off our coverage, Nate Hendley’s article, “Helping SMEs Grow” explores a variety of programs and services offered to SMEs and Job Shops to help them thrive from coast to coast.

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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HELPING

SMES

GROW Government and private sector programs offer funds, advice and networking support to small manufacturers

BY NATE HENDLEY

I

n 2008, the two founders of Kinova, a fledgling robotics firm operating out of a basement lab in Montreal, reached out to the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada for assistance. The company was two years old at the time. Kinova’s founders were looking for support to build a lightweight robotic arm they designed to boost upper body mobility in disabled individuals.

Through its Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), the NRC provided the two-person firm with funds and an Industrial Technology Advisor (ITA). ITAs are NRC staffers who assist companies with networking, research, technical analysis, etc. “[NRC] have been great partners to us from the beginning…having their support was tremendous,” says Francois Boucher, vice president of business development at Kinova, which is currently based in Boisbriand, Quebec.

While Boucher isn’t sure of the exact sum Kinova received, the “average IRAP contribution” to firms “is a little below $100,000,” says Bogdan Ciobanu, the NRC vice president in charge of IRAP. With the NRC’s help, Kinova hired staff and produced its first robotic arm in 2010.

Dubbed JACO, the limb was made from www.canadianmetalworking.com

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carbon-fiber and aluminum, had a three-fingered hand and was operated by a control unit. It was easy to handle and dexterous enough to grip individual eggs without breaking the shell and open a refrigerator, remove items and pour juice in a glass.

“NRC-IRAP funding significantly contributed to accelerating the development of Kinova’s projects. Moreover, with this support, Kinova obtained the international CE certification and won its first million-dollar distribution contract for robotic arms in the Netherlands,” states NRC’s website.

Kinova is a success story for government initiatives such as IRAP that help SMEs through funding, networking and technical advice. Some of these programs are run in tandem with private organizations such as the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME). Whether public or private-sector, these programs all aim to benefit Canadian businesses, something the latest federal budget also achieves, says the CME. Three years after producing JACO, Kinova came out with MICO, a more compact version of its robotic arm, made from reinforced plastic and aluminum.

In 2015, Kinova CONTACT LIST launched two new divisions: the NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL CANADA Assistive Robotics www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca wing to focus on technology for the INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH disabled while the ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (IRAP) Service Robotics www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/irap wing focuses on 1-877-994-4727 robotic arms for work purposes in the medCONCIERGE SERVICE ical, maintenance www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/irap/concierge and logistics fields.

1-855-534-8433 JACO and MICO “are the ideal partENTERPRISE CANADA NETWORK ners to assist or www.enterprisecanadanetwork.ca replace technicians 905-672-3466 x 3248 and professionals for inspection or manipPUBLIC WORKS ulation in harsh, conwww.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca fined, hazardous or manufacturing enviOFFICE OF SMALL AND ronments,” explains MEDIUM ENTERPRISES Kinova’s website. www.buyandsell.gc.ca Sales are currently 1-800-811-1148 (option #1) split “50/50” between robotic arms for BUILD IN CANADA INNOVATION PROGRAM rehabilitation and www.buyandsell.gc.ca arms intended for 1-800-811-1148 service in medical 38 | AUGUST 2015

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facilities, labs, warehouses, etc., says Boucher.

High-profile customers on the service side include Toyota, Microsoft, NASA, Google, Hitachi and Hewlett-Packard. Clients in over two-dozen countries currently use Kinova’s arms.

IRAP, the initiative that boosted Kinova’s fortunes, “has been around for a while…the program started in 1946. It’s been around as a support to Canadian small and medium-sized businesses to grow with innovation [mostly] through the development and/or acquisition, adoption and adaptation of technology…we normally do business and interact in a year with about 10,000 companies.

About 30 per cent of those get funded…and the rest receive all kinds of other services from us, like strategic information on their market or on the specific technologies they are interested in,” says Ciobanu.

There are roughly 260 IRAP field staff across Canada. Companies that qualify for aid can receive up to $1 million a year in non-refundable grants. IRAP’s services are free and only available for private, for-profit companies. The annual budget for IRAP stands around $300 million.

IRAP’s Industrial Technology Advisors “try to understand [a company’s] business opportunity and advise the company what’s the best way to develop or adapt an existing technology…you can get into a partnership with a company in Canada or abroad…and we will find this company for you,” states Ciobanu.

The NRC also runs the Concierge Service, a new initiative designed specifically to help SMEs take advantage of government programs that support R&D into innovation.

Assistance is provided online, over the phone or in-person for free.

Companies that contact the Concierge Service through its website or telephone number are teamed up with Innovation Advisors (IAs). The latter provide guidance in finding programs and services that might help the business. Their work overlaps a bit with the responsibilities of the Industrial Technology Advisors, with a major difference. Unlike IRAP, Concierge Service does not offer funding to SMEs, just advice.

Manufacturing SMEs looking to do work with European clients can check out the Enterprise Canada Network (ECN), a website that offers free matchmaking business services. Canadian companies can post profiles, check work leads and investigate investment opportunities in Europe.

Run by the Canadian Manufacturers www.canadianmetalworking.com

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ENGINEER WHAT YOU ENVISION.

We’re driven to find out what our customers want and committed to make it happen. We concentrate on the applications and what they need to do.

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& Exporters in partnership with Export Development Canada (EDC), the Network was launched September 2014. Companies don’t have to belong to the CME to use the Network.

European opportunities on the site are sourced by the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), an organization with 600 partner groups in 54 European and non-European Union countries.

The purpose of the Enterprise Canada Network is to put Canadian companies in a good position, should the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) be ratified, explains Brad Fougere, Ottawabased national communications specialist with the CME. A potentially massive free-trade deal between Canada and the European Union, CETA hasn’t been approved by officials in Europe yet.

“All the work is being done ahead of the ratification to ensure introductions have been made between companies that could potentially partner once CETA is ratified…the key is to have agreements basically in place before CETA is ratified so that once ratification happens, those companies can start doing business with each other on day one,” says Fougere.

Most of the Enterprise Canada Network’s core services are free, he adds.

According to Fougere, 85 per cent of CME’s members are SMEs. He praises the 2015 Federal Budget for containing much that is potentially good for small and medium-manufacturers. Among other things, Ottawa promised to expand the services of the Business Development

Bank of Canada (BDC) and EDC. If all goes to plan, the BDC will develop advisory services to support SME growth plans and finance acquisitions by small and medium businesses. The EDC is supposed to facilitate easier access for firms to credit insurance and increase the approval rate for receivables insurance.

Other pro-SME provisions, says the CME, include reducing EI premium rates by 21 per cent by 2017, reduc40 | AUGUST 2015

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ing the small business tax rate by 0.5 per cent annually from 11 to nine per cent over four years, and raising the maximum loan amount under the Small Business Financing Act from $500,000 to $1 million.

The budget also introduced a new Automotive Supplier Innovation Program that would see Ottawa spend $100 million over five years to support product and technology development by auto part suppliers.

The same budget allocates $6 million for a national aerospace supplier development initiative and $2.5 million annually for a new Defence Procurement Strategy.

Manufacturing SMEs can also take advantage of programs offered by the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) run

by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).

The OSME “helps SMEs expand by providing them with information on how they can participate in the federal procurement process. We help businesses understand how the government buys goods and services,” says Jessica Kingsbury, media relations, PWGSC. To this end, the OSME offers seminars, webinars, in-person meetings with experts and a website (www.buyandsell.gc.ca).

Another PWGSC program called the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP) “helps businesses that have an innovative product/ service not yet commercialized get [their product or service] to market faster. Federal organizations act as the company’s first customer and test the innovation in a real-world setting, providing the company with valuable feedback on how they can improve their products/services,” explains Kingsbury.

Yet another Public Works program, called the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) aims to bolster innovation in the business sector as well. Similar in spirit to the BCIP, the CICP encourages federal departments to use Canadian technology and showcases innovative products and services to potential clients. The Program is beneficial to SMEs who might lack resources to bring innovative products to market. Kinova, for its part, received a $359,353 contract from CICP in September, 2012, to test out JACO arms at halfa-dozen rehabilitation centers across Canada.

Kinova itself is doing well and currently boasts 37 employees. As for the future, the company wants to emphasize the Service Robotics side of the business.

Kinova aspires to be “the leader worldwide in developing solutions for many applications for service robotics,” explains Boucher. www.canadianmetalworking.com

15-07-17 1:36 PM

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WEATHERING

THE STORM Wynn Machine and Manufacturing, Edmonton, AB

BY DOUG PICKLYK

W

hen you live and work in Alberta, fortunes rise and fall with the oil patch. Having lived in the Edmonton area his entire life, Paul Chissell, president of Wynn Machine & Manufacturing, has experienced the up and down cycles before, and he’s confident this current dip in the local economy will recover again.

Chissell is the second generation to run the custom machining operation that was started by his father Ernie in 1976. A machinist who emigrated from England in 1962, Ernie worked in Edmonton area shops before opening up his own one-man operation. He named the business after his mother-in-law, whose last name was Wynn.

“Apparently she was quite a lucky woman,” says Paul.

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After 10 years on his own, growing the business and renting out larger spaces, Ernie finally set up the shop in at the company’s current location in the Coronet Industrial area just south of downtown Edmonton, home to multiple machinery and equipment operations.

Starting with one bay in the multi-unit building, as the business grew Wynn Machine continued knocking through walls to the point where shop now occupies all eight bays on the site. To accommodate even more growth, when a building next door became available the company moved in, giving the business at total of over 30,000 sq. ft. on about 3.5 acres of land.

“Growth has been steady since the company started,” says Paul. “Here [in Alberta] we have these hills and valleys, and right now we’re in a valley, and it’s been a challenge,” he admits.

“But, you’ve got to weather the storm. We’re established, which helps.” The company has had as many as 28 employees when times were flush; their current count is 16.

The oil and gas industry has been the mainstay for Wynn over the years. “It’s been the bread and butter,” says Chissell. But the company has been diversifying more than ever, acquiring customers in the food services industry and other areas to keep the machines busy.

As a jobbing shop, Wynn makes parts to order and has aligned itself with some of the bigger oil and oilfield service companies.

“We do one-off parts to full production-level runs, just to try and grab as much of the market as we can and to be fluent in all aspects,” says Chissell.

Most of their work is for the drilling fields, which happens to be the flattest side of the oil and gas business right now. “I started here when I was quite young, so I’ve gone through a few of these cycles, and I remember job sharing and reduced hours. Some of the young people around here don’t understand, but I’ve had to explain that it’s a vicious cycle around here and when it’s good it’s good, and when it’s not good it’s terrible.”

Threaded casings are kept on hand for quick delivery.

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Wynn stocks a wide range of commonly requested connectors for the oil fields.

Growing up around the shop, Chissell graduated from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in 1987 as a machinist.

“It was a time when CNCs were just starting to come on, and I was interested in that. So I just kept on going, and I’m glad I did. It’s been a good career for me so far.”

He’s very proud of company’s durability as a family-owned business. His two sisters work at the company, and their longest-serving employee has been around almost 20 years. Taking a long view of the business, Chissell has made changes in the past few years to take advantage of the good times and be prepared for the slowdowns.

One the most recent accomplishments was achieving American Petroleum Institute (API) License Certification earlier this year, including the API Spec Q1 license and the API 5CT license.

“I decided that instead of being forced into it, let’s be proactive and get the certification, because I know that some oil companies are only going to be able to purchase from API licensed shops in the future,” says Chissell.

“If you don’t have some type of certification you can be overlooked.”

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Wynn’s custom phosphate tank applies zinc-phosphate on parts up to 10-feet long.

The latest addition to a fleet of CNC machines, this turning center has live tooling and a large machining envelope.

According to Chissell, getting over the API hurdle also sets the company up to take on other opportunities in the future, like potentially taking on some licensed threading projects.

In addition, last year the company installed a custom-built stainless steel phosphating tank. The application of a zinc phosphate coating provides a corrosion resistance for the threaded casings, couplings and connectors it sends out to the field. It’s a process the shop used to farm out, but bringing it in-house provides an extra level of control over quality and timing. Wynn has built a strong reputation on its ability to turn around projects for its demanding oil field clients on a dime.

In order to handle its varied workload the company maintains a diverse line-up of machine tools on the shop floor. Collected over the years, there are many different brands and styles in the shop with a primary focus on turning and threading. Of 15 CNC machines, only two are mills.

“My plan was to buy one or two machines every year and keep replacing the fleet—

Wynn’s robotic cell feeds two turning centers, automating production runs.

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keeping everything current,” says Chissell, explaining, “A machine’s like a car, if it’s old and parts are hard to find it starts costing you more money. But the CNC machines being built now are much more reliable than they used to be.”

The most recent addition, installed in 2014, is a Mazak turning center with live tooling.

A more impressive move was made two years ago with the installation of a robotic cell in the new building. The automated system feeds two turning centers to allow constant machining of pipe joints getting threaded on both ends. With additional floor space still available in the new building, there is a possibility of adding another cell in the future as demand picks up.

Adding robotics is a testament to the company’s focus on always looking ahead.

“You can’t be stagnant in this industry,” says Chissell, who adds that while some questioned the expense of adding robotics to a shop like theirs, he looks at the purchase as a long-term investment.

“I like growing, but slow and steady wins the race,” he says. “I’ve seen so many shops go from 20 people up to 80, and then all of a sudden the bank comes in. Maybe it’s been bread into me from my father, but we don’t overextend. Grow a little at a time, and the reward is at the end of the road.”

Aside from a commitment to manufacturing quality products, Wynn also takes pride in keeping its customers happy. “Keep it fair, be competitive and make a good quality product and customers will return, and they have,” says Chissell.

“We’ve come a long way since my father started the business, and I’m optimistic for the future,” he says. “We’ll get rid of this down cycle and start climbing another peak.”

His father Ernie, who is retired but still comes into the office on a regular basis, agrees, noting, “The business is in good hands.” www.canadianmetalworking.com

15-07-17 1:41 PM

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FOCUSED ON

EFFICIENCY

Highline Manufacturing, Vonda, SK

BY DOUG PICKLYK

T

he modest, almost humble, appearance of Highline Manufacturing’s facility along the side of highway 27, across from the turnoff to the small town of Vonda, fails to paint the picture of the full-blown industrial assembly line complete with modern sophistication that exists within its walls.

Vonda, population 300+, is located about 30 minutes northeast of Saskatoon, and it was on a farm not far from here where the origins of Highline took shape. The product that laid the foundation for the business was a rock picker device that was developed on the Bussiere family farm in the early 1960s and proved to be popular in the area.

The original name of the company was Rock-O-Matic Industries. By the mid-60s a plant on their family farm was producing 100 units a year, so in 1970, with product line expansion in mind, the manufacturing moved into its current site in Vonda.

It was 18 years after moving to Vonda that the company name changed to Highline Manufacturing, and in 1993 its Bale-Master product was developed and became a hit.

Before long the manufacturing plant grew to 70,000 square feet on 160 acres of land.

In 2006 Raymond Bussiere, owner of Highline, eventually sold the business to another local agricultural machinery manufacturer, Bourgault Industries Ltd. of St. Brieux.

Another family-owned business that started on a local farm, Bourgault is Saskatchewan’s largest agricultural equipment manufacturer, known internationally for its seeders and other large, high-tech, farming equipment.

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Although now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bourgault, Highline Manufacturing maintains its own head office in Vonda and continues to develop its core products including rock pickers, bale movers, bale processors and an innovative mower design. All of the Highline products are non-motorized, towed agricultural implements.

The company has had success with its products across North America and worldwide. A major setback to manufacturing was experienced July of 2007 when a fire occurred at the plant. “About a quarter of the building was burnt and gone,” says Blake Neudorf, research and development team leader with Highline, adding, “The ownership was committed to the company and the plant was repaired and rebuilt.” The repair was followed by a 12,000 sq. ft. expansion in 2008.

The new section of the plant includes the plant’s fabricating area where the raw metals are received into the facility and cut to size and shape. Among the machine tools on in the fabricating area is a TRUMPF 5Kw laser cutter fed with a TRUMPF LiftMaster, which was installed after the company’s expansion. Laser cutting was previously being outsourced, so by bringing the process in-house Highline is better able to control its processes. A lot of the work done in the fabricating area is preparing parts for welding.

Just beyond the fabricating area the company has installed a Hofmann balancer for precision balancing its rotors.

Neudorf, who has been with the company since 2007, is a mechanical engineer from the University of Saskatchewan who grew up in southern part of the province. He was personally involved in the addition of the balancer to the plant and is proud of what it can do. He was also part of the team involved with introducing the company’s robotic welding cell.

Installed two years ago, the system uses an ABB robot and MIG welding. “It’s great,” says

TRUMPF LiftMaster that accompanies a TRUMPF laser cutter.

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Neudorf, “It’s fast and efficient, and the guys aren’t having to do this repetitive work.”

Before installing the cell there would be up to three welders working in this area, now there is one person loading and setting up a vertically-integrated fixture while the robot is working on the opposite side.

“It is quite an investment in time, but once it’s set up and going it really makes a difference,” he says. “It just runs.”

The day of our visit, welding teams on the assembly line were putting together structural pieces that made up the solid bed for one of Highline’s bale mover products. “This is typical what we do,” notes Neudorf. “We bring in prepared tubing from fab and hand-weld structures and then take them through paint.”

Each structure starts with a jig fixture that is marked to easily identify where the weldments are required. The company has been doing more to simplify processes throughout the facility. “We’ve started to do a lot of job method documentation,” says Neudorf, explaining, “Drawings are great for showing the welders what it is they’re supposed to build, but how do you build it? So now with each weldment we also provide a job method

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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An ABB robotic welding cell.

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Hand-welding structures for Highline’s products.

that gives the welders instructions on how to do it.”

As he explains, it’s like step-by-step instructions that are very helpful especially when new models or products are introduced to the assembly line. On the shop floor there is a range of ages and experience among the welders. Throughout the plant there is a focus on training. The facility has in excess of 100 employees, including the shop floor, administration and the engineering team. It runs two shifts in the plant.

The company’s culture has an ingrained dedication to training, safety and a culture of continuous improvement. The production flow through the shop is organized and logical with parts constantly moving forward towards assembly. The company is constantly incorporating Lean principles at every stage to cut out any wasted steps or processes.

All team leaders meet regularly to dis-

Parts coming off the paint line, ready for assembly.

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cuss quality issues, safety issues, and talk through current projects, with representation from every facet of production including the warehouse, fabrication, welding, paint line and assembly.

As they are always seeking efficiencies, in a room that leads to the shop floor there is a meeting area with a tabletop scale model of the entire assembly line, complete with 3D-printed models representing every structure. Every piece is movable. The physical model gives team members the ability to visualize different scenarios and allows them to suggest and demonstrate more effective ways to operate.

On the shop floor the parts are produced in sequence based on the order the assembly department requires them. The floor runs two production lines that meet at the paint line. Before paint, there is an automated in-line blast booth that shoots very fine metal pellets at the parts to clean them up. Installed around 2009, according to Neudorf the automated booth has really sped up that process.

There are three paint lines, and although the painting itself is manual, they have control systems in place to optimize paint flow and reduce material handling by the operators.

The racks come through the paint line in a predetermined way, again based on the order the parts are required. Depending on the product being assembled, there may be about a 1,200 total parts, with about 300 that need to be assembled. When a new product starts on the line that production run may last for up to four months.

Highline is dedicated to product development, and according to Neudorf there are always more projects underway by the company’s research and development group.

Looking forward, the company will continue to explore automating its manufacturing where it can, and will continue on its lean journey to keep the assembly line running.

And continue shipping world-class products from the small town of Vonda. www.canadianmetalworking.com

15-07-20 12:25 PM

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SUPPORTING THE MINING INDUSTRY

Sussex Machine Shop, Sussex, NB

BY LINDSAY LUMINOSO

S

traddled between New Brunswick’s two major cities, Moncton and Saint John, the area surrounding the town of Sussex has among the largest deposits of potash in the world. In 1978, Don Nancekivell was

lured away from his hometown of Ingersoll, Ontario to set up shop in Sussex. Although the town is small, Nancekivell recognized a great opportunity ripe for the taking.

“The guy I opened this shop with, we worked at a factory together in Ingersoll,” recalls Nancekivell, the president and general manager for Sussex Machine Shop. “He came here [Sussex] in 1964 and he was very successful, and he always wanted me to come down. I owned a farm with one of my brothers, and I held a job at the time. My original training was in tool and die. When our property was taken over to be used as a new landfill site, that’s when I decided to make a change and come over here. And the two of us started up the business.”

Nancekivell, now in his 70s, explains that the first two years were extremely tough, and eventually his partner no longer wanted to be part of the business. At the time, the potash mines were just being set up and acquiring new customers proved difficult.

However, “after the first two years, I settled in and it turned out to be the best move I ever made,” he says. At the time, there was really only one other shop in the area. And even today, Sussex Machine Shop is one of the most longstanding and largest shops.

Today, the company is located on the same lot that it was back in 1978, but the shop itself has undergone significant expansion to accommodate the growing opportunities. The initial building was 3,000 square feet and can still be seen today in the expanded structure, which has grown to more than 25,000 square feet with a 4.5 acre outdoor laydown area. But one thing has remained the same; Sussex Machine Shop is still servicing the mining industry, specifically the Potash Corp (PCS) mine at Penobsquis, which is their largest customer.

‘We service the local potash mine and we’ve done some extensive work for them,” explains Nancekivell. “We also work with the forestry and agricultural industry. We do from very

Above: Don Nancekivell, the owner of Sussex Machine Shop, stands in front of the shop he founded in 1978.

Left: The company offers a wide range of machining capabilities in its machine shop.

Right: A view of the original building from 1978, which is now used to hold materials and equipment.

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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small jobs to some fairly large jobs.”

Sussex Machine Shop offers a wide range of services to its various customers, which has allowed the company to remain successful over the years. The machining side of the business focuses on accurate custom machining of small to large parts with extreme intricacies. The shop floor consists primarily of manual lathes, but the company has also acquired some CNC machines.

When it comes to fabrication, the company has a 70-ton hydraulic press, a 175-ton press brake, plate roller, plasma cutting table, shear, and saws, among many other machines. The facility has expanded to be able to handle large projects. Welding is another area the company has focused on.

Nancekivell stressed that the shop is CWB (Canadian Welding Bureau) certified. The company does a lot of custom steel fabrication, particularly for the mine including pipe work, bins, hoppers, conveyor systems, cat walks, stairs, and pretty much anything you can think of, they’ve done it.

“We do lots of steel projects but we also do stainless and aluminum,” he explains. “We keep a fairly large inventory of steels with a

wide range of shapes like channels, angles, plate, and pipe. For the machine shop we have lots of shafting material.”

At the moment, the company has just under 20 employees. Over the years, and with special projects, Sussex Machine Shop has employed up to 45 workers. Nancekivell said the 90s was one of his strongest times as the company was working on a major project with the Department of Defence. It was one of his most unique projects and very unusual for the region.

Sussex Machine Shop recently invested in a state-of-the-art paint facility, boasting top safety features. They also added a grit blast facility.

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Left: Pieces of metal that has recently been grit blasted in the company’s new facility.

Right: the company boasts a wide range of fabricating processes, including a CNC cutting table.

Fabricating is a large part of Sussex Machine Shop’s business. The company can handle large part fabrication and welding projects.

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“We were converting trucks into refuelers and water tankers. They went all across Canada, but some of them went to the U.N. It was a big project,” he added.

Sussex Machine Shop has always had familiarity with projects like these. In the early days, one of the projects they worked on was trailer conversion for the forestry industry. “That was before they built any specialty vehicles, so you basically had to convert a trailer to whatever you wanted. We did a lot of that, today you can order and get it built how you want,” says Nancekivell.

Today, Sussex Machine Shop is still doing work for the mines. One of the big projects on the shop floor is retrofitting underground transportation vehicles. “In the last couple of years, for underground transportation, they are using RTVs. In order to meet safety regulations for underground, they had to make a lot of conversions for them,” explains Nancekivell. “They didn’t have doors or roofs, for example, so we make those.”

In order to do all these unique projects and accommodate a wide range of industries, the company has undergone significant

expansion over the years. The most recent expansion is the addition of new 1,500 square foot grit blast and painting facilities.

The grit blast facility was primarily put in place to meet specifications for the mining industry. The materials going into the mine need to have a certain profile to them in order to hold paint. A new 1,200 square foot state-of-the-art paint shop was also added.

The company made the decision to expand and modernize to meet environmental and safety regulations.

That’s a necessary operation for anything that goes up the mine, it has to be blasted, coated in primer, and a top coat of paint on it,” says Nancekivell, explaining why they upgraded with two new state-of-the-art booths.

With incredible growth and a longstanding commitment to the local economy, Nancekivell is looking to branch out into the larger New Brunswick area as well as across Canada.

“People keep referring to us as a job shop, but we really are more than that. We do custom work, there is some repeat work, but every customer that walks in the door has got something different,” explains Nancekivell. Every day is a new experience and never boring.

Nancekivell has dedicated his career to servicing a wide range of industries and customers in Sussex, New Brunswick.

“You know if you come by on a regular day, you’ll find Don in front of a piece of equipment,” explains an employee. Nancekivell smiles at the thought, making it clear that that’s exactly where he wants to be. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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H.M. Métal, Sainte-Sophie-de-Lévrard, QC

BY NESTOR GULA

T

here are many people who live in the city and in moments of desperation or frustration ponder a move to the country for a simpler life. Few ever act on this impulse.

Michel Neault, the president of H.M. Métal in Sainte-Sophie-de-Lévrard in Québec is someone who did. “I didn’t like the big cities—Toronto or Montreal,” he says. “I was always looking to come back to the country.”

After finishing metallurgy in college in Trois-Rivières and specializing in welding, Neault noticed a job posting tacked onto a bulletin board at the college. “They were looking for a guy from Quebec to work for Lincoln Electric,” he says. “I applied and got the job. There was training and I stayed there for a year…It was supposed to be for six months, but I stayed a year in Toronto.

In 1977 I came to Montreal. I left Lincoln in 1980, I bought the farm, and I worked on the

farm until about 1988.”

The farm was his father’s, and he spent a few years farming. “I told my wife that we are going back to Sainte-Sophie and we’ll see what happens,” he says.

The family moved to the farm, but farming was not the only thing on Michel’s mind.

“Metalworking started as a side project. In the back of my mind, I always wanted to have a welding shop,” he says. “We started the company very slowly. My wife and I, we had one employee who worked on the farm and with the company.”

The company’s name, H.M. Métal incorporates both his and his wife’s, Hélène, names in the title. She is still listed as the vice president.

The company was incorporated in 1990.

“We worked on both the company and the farm,” says Neault. Then in 1994, they sold almost everything, keeping the land on which the company’s 30,000 square foot facility is located, and they started to work full time on the welding business.

On first glance this area is very agricultural—the land is rather flat and is occupied by farms and forests. “Twenty minutes from here there is a big industrial park,” explains Gabriel Neault, Michel’s son who is in charge of business development for the company.

“There is an aluminum plant there, Alcoa, and a lot of other big industries. There is a port. There used to be a nuclear plant as well. It was closed a few years ago.”

The Bécancour Industrial Park is a hub of activity with not just aluminum processing The 30,000 square foot shop is well organized and is designed for custom work.

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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but magnesium and other refractory metals processed there as well as petroleum products, and there are many machine shops and other factories as well.

“It does not seem very industrial, but there is a lot of industry around here,” he says.

Besides the favourable industrial opportunities, locating his business where it is made financial sense. “It was a cheap way to start a business here,” says Michael. “We were looking to buy something in the industrial park but it was too expensive.”

Many of the clients H.M. Métal services are based in the industrial park. “Engineering firms, big companies like Alcoa,” supply the main body of work according to Michel.

“We used to do a lot of work for the mining industry three years ago, but it has been rather slow as of late.” Being located in an agricultural area it would be presumptive to suppose that a lot of work is done to serve this industry.

“When we began there were still a lot of farmers around and we took care of them as well. We still do that but that is now about one per cent of our business.” The work is not localized. Both Michel and Gabriel extol

the fact that they have done work for plants in British Columbia, Alberta and the United States. “If we only stay in the local area we will not be in business,” said Michel. “We have to go find customers. We are a custom manufacturing shop. It might be small machine parts that we fabricate for a specific company or it will be large equipment for the mining industry.”

Upon starting his company, Michel used the contacts he made working for Lincoln Electric to get work. “When I quit Lincoln, I had a lot of contacts. I was the tech representative on the road, and I always had great contacts,” he says. “So when my wife and I decided to start the business, I went to the industrial park here and met people. That’s how it started. The first job I got, I sold it, I made the job, I delivered that job and after that I did not have any other jobs, so I had to go back and do sales.”

The company has built its reputation on quality work and good service, something both Michel and Gabriel says is important to maintain. A large help with landing new business is that they are ISO 9001 registered and have recently been certified by the

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Gabriel and Michel with their first welder as a worker puts the finishing touches to a custom assembly.

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ASME for pressure vessels.

“These certifications open the doors for us to new clients,” says Gabriel. “Once you have the certification—it tells the clients that you can fabricate to their requirements and specification.”

Getting new clients is a slow process, but they are bullish with their certification and their 25 years of business experience and stellar reputation.

“We participated in a petroleum show in Alberta, and we went to a meeting with potential customers in Houston,” says Gabriel. “There is a lot of competition. With the low dollar it is better for us.”

“When it was [on par] there was no chance to work for the U.S., but now it is very good.

I hope it stays this way,” echoes his dad. “If you are taking a vacation it is not that good, but for business it is good. The American customers are saving 20 per cent. Shipping is not a problem. If you have a three-month project—then the two to three days of shipping is not a problem.”

Since the shop is a custom shop, the company prefers to use manual equipment.

Michel points out one welding machine that was the first purchased when he started the company. Other welding power sources are

brand new and feature the latest technologies. “We buy one or two welding machines a year as we need them,” says Michel.

However, H.M. Métal does have some CNCs to expand their portfolio. “We have a CNC lathe and a machining centre. We don’t make 10,000 pieces of this or 5,000 pieces of that— it is all custom, so we don’t need to be super on the technological front.” He notes that implementing a robotic or automated system would not make sense when nearly every piece they churn out is different.

The one thing Michel prides himself on is the fact that they do almost everything in-house, very rarely subcontracting out processes. However, the only thing that H.M. Métal occasionally sends out is laser cutting to a company half-an-hour from their location. “We do have a CNC plasma cutter here,” explains Michel. “Older machines work well for us. You need the right people. Minutes are not that important because we don’t do [large] volume work. It is more about the quality of our workers that will make us a better shop than the technology itself.”

Finding the right people is a bit of a tricky issue in a sparsely populated agricultural area. There are about 50 people employed at H.M. Métal right now, and most workers live within about a half-an-hour’s drive. There are no traffic issues here, it is just distance.

To find new employees, the company works with local schools. “If some teachers think they have good students they will recommend them to us,” said Michel. “If you get somebody good you keep them with good work conditions and a good salary.”

Even though they have a fairly young workforce—mostly under 35 years old— many of their workers have been with the company many years. “The oldest worker here is around 42 but has been working here since he was 17 or 18,” said Gabriel. “Another worker has been here for 22 years.”

The strength of H.M. Métal also lies in the fact that is a purely family run business. All three of Helen’s and Michel’s sons work for the family firm. Gabriel is 28 and studied business administration and works here as a business development officer. Philippe is 32 and is a welding engineer and Jean Frederique is 34 and a mechanical technician by training and does drafting for the company. Gabriel sees the future as very bright. “We see that the economy is going to be better. My brothers all work here—we all have different tasks, different backgrounds and we work well together.” www.canadianmetalworking.com

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COMMITTED TO QUALITY Mahler Industries, Coquitlam, BC

BY DOUG PICKLYK

I

Standing in front of a Mazak Integrex i-300 five-axis lathe with live tooling, Phil Archer, sales manager (left), and Pedro Fernandes, president, Mahler Industries.

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n a modern-looking industrial unit with plenty of windows facing the street, Mahler Industries is a CNC machine shop with an equally modern approach to business with a focus on efficiency and a commitment to quality and service that keeps the Coquitlam, B.C. company on a steady growth path.

The history of the business dates back to 1983 when it was started by the Mahlers.

Originally called Bold Brass Designs, it specialized in ornamental brass work. Gradually

the company evolved into a more diversified machine shop, changing its name to BBD Machining.

In 1997 the business moved to its current 20,000 sq. ft. site in Coquitlam changing its name to Mahler Industries in the transition.

It was two years prior to that move that Pedro Fernandes joined the business. A Burnaby native, after working in a machine shop during high school, Fernandes went to the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), and at the age of 20 started working as a machinist in Mahler’s manual department.

At that time there were about 10 employees and six CNC machines tools on the shop floor.

After almost 14 years with the company, in February 2009 Fernandes and his wife Carlynn together acquired the business. “I never really had any intention of starting my own business, but the opportunity came up to buy this business, and I talked my wife into it,” says Fernandes, now 41.

Early 2009 was a challenging time for every industry following the 2008 U.S. banking collapse and the economic recession that followed. “The company had experienced steady growth from when I started [in 1995] through to 2008,” recalls Fernandes. But he had confidence the business was strong enough to carry on, and by late 2010 and 2011 business started picking up again and it’s continued for the last three years.

Today Mahler employs some 25 people and prides itself on its reputation for providing solutions for customers with an emphasis on service and high quality production. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Like other shops in the area its client base is diverse, servicing various industries including aerospace, marine, medical, forestry, mining, pulp and paper, among others.

“We try to cover most sectors. I think you have to here in B.C.,” notes Phil Archer, sales manager with Mahler.

Archer notes that forestry used to be a main industry, and it’s starting to pick up more steam. About 80 per cent of their client base is local with the other 20 per cent outside of B.C. and international.

“There was a period of a couple decades where the larger volume work going was all going offshore, and that’s starting to come back,” says Archer.

“Customers don’t always want to buy 10 times what they need,” adds Fernandes. “They’re willing to pay a little bit more in order to buy only what they need and not having to wait six months for it.”

There are not too many machine shops of Mahler’s size in the immediate area, but the market is as competitive as anywhere else. “You have to be better than your competition to be able to excel at what you do,” says Archer, and when it come to quality and delivery Mahler maintains a solid reputation. “We can do both the production runs and we can do prototyping— that’s our strength,” says Fernandes.

Quality control is a foundation of the business, employing two fulltime quality personnel in its dedicated quality control room outfitted with a Mitutoyo CMM among other quality instrumentation. Mahler also offers a rapid prototyping service to clients using a 3D printer.

The company is also ISO 9001 certified to ensure overall operational quality assurance, and it also has controlled goods certification to deal with military/defence business.

When Fernandes bought the company in 2009 there were 13 CNC machine tools on the shop floor.

They now they have 17 (14 Mazaks and three Haas). “When I see our customers have a need, we buy new machines to stay ahead of the game,” he says. They’ve added five new machines for extra capacity.

Among the new machines is a multi-tasking Mazak Integrex i-300 five-axis with live tooling, allowing www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Mahler’s shop floor tool inventory management system cuts down paperwork, saving time and money.

for multiple operations with one set up, a Haas VF 9 vertical machining center increasing the size of parts they can work on, two additional Mazak turning centers (both with live tooling) and a Haas DT-1 drill/tap center.

Aside from machine tool efficiency, the company also effectively manages its cutting tool consumption with an inventory management solution, using the Cribmaster ProStock vending machine system on the shop floor.

Installed a few years ago, it’s managed by Integrated Solutions, a division of Western Canadian distributor Thomas Skinner and Son. Fernandes notes how the system provides savings in administration time and cost. “It’s cut down on the paper work, and we don’t have to order multiple inserts at once,” he says. “If the guys need one tool, they just take one. It saves us money. You

don’t have to write up a P.O. for a box of inserts when you only need one or two.”

On the shop floor Mahler employs mostly journeymen who can program, set up and run the jobs, providing the ability to control the quality of work from start to finish. The entire shop floor is temperature controlled, which speaks to the company’s quality commitment, but it also provides a comfortable work atmosphere for the employees. Of the 25 staff, about one-third have been with the company for 10 or more years.

Mahler is currently running day and afternoon shifts, with the ability to ramp up to 24 hours if required. Fernandes himself can be found on the shop floor every day from 7:30 am to 6 pm. “I love my job,” he says. “I loved being a machinist when that’s all I did, and I still like being a machinist. I like making things and being challenged everyday. I’ve always liked that.”

And he’s comfortable with the size of the facility today. “We don’t need to move to a larger facility to be able to increase our capacity. With the work we currently have we have the right amount of staff, and if work increases we have the ability to ramp up and hire new staff and potentially bring back a night shift,” he says.

The focus for Mahler is to continue to grow and improve the operations going forward.

“You have to keep investing in the business,” he says. “I have a long time to go before I retire, so I want to keep building something.”

With a focus on quality, Mahler has used a Mitutoyo CMM for over a decade.

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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GROWING UP ON THE

PRAIRIES Walinga Machining Division, Carman, MB

BY DOUG PICKLYK

T

he farm town of Carman, Manitoba, located about an hour southwest of Winnipeg, is home to the machining division of Walinga, an Ontario-based company that specializes in sophisticated hauling trucks and trailers and air-driven grain moving equipment. The machine shop is dedicated to manufacturing blower systems, airlocks, shafts, and many other parts for Walinga products, but with its well-equipped shop floor and unique capabilities—along with its highly-tuned workforce—the division is also growing its contract machining business for other local industries.

Last year the Walinga brand Walinga uses a Faro Arm on the shop floor as its portable CMM.

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celebrated its 60th anniversary. Founded in 1954, the family-owned business now spans three generations and continues to build upon its strong family values.

Headquartered in Guelph, Ontario, the company began by designing and building specialized transportation equipment, and that product category continues to be a driving force for the business. Its earliest products included handcrafted wooden truck bodies for local companies in Fergus, Ontario (a small community 20 km from Guelph).

The business was initially formed as a partnership between Case (Cornelius) Walinga and his son-in-law John Medemblik. The two were later joined by another Walinga son-in-law, Robert (Bob) Lodder. In 1965 the company moved to its current Guelph location, and in 1969 Case Walinga retired, with Medemblik and Lodder taking over as co-owners.

Today the entire Walinga organization employs over 280 people with five locations and three divisions (Engineered Transportation Systems, Pneumatic Conveying Systems and its Machining Division).

The company’s commitment to delivering the highest quality products possible led to the development of the machining division, which allows Walinga to design, refine and maintain the quality control of its manufactured components.

The machining operation was originally launched in 1981, and development of the division really took off in 1996 when Cor Lodder, son of Bob, moved his family to Carman to manage and expand the operation.

Lodder, who was mentored by both his father and uncle, grew up in the business. He started full-time in 1977 working in the Guelph shop.

As he recalls, he was welding on a feed tanker at the shop when he was approached by his father and uncle: “I flipped my helmet up and there they were, and they said to me, ‘Do you want to go back to college and become a machinist? We want to start a machine shop, and we think you’re the one for it.’”

He jumped at the opportunity, and in the fall of 1981 started up the machine shop and going to school—receiving his journeyman machinist ticket from Conestoga College in 1984.

Lodder arrived in Carman with six employees to join what was at the time a sales and service division the company has established five years earlier. The move was partly motivated because they were getting their castings from Manitoba, so it made sense to move closer, and it also gave the company an opportunity to further expand in the West. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Today, almost 20 years later, the machining division employs 46 full time employees and about eight parttime, and the operation occupies two buildings with a large yard for storage.

Services at the machine shop extend from engineering and proof of concept support, through to prototyping, design for manufacturing, reverse engineering, dimensional analysis, and product and tool inspections on top of machining, coating, painting and assembly.

Its core role involves designing and manufacturing the airlocks and blower mechanisms that make up the heart of the Walinga’s pneumatic systems. According to Nick Barendregt, production leader at the machining division, the shop makes up to eight different styles and sizes of blowers and airlocks.

These assemblies typically begin with a raw casting, and the cast iron parts are machined, holes are bored, faces milled, and more. Some components are also treated with a hardening finish for increased durability on high wearing surfaces, and parts are painted where necessary.

Walinga has been using a chroming process to harden its parts, a process that it’s currently transitioning away from to a new, more environmentally-sensitive, proprietary hard coating line. “The new system is being built now with a launch date of later this year if all goes to plan,” notes Lodder, who continues to oversee the machining operations.

Aside from the blowers and airlocks, the division also designs and manufactures swivel couplings that are used to improve the user-friendliness of grain vacuuming operations.

The machine shop floor in Carman

An assembled blower.

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The Walinga CVP-9502 CNC Planer was designed and built in-house.

The company’s cylindrical grinder allows Walinga to do precision work in house.

includes a selection of CNC mills and CNC turning machines along with some exclusive Walinga-made technology.

Among the machines is a large Toyoda CNC horizontal machining center that can handle large castings up to one meter cubed, along with both Mori Seiki and Mazak multi-tasking mill-turn centers that allow for multiple operations in one set up that have both added to the operation’s overall efficiency.

The shop also houses a couple of unique machines, including the Walinga CVP-9502 CNC Planer, a machine tool that was designed and built in-house by one of its employees.

The planer machines a precision profile on Walinga’s blower impellers. The company also operates a custom-built dynamic balancer for precise balancing of its impellers.

The most recent machine tool installed was a Haas VF6 vertical machining center last December. “It includes a Haas rotary table which gives us increased capability in how we machine our parts and endless creativity in fixture design for maximum efficiency and multi-side machining processes,” says Lodder.

In 2013 the company installed a Studer S33 cylindrical grinding machine. “That machine has allowed us to bring our precision impeller shaft work in house by providing the accuracy and consistency required on long and small diameter parts,” notes Lodder.

A stack of impellers ready for assembly.

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paperless. The company’s manufacturing resource planning (MRP) system was designed in-house by Walinga’s IT team.

Every workstation has access to a touch screen that calls up an operator’s job, the drawings, the process sheets, and allows the operator to input data such as fixturing and tooling information as well as sharing ideas for improvement. “That’s been a real leading-edge development for us,” notes Lodder.

The operations on the shop floor range from roughing out cast pieces to grinding shafts to the tightest of tolerance. To measure and maintain the dimensional specifications and quality assurance for its components the division operates a FARO Arm portable coordinate measuring machine (CMM). The tolerances for bores and shafts are under one thou with no room for variation, and according to Barendregt, they have the processes down pat.

While its core business is delivering precision quality components for its Walinga product lines, its manufacturing expertise is also being leveraged to other manufacturers including those in the agri-business as well as oil and gas, mining, aviation, forestry, transportation and food services. When called upon the shop will also do some custom work for local farmers, notes Barendregt.

Increasing contract work balances the shop’s workload over the course of the year.

When asked what he’s most pleased with after almost 20 years growing the machining division of Walinga in Carman, Lodder points to the dynamic growth of the division and the dedicated team that helped to build it. And he sees a strong future ahead.

“We have lots of room to grow within our own product lines as well as going after other niche areas such as machining larger pump and valve housings and providing assembly services, etc.,” says Lodder. “Our buildings are full, yet we have land available to expand.” www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Owners Tyler Krawaitis and Jason Fleming outside their custom machining and fabricating shop in Kingston, Ontario.

BGM Metalworks, Kingston, ON

BY LINDSAY LUMINOSO

S

erving the Eastern Ontario region for over 20 years, BGM Metalworks offers experience and expertise to its customers and is primed for the future.

The company began in 1993 in Kingston, Ontario, and quickly established itself as a custom machining and fabricating shop

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focused on servicing local industries.

In 2012, BGM employees Jason Fleming and Tyler Krawaitis along with two others bought the company, and earlier this year Fleming and Krawaitis took full ownership of the business.

Fleming began as an apprentice at BGM and eventually worked his way up the ranks.

Krawaitis worked on and off at the shop since 2004, as well as travelling Ontario gaining valuable experience in the nuclear and petro chemical piping industries.

However, when Krawaitis came back full time, “it all came together,” he says.

“Tyler and I both got along well and wanted more. The original owners saw that, and they helped push us forward,” says Fleming.

Today, along with being co-owners, Fleming is the general manager, while Krawaitis is the fabrication manager.

One of the biggest challenges they face is limited space. The company currently occupies two separate facilities located just blocks from one another. And although they have over 18,000 square feet of space, and use every inch of the facilities as best they can, they hope to expand.

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BGM Metalworks specializes in custom fabrication, precision machining, machine building, welding, construction, and on-site services. The company’s diverse portfolio of services gives it an edge and has allowed it to grow. Although some separation is required between the machining and fabrication, having two separate sites does present challenges.

“One obstacle we are trying to overcome is making sure our customers understand the full range of services we offer. We do have some customers that only deal with us for

machining, and others for welding and fabrication,” says Krawaitis, who explains that because of the two locations, some customers didn’t even know they offered other services.

“We have one customer right now that we’ve worked with for years,” adds Fleming. “They have just realized our machine shop capabilities. We’ve doubled our work with them just in the last little while.”

The biggest asset for BGM is their diversity.

Griffin believes that it is their experience and knowledge that allows the company to continually grow.

At BGM, they are focused on bringing value to their partnerships. The machine shop and fab shops have their own projects, but a lot of things go hand-in-hand. We may have to weld something, machine it and then bring it back for assembly,” explains Krawaitis, who says their machine building is a good example of this challenge.

Despite this obstacle, which the business partners hope to rectify soon with their expansion plans, they are still able to provide a broad range of services. Roughly 60 per cent of their business is fabrication and welding, 30 per cent machining and 10 per cent is construction.

The machine shop is run by veteran machinist Todd Smith. There is a mix of both manual and CNC machines due to the custom nature of the work. Smith stresses how much he likes working with their Haas CNC machines. BGM Metalworks has a large jig mill, conventional turning machines, CNC lathes, CNC mills as well as fifth-axis capability, and high speed machining.

Overall, there are 45 people employed at BGM Metalworks in a variety of different positions.

While 10 workers are busy at the machine shop, a few blocks away there are approximately 20 workers at the fabricating and welding shop, which is managed by Krawaitis.

“It’s quite different from the machine shop.

We are pretty diversified,” he explains.

“From one day to the next I’ll strip everything out of here and build 40-foot tanks to small frames. A little bit of everything.”

At the fab shop, they have an Amada CNC punch press for their sheet metal work. They also get into pipe welding as well. Krawaitis explains that they can do anything from fabricating custom pieces to large build-to-print jobs that can take months to complete.

The machine shop features a number of CNC machines, including this Haas VM-6, as well as many manual machines.

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The work they do is highly customized and BGM maintains the highest quality, which is why Griffin believes that they have the customers they do, some of them for over 20 years.

“People stay with us,” he says. “We have a motto, ‘Proven Integrity’ I think that says it all. And we try to stay up-to-date on what people in this business need.” The company recently invested in SolidWorks 2015 in order to enhance its portfolio of services and meet the growing needs of its customers.

Aside from the wide range of machining and fabricating services, the company also offers mobile services, where workers can be sent out to job sites throughout Eastern Ontario, to repair and fix anything.

It’s not just the local area the company services. It often ships out west to Alberta, as well as the U.S. and into Europe.

“We will place trades people into plants for vacation coverages, shortterm, or a multiple-year contract,” says Fleming. “They go to work at another facility and we touch base with them regularly.”

These services make BGM unique and have helped keep its workers working.

Both owners believe their workforce is an important component of their business, speaking highly of their apprenticeship program, a program that got Fleming his start at the company.

“I think we have one of the youngest crews in town,” says Fleming.

“We have a really strong apprenticeship program. We bring guys right up. We have kids that came here for high school co-op placement and they are here 10 years later. That’s 70 | AUGUST 2015

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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BGM Metalworks offers a wide range of fabricating and welding services at its dedicated facility.

what we like to see. That’s how I started.”

Krawaitis explains that it’s all about respect. “Maybe it’s because it wasn’t too long ago that we were on the shop floor. I enjoy training the guys and watching them learn and seeing where they go.

“One of their strengths is in the fact that they are able to go out on the shop floor and show the workers how to do a job properly and work side-by-side with them.

“These guys started working here and now they own it, and run it,” explains Griffin.

Both Fleming and Krawaitis are actively involved in every aspect of the business and are working together to carve out a niche for themselves.

The next step for BGM is planning out their expansion and moving to a new facility. “Floor space and cranes will go a long way for the expansion.

We have a lot of equipment now, but spreading out with more overhead cranes will help,” says Krawaitis.

“We are definitely investing for the future.”

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PHOTO: BGM METALWORKS

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Kensington Metal Products, Kensington, PEI

BY LINDSAY LUMINOSO

K

ensington Metal Products prides itself on being the “only manufacturer of snowblowers in Atlantic Canada.” However, this Prince Edward Island shop offers much more than snowblowers, serving as a multi-purpose metalworking shop that’s committed to all facets of its local community, from the largest industries to the business down the road.

“We are on the island. We don’t go off the island. So all of our business is local,” explains Kent MacLeod, general manager for Kensington Metal Products (KMP), centrally located in the town of Kensington, 15 minutes drive from Summerside and 40 minutes from Charlottetown.

When people think of PEI, they think potatoes. For KMP, when it comes to potatoes, they think of Cavendish Farms, a member of the Irving Group of Companies and the fourth largest producer of frozen potato products in North America.

KMP partly owes its origins to the prolific potato producer. In 2000, MacLeod began working for Precision Mechanical, a company focused on installing and upgrading mechanical components in commercial and industrial buildings. His role had him working onsite at a local Cavendish Farms building. At the time it was customary to have office trailers onsite. Eventually, however, Cavendish decided they wanted the trailers removed.

Precision Mechanical was forced to rent

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a place in order to house all of the trailers.

However, a group of workers explored the option of building their own site. In this process, the group decided to expand the operation to include a line-up of equipment and machines.

“We figured, why don’t we just start another company,” says MacLeod. “We can work off that.” It was this decision that eventually led to the formation of Kensington Metal Products.

Operating under its parent company, Precision Mechanical, KMP launched in 2004 and has been growing ever since.

Because of the group’s pre-existing relationship, KMP was able to get its foot in the door at Cavendish Farms, which made a huge difference in the company’s early days, and it’s no surprise that Cavendish Farms is KMP’s largest customer.

“We are at Cavendish farms weekly,” says MacLeod. “We specialize in stainless steel, pressurized tanks, conveyors, and modifications. And we install new equipment all over the island.”

Another major local customer is BioVectra Pharmaceuticals in Charlottetown, where KMP manufacturers a lot of stainless steel tanks for the company.

Word of mouth and a great reputation have helped KMP grow. In 2011, the company underwent a major expansion, doubling the square footage of its shop. Today, it’s 15,000 square feet with room to grow. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Kensington Metal Products prides itself on being the “only manufacturer of snow blowers in Atlantic Canada.”

Yvon Derasp, KMP’s machinist, has his own work area in the large shop.

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Kent MacLeod, general manager for Kensington Metal Products (KMP), stands in front of the shop, which is centrally located in the town of Kensington.

For the most part, KMP focuses on repairs and modifications. “The day-to-day business that keeps us busy is the local farmers, fisherman and general public that bring in half-day type jobs,” explains MacLeod. “Our machinist is quite busy with work from farmers. We have Kensington Agriculture, which is a farm dealership up the road, we do a lot of machine work for them.”

One of the challenges of working in a machine shop is the ebbs and flows of work.

There are definitely strong times, but there are also slower periods to contend with. KMP quickly found a solution for the lean times.

“We needed a project to make sure we could keep the boys employed, so that we aren’t laying anyone off. We used to call it a filler project,” says MacLeod. “We came up with our own line of snow blowers. By no means could we rely solely on that. The product is in place to cover the cost of the guys and material we use.”

Initially, KMP was making roughly 12 to 20 snow blowers per year. Today, the company is making roughly 100. With dealers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, their snowblowing project turned into a profitable division.

But MacLeod insists, their primary industry is still commercial industrial.

Most recently, KMP added a shot blast booth and paint blast booths, in order to blast and paint the snowblowers in house. However, McLeod explains that this also helps the local customers that require these services.

“Every time we expand, we sit here and say, “We are still too small.” There is always room to expand. And if we continue to grow the way we are, we will have to put on another

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section as big as the original,” says McLeod.

KMP currently has 10 employees, with an additional four or five Precision Mechanical employees in at any given time.

“We are a small company,” says MacLeod.

Yvon Derasp, KMP’s machinist, has his own work area, so he pretty much sticks to his own jobs, explains MacLeod. “It’s his own spot to take care of and prioritize,” he adds. The company relies on primarily manual machines, purchased used from shops across Canada.

However, some of the larger equipment, like its shear and press brake, were bought brand new.

The company makes such a wide range of products, including wood chip boilers, potato de-stoners, paper filters, custom work and it spans over a wide range of industries.

“We don’t turn anyone away,” says MacLeod. “We have many different people coming into the office with an idea, and we say there is absolutely nothing we can’t build or source out. We are always up for any challenge. It’s never a dull day; there is always something new that comes in.”

Not only that, but the company boasts one of the largest stocks of stainless on the island, primarily because of its work with Cavendish Farms, explains MacLeod. KMP is able to support local businesses when they are stuck and require stainless. Having a large onsite stock makes it easier for the workers to get jobs done quickly and efficiently.

The company prides itself on keeping everything local. When it comes to cutting the material, KMP could not justify purchasing its own laser cutter, instead they contract out the cutting to a company in Montague, PEI, an hour and 15 minutes away. They used to get their work done in Sackville, New Brunswick, but bringing it back on the island has always been a priority, and when the opportunity came up, MacLeod jumped on it.

It’s all about supporting the local industry for Kensington Metal Products. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Metal Corbert, Grand-Mère, QC

BY NESTOR GULA

W

hen recessions or economic downturns hit, companies unfortunately close their doors. The buildings stand empty for a while until some brave entrepreneur steps forward, feeling a sprightly fresh breeze in the economic air and repurposes the once closed building to suit their needs.

Although not unheard of, it is rare to see a very similar business open up in the same

spot as the one that went under.

Metal Corbert, in Grand-Mère, Quebec is such a company. The land where the company is situated used to be owned by Group Fermont, a metal shop that was around for about 18 years and closed its doors in 2008.

Lucie Godin, the general manager for Metal Corbert, had a front row seat to this tale— she was the shop manager of the defunct Group Fermont.

“Group Fermont went bankrupt about six years ago, then a third party bought the shop and formed Metal Corbert in 2011,” she says. “The new owner is a company called Gilbert Towing…a full transport company that bought Group Fermont and started Metal Corbert.”

According to Godin, one of the strengths of Metal Corbert is being owned by a freight company. “They ship the plate here. It gets

Machitech product specialist, Patrick Salois, and Metal Corbert’s general manager Lucie Godin stand in front of the company’s Machitech plasma cutter.

PHOTO: NESTOR GULA

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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transformed—cut, bent, shaped, welded Godin notes that one of the company’s priand painted—and then shipped out to mary clients is doing very well and there is our customer.” more and more work coming Metal Corbert’s The company sits on about three hectares way. Finding more hands will not be a probwith the main 16,000 sq. ft. shop dominating lem, she states. “There are a lot of good the site and a 2,400 sq. ft. assembly area experienced workers in the area. We take care and a 3,500 sq. ft. paint shop making up of the workers—the salary is not bad and the the complex. environment is very good. Here in Shawinigan When Metal Corbert took over the location there is no traffic and the cost of living is low.” it was practically empty, recalls Godin. “We Metal Corbert has also fostered a strong had to reequip the whole shop. Only the over- reputation not just amongst its customers head crane was there.” but within the local community. “We sponsor Another challenge was getting customers. “Initially, to get clients we had to convince them that we were still in business,” she laughs.

There are lots of mines in the region, and the pulp and paper industry is still a large factor in the area’s economy. “Shawinigan had a lot of wood industry—a lot slowed down.”

Metal Corbert works for these industries as a custom metal shop, cutting, welding and machining steel to create new machinery or any parts needed by these industries.

Godin notes that one new sector they have been supplying of late is the green economy. “We are building components for windmills for Hydro Quebec,” she says.

“Since we opened in 2011, business has been picking up. It went down at beginning of 2013 and started to pick up end of 2013, and it’s growing now.”

The business relies solely on cutting and fabricating for industries in the region. “There are no exports. We support mostly local businesses and some mining companies in Ontario,” she says.

Despite Godin’s positive spin of the economy and Metal Corbert’s future prospects, she does acknowledge Canadian Metalworking is once again proud to be partnering with the that hard times still abound in the SME to produce their 2015 OFFICIAL SHOW GUIDE to go along with area. “Three shops have closed in our September CMTS preview issue. the last four years in this area,” she exclaims. “Almost 2,000 employees lost jobs.”

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The main fabrication area for Metal Corbert with the Machitech plasma cutter beside the Yawei press brake.

PHOTO: NESTOR GULA

Sparks fly in the assembly area as a worker grinds a weld on an evaporator.

PHOTO: NESTOR GULA

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events in town. Group Fermont was also well known in town, supporting various events, and we have continued doing this.”

Most of the training for workers is done in-house. “We have a qualified welder in the shop who will train and assist the junior welders,” says Godin.

Fifty per cent of Metal Corbert’s business is subcontract work of cutting metal. “The cutting table helps to get the customers in to cut the metal,” says Godin. “We are then able to put value-added services onto the cut pieces by bending them, welding, sandblasting and painting. It’s a full solution.”

The company works with CNC plasma cutters and not a laser because the thickness of steel they usually encounter is ½-inch or higher.

While most of its equipment is older, especially the manual milling machines, this does not worry Godin. “We have no real need for automation as most of our work is custom,” she explains. The one exception to the older equipment is the technology that makes up the core of Metal Corbert’s production—a very modern 8- x 20-foot Machitech Diamond Cut CNC plasma cutter powered by

a Hypertherm HyPerformance HPR400XD plasma system, with EDGE Pro CNC and ProNest software.

Godin describes the machine as the heart of the operation.

“Compared to our older machine, we are getting 50 per cent better consumable life,” she says. She also praises the cut quality from Hypertherm’s True Hole technology and is pleased at the ease of use. “We have one operator on this machine trained by Machitech.”

They chose this machine because the company’s older CNC laser could not keep up with the workflow and the cut quality was lacking. “The support, installation, training and service from Machitech is excellent,” she enthuses. “There is no downtime on our Machitech plasma cutting machine.”

Another big hurdle Metal Corbert had to surmount was to keep the consistency of its production at a high level. “Getting ISO 9001 certificate helps us in the tracking of the production and quality control,” says Godin. “We have a welding engineer that is contracted that helps us maintain the quality.”

Godin is bullish about Metal Corbert’s future. She notes that the local economy is picking up and they are well diversified in the industries they service.

A finished product dries after being painted in the paint shop.

PHOTO: NESTOR GULA

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E X PA N D I N G

TO MEET CUSTOMER NEEDS Ace Machining, Dartmouth, NS

BY LINDSAY LUMINOSO

N

estled into the industrial area of Woodside in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Ace Machining has positioned itself for expansion and growth. Co-owners Andy Race and Ron Wallace have always looked for unique positioning opportunities to set their machine shop apart, and they’ve been able to do this through their location and their capabilities.

Back in 2008, Ron Wallace placed an ad on Kijiji looking to buy a machine shop somewhere in the Halifax area. Instead of a buying a business he ended up purchasing several pieces of equipment and setting up his own shop in Dartmouth. “And we’ve been plugging away ever since,” says Wallace.

“It was a bare bones machine shop, but we’ve expanded and added a lot of machines since,” explains Race. In its earliest days,

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Ace Machining focused on manual machining in order to fill a gap that was missing in the region.

“Our focus when we started was on manual because we found a lot of the shops in Nova Scotia were focusing on CNC,” says Wallace.

“For us, it’s not cost effective to CNC a oneoff prototype part. We could make the part in the time others have written the program.

What we found is a niche market where we could do a lot of manual stuff.”

After establishing the business and developing a strong customer base, Ace Machining began subbing out approximately 10 per cent of its work to local CNC shops due to its manual machine focus. However, in 2012, Wallace and Race purchased a CNC shop bringing the CNC machines under their roof.

“Now we’ve built quite a big CNC business,” says Race. A lot of people concentrate on one thing; it’s the same with having one customer. You really pencil yourself in a corner. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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From left to right: Liam Snider, Ryan Kothlow, Cory Rafuse, Andrew Race, Nikolay Kulakevich, Thomas Dalton, Mike Hines, Ron Wallace, Stephen MacDonald, Wayne Rhodenizer and Marc Lemire.

Staff not in photo Liam MacLellan, Brandon Allen and Alexis Pelley.

It’s nice to have a little bit of everything as opposed to a lot of one thing.”

It’s this thinking that has allowed Ace Machining to thrive in the area. The co-owners are always looking for new opportunities and willing to work with any customers for any jobs, as long as they can do it.

“We are only held back by our square footage right now,” says Race. This has prompted the company to start exploring expansion.

The current facility is roughly 5,000 square feet. However, Race and Wallace recently purchased 1.8 acres of land where they are building a 14,400 square foot facility to accommodate their growing business and capabilities.

The machine shop currently employs about a dozen workers. However, Wallace and Race are constantly supporting the trades by taking in summer students to help expose them to new career opportunities. One of the students has been returning to Ace Machining for the past three summers and hopes to join the team after finishing an Engineering Degree at Acadia University. Wallace explains that at the moment they don’t have an engineer, but by the time the student has graduated, they may be at a stage where they need one.

Education is a really important element to the business model of Ace Machining.

Race and Wallace make it very clear to their employees that anyone interested in upgrading their skills will be supported. One of the challenges the co-owners face is that the colleges in the area don’t support the trades as well as they should, which can often lead to labour shortages. Offering the workers the ability to get an additional ticket benefits both the worker and Ace Machining.

“We’ve offered the guys the option to take correspondence courses,” explains Wallace.

“They have the opportunity to come in for an hour a day to do their online course at the shop, and we will pay them that hour on the condition that they pass. I know that when you get home at the end of the day, turn the computer on and it’s hard not to be distracted. It’s out there… and we’d never begrudge anyone any education.”

It’s really all about expansion and growth for the two co-owners, who pride themselves on creating an environment where they are leaders rather than just the boss, often joining www.canadianmetalworking.com

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the guys on the shop floor or onsite to help complete time-sensitive projects.

In the Maritimes, there is a challenging cycle of hiring and layoffs. The two men are trying to break this trend.

“When we hire someone we really want to make sure that we have the work,” says Wallace. “We have a good team, and they are like family. We truly care about the employees and they really make us who we are. If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be where we are. Any of the guys out there we would bend over backward for. As long as they treat us fair, we treat them fair. “ One way Ace Machining overcomes the slower times while retaining their workers is through inventory. “When work slows down, we know what our customers need and we keep inventory for them,” says Race. This has not only allowed the company to thrive in slower times, in the busier times, like the present, they are able to take on new jobs while serving existing customers.

Developing strong customer relationships is a key priority. “We are honest with our customers, and when they send us work, we let them know if we can do it or not.

We don’t want to be let down or let people down,” says Wallace.

Ace Machining will work with any customer in any industry. They do a lot of work in the safety industry, oil and gas and offshore marine research and development, which is in conjunction with universities. They also do a wide range of prototyping. Their customers range from the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation for plow parts, Irving Shipbuilding for whom they are a vendor, all the way to custom work in Alberta.

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An operator working on a Challenger CNC lathe in the dedicated CNC machine shop, currently located in a separate building.

The company recently picked up a new customer in New Brunswick where they are making parts for the cell towers in the province. The company operates the cell towers for service and is constantly upgrading the equipment. With 89 cell towers, Ace Machining is keeping busy, with each piece being a few days’ work.

Getting inventive with equipment has proven successful for Race and Wallace and has helped them retain important customers.

But the co-owners also support initiatives to bring in more customers by providing a commission to employees when new work or customers are brought in.

“When our guys are outside of work it helps.

They can really say, ‘I work here and I’m happy to work here.’ They appreciate it and we appreciate it,” explains Race.

“We wanted the employees to be involved more and have a sense of ownership in the

company,” says Wallace.

It’s this thinking that allows the men to operate their business and take on odd jobs that other shops just can’t. Race explains that when boats come in the harbour, it’s always a rush job for them. Time is money, so they know that they can get a crew together to get the job done and are compensated accordingly.

Ace Machining workers using manual machines to work on custom projects that come into the shop.

Owners Andrew Race and Ron Wallace stand in front of their shop, located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

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“As far as the employees go, I’m not going to ask them to do something that I’m not willing to do myself,” says Race. “When there is a dirty job, if you are not prepared to do it yourself, I’m not asking them to do it. Nine times out of 10, we are in there doing it with them.”

Taking on a wide variety of jobs and not putting all of their “eggs in one basket” has allowed the shop to thrive. It’s this mentality that feeds into their expansion plans to build a bigger shop to handle more work.

Race and Wallace have positioned themselves to overcome slower times and maintain quality work and adhere to deadlines in strong times. With their new facility set to open in the near future, there is no limit to where Ace Machining can go. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Cyrille Chanal, CEO of the FusiA Group in his Montreal additive manufacturing facility.

READY FOR

TAKE

OFF FusiA, Montreal, QC

BY DOUG PICKLYK

H

aving aligned himself closely with the aerospace industry, Cyrille Chanal has developed a successful business model in France combining a dedicated machining operation with an upstart additive manufacturing business, and now the enterprising mechanical engineer is duplicating that model in Canada with the expansion of his FusiA

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Group of companies into the Montreal area.

Raised and educated in France, Chanal began his career in 1992 working with plastic injection molding. After three years he transitioned to a position with French aerospace and defense contractor, the Safran Group, working in R&D on navigation systems for missiles among other projects.

After 10 years with Safran he left to purchase a small machining shop called Esteve in Toulouse. The company focuses on work for a list of aerospace clients, and in 10 years Chanal has doubled the size of the business.

He was first introduced to additive manufacturing during his time at Safran, where he was 3D printing resins to create models for projects. “When I bought the company [Esteve], I continued to look at additive technology, and around 2010 I received some information about metal technology from EOS. It was the generation before the M 280, and the quality of the metal produced by this machine was quite good. With the M 280 we thought that for the first time it was possible to make a good quality part in aluminum, so we decided to start with that.”

So in 2011, with his wife, he launched FusiA to specialize in 3D metal printing for aerospace customers.

Now, four years later he has made the move to Canada. When asked, “What was your www.canadianmetalworking.com

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attraction to Montreal?”

“It was the maple syrup,” he laughs.

“No, for us it was an opportunity to continue to grow. We were interested in having a foot on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and we were not ready to speak English all day long.”

He was also attracted to Montreal as an aerospace hub. He had visited the area a couple times for trade shows and was impressed by the list of companies belonging to Aero Montreal [an aerospace think tank comprised of major players in Quebec’s aerospace sector], so he made the decision to set up shop.

“We have no real competitors right now,” he adds. “There are one or two other people who have not exactly the same technology as us and not the same type of production, so we think we have an opportunity here.”

It was the summer of 2014 when he announced the launch of FusiA Impression 3D métal Inc. He is set up in a 3,000 sq. ft. industrial park unit, installing a newer-generation EOS M 290 that began operation this past March. And around that same time he also acquired HRT Industries, a 12-person Montreal-area machine shop with a history of serving the local aerospace industry.

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Sample parts printed on FusiA’s EOS M 290 in Montreal.

The FusiA Group now includes four companies, two in France and two in Canada, together employing about 100 people. Chanal explains that their work consists of production machining, prototyping and R&D projects.

He notes how his role involves partnering with clients, working at the R&D level with aerospace OEMs, qualifying and validating metal powders, defining specifications and creating prototypes. “Finding a good business case for using additive is not always so easy,” he says. “We suggest to clients that we start with them at the very beginning of their projects in order to find the best and

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most cost-effective solutions.”

He insists the idea is not to replicate parts that are currently being machined, it’s to completely redesign components in order to reduce weight or redesign parts to integrate new functions. “Start with 10 parts and do it in one, saving time, weight, money and ultimately improve functionality,” he explains.

“I’ve discussed this with some engineers who would like to test a type of structure, taking an existing shape and putintg a lattice inside (to reduce weight), but why not

A 3d-printed turbofan designed to demonstrate the uses of titanium, Inconel, aluminium, and stainless steel.

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create a new shape, optimized for additive manufacturing?” he asks, suggesting the use of organic-like structures such as branches or the bones of a bird, shapes that can’t be easily machined. “It’s a different way of thinking, but it’s easier to make with additive manufacturing and not so strange. We explain this to people, helping them identify what makes a good subject and what is a good design to achieve results from a technical standpoint and also economically.”

Chanal has designed and created parts to show to customers, including a turbofan that is about 16 inches long and 8.5 inches in diameter. The turbofan shows how FusiA can assist clients in optimizing their designs for additive, and it also uses multiple metals to demonstrate the ability to work with all of the materials needed to produce an actual motor: titanium, Inconel, aluminum, and stainless steel. It also shows the company is able to produce and finish all parts for a motor with those materials up to a size of around 10 x 10 x 10 inches.

He does see the market coming around and people are approaching him. “It’s surprising to see some customers that have teams that are very immersed in the area. They know how to design and create a part and how to chose the right subject. And then there are

other teams that are really just beginning to discover the technology.”

He compares it to when injection plastic started and people had to change the way they designed and created parts. “With additive manufacturing it’s like that, but it’s one step more because the shape of the parts can really change, and you can really create very complicated parts with structures inside.”

He does see the market embracing the technology. “All three of our machines are full now,” he says (two in France and one in Montreal). “So we are trying to find solutions to optimize the way we run the machines.” He also adds that the company is slated add one or two more machines by early next year (one in Montreal and another in France, he notes they have space for up to 20 machines in total).

As far as finding or training operators, he says it’s a very different process than operating a CNC machine. “On these machines, most of the work happens before you turn the machine on. You have to prepare the data, and after that it’s like when you launch a rocket, if it’s okay, it’s okay. If it’s not, it’s too late.”

In Montreal, he currently has three people at FusiA, two engineers (including himself) and an administrator.

“Operating the machine itself is very light work. You have to the set down a new plate (base), clean the area, and load the new powder. It’s not operating the machine that’s complicated, it’s preparing the data correctly.”

Production does take a while, he notes. For a large part the machine will run from 20 to 30 hours, so there is plenty of time to prepare a second machine for the next production run.

Preparation time between jobs can take up to three hours, he suggests, adding that one technician could operate four machines no problem.

Working closely with the aerospace sector, product quality is of paramount importance. The company works to AS 9100, the aerospace standard based on ISO 9001, and beyond that each aerospace customer also has its own rigorous demands.

FusiA uses CMM and 3D laser scanning for measuring dimensional controls of parts along with x-rays and tomography for detecting any potential structural defects.

When FusiA made the official statement of its plans to set up in Montreal last summer during the Farnborough International Airshow, it announced plans to invest about $4 million, creating 15 jobs over three years.

So far it appears the company’s Canadian operation is on the right path and the runway is clear for take off. www.canadianmetalworking.com

15-07-17 1:18 PM

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FABRICATING & WELDING NEWS

ANNOUNCING A NEW FABRICATING AND WELDING SHOW

On June 22, 2015, guests gathered at the CWB headquarters in Milton, ON for a major announcement.

The Canadian Welding Bureau and dmg events are partnering for a new event: CanWeld 2016. This new trade show and conference is designed for the welding, fabricating, metal forming and industry in Western Canada, and will take place October 4 and 5, 2016 in Edmonton at Northlands – Edmonton Expo Centre.

This new event will be co-located with the annual CanWeld Conference

(CWC16) in Edmonton, a Canadian educational conference focused in the field of welding and related technologies. The event will rotate to Eastern Canada, serving different regional industries including automotive, aerospace, transportation, medical device and energy manufacturing, for odd years (2017, 2019, 2021) and return to Edmonton for even years (2016, 2018, 2020).

“Alberta has been and continues to be the most important market for fabricated metal manufacturing and welding,” said CWB Group’s Marketing Director Ian Campbell.

“CanWeld 2016 is the perfect opportunity to expand our world class conference to the next level by adding a

major exhibition and partnering with renowned organizers dmg events.” “dmg events is thrilled to enter into a long term partnership with the CWB Group and have the opportunity to develop a world class event that fully represents welding, metal fabricating and metal finishing all under one roof,” said Nick Samain, Vice President, dmg events. “In addition, we are excited to utilize our unmatched market reach in key industry verticals in Western Canada to bring a highly qualified audience to CanWeld in 2016.”

CanWeld 2016 will launch a website, call for presentations, and exhibition information in late June, 2015. www.cwbgroup.org

A view of the new Toronto Technical Center.

Peter Burrell, Chief Operation Officer for Amada Canada Ltd.

AMADA SHOWCASES NEW TORONTO TECHNICAL CENTER

BY NESTOR GULA To serve customers in the southern Ontario region, and in Canada better, Amada Canada Ltd. has officially opened the Toronto Technical Center on June 17, 2015.

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401, will also serve as the headquarters of Amada Canada and will work in conjunction with their existing warehouse facilities in Granby, Quebec.

The new facility will host existing and potential customers for training and sales events.

“This facility signals to our cus-

tomers that we are committed to them,” says Peter Burrell, Chief Operation Officer for Amada Canada Ltd. “We can work on solutions with our customers here at the technical center.”

Amada had five machines on hand for the grand opening including the Ensis 3015 AJ fiber laser, FOMII RI 3015 CO2 laser with a tube cutting capability, EG6013, HS1303, and HG2204 press brakes. www.amada.ca www.canadianmetalworking.com

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FABRICATING & WELDING NEWS

OERLIKON BALZERS OPENS ITS NEW CANADIAN FACILITY

BY DOUG PICKLYK Well known globally for its surface coating solutions that enhance the durability of metals, most frequently on cutting tools and forming tools, European-based Oerlikon Balzers held a grand opening of its new Canadian facility in Guelph, Ontario on June 30.

The new 30,000 sq. ft. center is triple the size of the company’s former Canadian coating site which was opened in Burlington in 2005.

The company has 24 coating centres in the Americas, and this new Canadian site will be the first location in the world to incorporate both Oerlikon Balzers coatings and the recently acquired Oerlikon Metco coating operations under one roof.

The new Guelph Oerlikon Balzers coating centre, specializing in physical vapour deposition (PVD) coatings,

incorporates a much larger forming tool polishing operation than the previous site, and for the first time will include a cutting tool regrinding operation.

“We are offering a total service for tool reconditioning,” noted Dr. Roland Herb, CEO of Oerlikon’s surface solutions segment, adding that it will be a unique service in the market (the company launched its tool reprocessing service in Mexico and China last year).

Herb also noted the Guelph location was a logistical decision, close to major highways and local auto part manufacturing giant Linamar, which he describes as a “strategic global customer.”

Headquartered in Liechtenstein, the combined Oerlikon Balzers and Oerlikon Metco now operate over 110 coating centres around the world in some 35 countries. According

WILSON TOOL AND LVD STRIPPIT JOIN PARTNERSHIP Wilson Tool International announced that the company has entered into an exclusive agreement with press brake manufacturer, LVD Strippit.

As part of the agreement, LVD Strippit will exclusively promote Wilson Tool press brake tooling to their North American customers.

“Throughout its history, LVD Strippit has held many of the same business philosophies as Wilson Tool: to provide superior quality products, competitive pricing, dedicated customer service and industry-leading turnaround times,” says Chris Lawless, president of Wilson Tool.

“We look forward to partnering with Strippit LVD and their success while leveraging our own experience and exploring new opportunities in the fabrication industry.”

LVD Strippit offers a full range of integrated products for sheet metalworking for fabricators across the globe. www.lvdgroup.com www.wilsontool.com.

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On hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony (l-r): Peter Van Den Diepstraten, manager of the Canadian Center; Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie; Dr. Roland Herb, CEO Oerlikon Surface Solutions division; and Steve Crowley, president North America, Oerlikon Balzers Coating USA.

to Steve Crowley, president North America and head of sales and operations for the Americas, the company will be bringing new capabilities to Canada with the improved location, adding size, capacity, regrinding, with other types of coatings coming. www.oerlikon.com/balzers

MATE PRECISION HAS A NEW VICE PRESIDENT Mate Precision Tooling announced it has hired sales veteran Kevin Jordan as vice president of North American sales.

With more than 20 years of sales leadership experience for both public and private companies, Jordan will be responsible for building customer relationships by developing team capabilities and tying strategy to customer needs.

“Our customers, prospects and organization will benefit from Kevin’s vast sales experience, leadership skills and expansive network,” said Kevin Nicholson, Mate president. “We look forward to his contributions to further expand our leadership position throughout North America.”

Jordan brings a wealth of sales experience across diverse industries to his new role. www.mate.com www.canadianmetalworking.com

15-07-17 1:16 PM

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FABRICATING & WELDING NEWS

MC MACHINERY HOSTS TECHNOLOGY DAY On June 4 MC Machinery Systems, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp., hosted an all-day open-house/technology day event at its tech centre in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The

open house featured the Canadian premiere showing of the Lumex Avance-25, the hybrid additive machine integrating metal laser sintering and high speed milling and demonstrations of the company’s MC Remote 360 monitoring software.

The event also included live demonstrations on the ML 3015NX-F40 fiber laser cutting machine, a CO2 eX series laser

cutter as well as the Diamond Cut DV-1000 milling center, a turning center and the MV2400-R wire EDM machine.

The Lumex Avance-25 was being demonstrated by William Gillcrist, 3D additive manufacturing applications engineer. The unique technology, manufactured by Matsuura and distributed exclusively by MC Machinery, enables the production of complex parts with metal powders melted and sintered layer by layer, while surfaces can be milled.

The Remote 360 monitoring software provides real-time shop floor data from laser cutting operations to be fed to mobile devices or desktop computers, allowing managers remote insights into productivity.

The software also serves as a remote diagnostics tool alerting the manufacturer to technical issues and providing immediate solutions.

Ideal for development and small lot size production The new LASERDYNE 430 Versa 3D fiber laser system from Prima Power was designed for the typical laser processing needs of tool rooms, model shops and R&D centers of manufacturers.

The 430 Versa is equipped with an air-cooled 3000 W peak power fiber laser and the proprietary LASERDYNE BeamDirector. The BeamDirector provides two axes of laser beam motion without part movement. The 430 Versa

also provides precision through the use of the same design and systechnology as LASERDYNE sys tems used in aerospace and medical device production around the world. www.primapower.com

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The m2-200 system provides high cut quality with minimal dross, reduced warping and a small heat-affected zone, resulting in fewer secondary operations and a lower perpart cost www.esab.com

The new FabCO 812-Ni1M wire from Hobart has been formulated to provide excellent low-temperature impact toughness for critical applications, including offshore drilling rigs, transmission and process piping, jackup rig fabrication and shipbuilding. Low diffusible hydrogen levels and low moisture pickup further mitigate the risk of cracking, even after wire exposure, and can reduce preheat requirements to minimize downtime for weld preparation.

This gas-shielded low alloy wire consistently maintains good mechanical properties in the as-welded condition and after postweld stress relief. www.hobartbrothers.com

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15-07-17 1:17 PM

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15-07-17 2:47 PM

Understanding why heat treating is such an important process

BY LINDSAY LUMINOSO

W

hen thinking of metalworking, we often think of machining and fabricating.

However, heat treating is a significant process in bringing many metal products closer to completion. Heat treating is necessary for many different industries including automotive, aerospace and defence, medical device, oil and gas, tooling, and industrial equipment. From extremely large turbine blades to tiny dental drill bits, heat treating transforms raw materials to hardened finished products.

Due to the unique nature of the process and the wide range of variables, heat treating is often left to the experts, with shops sending their products out to be processed. Some specialized shops have brought the process in-house; however, there are so many considerations to take into account, like material type, part size and intricacy, and hardness 94 | AUGUST 2015

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PHOTO: THERMEX METAL TREATING

expectations, it is often best left to dedicated heat treating specialists.

TYPES OF METALS When it comes to materials, there are so many different options available. However, not all metals and grades are heat treated the same. It is important to find the correct heat treating process for your specifications.

“Some grades share the same austentizing temperature,” explains Michael Schmidt, division manager for Böhler-Uddeholm ThermoTech in Mississauga, Ontario. “This is that elevated temperature, it ranges from 1800-1900°F, or up to 2200°F with high speed steels. So the different types of steel grades have different temperatures that are used.” However, Schmidt does explain that there are only so many grades out there, and many families of steel.

So there are really only “about 30-40 different recipes depending on the grades involved.” www.canadianmetalworking.com

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As far as popularity of grades, it is more or less dictated by the industry needs. Schmidt deals with a lot of automotive related products, so H13, a hot work tool steel, is one of the more popular grades. Standard grades like A2, D2, S7, are pretty common in the industry.

“Usually, customers opt for plain carbon and alloy steel for their parts,” explains Surjit Bawa, General Manager of Metex Heat Treating, located in Brampton, Ontario.

“Recently, with the push for lighter materials, we have started to see more diverse materials such as powder metal for induction hardening, neutral hardening and carburizing.”

Industry an application dictates the type of materials needed. In the automotive industry, the push towards lightweighting has forced heat treating facilities to adopt practices that accommodate these materials. The use of exotics has become more popular in the aerospace and medical industries, so does the need to heat treat these types of metals.

“We occasionally work with an Inconel or Incoloy, materials like Carpenter 465 [a custom stainless steel], or less exotic exotics like 304, 316,” says Norman Hanson, president and owner of Thermex Metal Treating, located in Edmonton, Alberta. Thermex primarily serves the resource and agricultural industries, like oil and gas, energy, mining, and forestry sectors. “We do work with some of those exotic materials with many different processes.”

HOW DOES HEAT TREATING WORK? There are many different types of heat treating processes. The common ones include carburizing, liquid and gas nitriding, induction hardening, and through hardening (or quench and tempering).

For Böhler-Uddeholm Thermo-Tech, they really only get involved with nitrogen gas quenching, which can eliminate some of the materials and products. “We don’t see certain oil quenching grades like maybe a p20 or 4140 because they require oil as the quenching medium,” says Schmidt. However, due to their location, focusing on automotive-specific grades and processes made more sense.

Thermex, on the other hand, accommodates a broad scope, “We offer a wide range of different processes that are run on steel, stainless steel, tool steel, any iron based materials,” says Hanson. “We do all the common forms of heat treating that are done on steels.”

For the most part, a customer will buy a piece of steel (or the ever-more popular exotic materials) and rough machine it.

When it comes to heat treating, there is often www.canadianmetalworking.com

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distortion, which is why it is important to rough machine, leaving a small amount of additional material on the part. At this point, the part is ready for heat treating.

Hanson explains that there are several discussions that need to happen before heat treating begins, though. The first discussion he has with a customer is whether the process they are asking for is compatible with the material they are using. The second discussion centres on aim properties they are looking for in terms of hardness, or case depth, if it’s a case hardening process. Is it appropriate and achievable for the part and material? If everything works, he will discuss dimensional changes and distortions that can occur.

The part is then ready for the heat treating process, “It will go into our furnaces where it undergoes metallurgical transformation,” says Schmidt. “During this time, you expose it to elevated temperatures, 1850-1900°F,

THE HEAT TREATING PROCESSES CARBURIZING • Widely used surface hardening process • Produces a hard, wear-resistant layer • Ideal for low carbon mild or low alloy steels • Processing time dependent on desired results LIQUID NITRIDING (SALT BATH NITRIDING) • Quick processing time and a simple operation • Produces a thin, high-hardness case on a wide variety of steels • Little or no distortion during the process • Finishing operations are minimal GAS NITRIDING • A low temp. case hardening process for high surface hardness • Ideal for pre-heat treated alloy steels and specialty grades • Large batch size is possible • Wide range of possible temperatures and case depths for broad applications INDUCTION HARDENING • Rapid, repeatable process with wide range of case depths • Minimal distortion rates • Zone hardening is available • Superior precision and clean parts THROUGH HARDENING (QUENCH AND TEMPERING) • Increased surface hardness and tensile strength of material • Used for medium to high carbon and alloy steels • Deep penetrating heat • Not recommended for mild steels

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tain temperature with a ±25 thou temperature tolerance, other grades might require a ±5 or 10°,” says Schmidt, who explains there are a variety of testing that can be requested depending on the nature of the application and industry serving.

WHAT ARE SOME CHALLENGES?

PHOTO: THERMEX METAL TREATING

then quenching it, which means cooling it quite rapidly to change the micro-structure.

This process creates movement. Customers will call it distortion but it is movement in the steel which is byproduct of successful heat treatment.”

QUALITY CONTROLS For the most part quality assurances are dictated by the customers and specifications. It can be as easy as just certifying the process or as complicated as reviewing the micro-structure of a coupon. Many heat treating companies have dedicated quality departments to ensure their processes are done correctly, especially when it comes to industries requiring stringent standards, like aerospace.

One of the challenges heat treating facilities face is working with proprietary specifications. For Hanson, “working with the oil industry, most of the big players, like Haliburton or Schlumberger, they all have their own proprietary standards that we have to work towards, so often we will have a discussion with our customers about that as well.” They have developed an in-house metallurgical lab to test their products extensively to ensure they are meeting the requirements.

Understanding the different requirements both from customers and industry can make the heat treating process go more smoothly.

“Most of the grades have their own unique recipes involved. It also requires more stringent parameters in the furnace itself. Some of the exotic materials and the industries they serve require tight temperature tolerances, so certain things can be run at a cer96 | AUGUST 2015

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One of the most important challenges is just making sure that heat treating companies are able to meet the appropriate specifications. For Hanson, who’s primary customer is a machine shop selling to end users, this can be a challenge, because he has to ensure that he not only meets the shop’s specification but also the end user’s needs.

Different types of materials are required for different applications. There are specific heat-treatment processes associated with each to achieve optimum results. “Hence, when designing a part for a particular application, always analyze different steels to find the one that provides the balance of hardness, strength, amongst other characteristics to withstand the stresses the part will undergo in use as a finished part,” explains Bawa.

As a heat treating customer, it is important to ensure that part you provide is within the appropriate conditions for the process, which should include movement and distortion.

“Some customers tend to take this for granted,” says Schmidt. When you elevate the hardness of materials, it can make it harder to post-process machine. So customers will often machine to close to tolerance, being motivated to do as little machining after as possible. “There is a fine line and some risk involved,” he continues. “So they are rolling the dice by machining it too closely prior to heat treat. They may not be able to clean it up afterwards.”

When it comes to heat treating, there are many variable involved. Finding the correct heat treating facility for your needs will help ensure that the finished product is up to spec. Speak to the facility; their expert advice can help ensure that you’ve chosen the right process for the material and outcome expectations.

Heat treating is one of the key and fundamental steps used in producing machined or hardened metal parts. “It has applications across so many different industries and requirements. Any city, area, or region that wants to have a good strong metal parts manufacturing sector has to have good heat treating facilities available,” says Hanson. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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TOOL TALK

WMTS 2015 RECAP

HAIMER Power Series: The award presentation (l-r): Al Leskow, sales/application specialist Mitutoyo Canada; Ross McDonald, vice president sales, Thomas Skinner; Paul Krainer, president, Thomas Skinner; Peter Detmers, vice president, Mitutoyo Canada; and Troy Littleford, sales/application specialist, Mitutoyo Canada.

On June 15, 2015, the Western Manufacturing Technology Show (WMTS) kicked off in Edmonton, Alberta.

This three day event covered a wide range of manufacturing technologies, including machine tools, tooling, metal fabrication, automation and assembly, advanced manufacturing, plant maintenance, just to name a few.

Here are a few highlights from this year’s show:

MITUTOYO HONOURS THOMAS SKINNER In a brief ceremony during WMTS, members of the Mitutoyo Canada team, including recently promoted executive vice president Peter Detmers, presented Paul Krainer, president of Thomas Skinner & Son, and Ross McDonald, vice president sales at Thomas Skinner, with a plaque of recognition for the company’s sales and promotion of Mitutoyo’s Digimatic products in 2014.

The commendation certificate, signed by Mitutoyo president Toru Nakagawa, states: “We hereby honor that you have contributed greatly to the development of our company performance by making diligent efforts in expanding sales channels for the promotion of our Digimatic products in 2014. We express gratitude for your tireless and enthusiastic efforts with a commemorative gift.” www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Rock solid and highest precision – The best on this planet.

JOB SHOP APPRECIATION RECEPTION WITH CRAIG MACTAVISH Job shops owners and employees were invited to an evening event, allowing guests to mingle and connect with colleagues. Show visitors and exhibitors were able to sit down and enjoy a snack and drink amongst friends.

One of the highlights includes an appearance by Edmonton Oiler alumni, Craig MacTavish (below), who signed autographs and spoke with enthusiastic hockey fans hoping to hear his words of wisdom.

WMTS offered a complete manufacturing experience that provided practical knowledge and advanced technology to allow businesses stay competitive in Western Canada. The SME, who organized the show, are looking forward to the upcoming CMTS show in Toronto, ON from September 28 to October 1, 2015.

Tooling Technology Shrinking Technology Balancing Technology

Measuring Instruments

Haimer USA, LLC | 134 E. Hill Street Villa Park, IL 60181 | Phone: +1-630-833-1500 Email: haimer@haimer-usa.com www.haimer-usa.com

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TOOL TALK

HORN HOSTS TECHNOLOGY DAYS 2015

BY NATE HENDLEY German cutting tool giant Paul Horn GmbH opened its doors for Technology Days 2015, held June 17-19 at the company’s Tubingen headquarters. Horn officials outlined ambitious expansion plans that will increase the company’s presence in both Germany and North America.

Founded in 1969, Horn is renowned for its groove milling, slot milling and slot cutting technology. With 1,300 employees worldwide, Horn’s total revenues came to US$285 million last year.

“We didn’t bring a lot of new products” for Technology Days, admitted Andreas Vollmer, Horn sales and marketing director, at a press conference.

The company plans to “save the fireworks” for EMO in Milan in October, he explained.

Horn did recently add another milling range to its 406 tangential milling system while the 409 tangential milling cutter system was enhanced to include 90-degree milling shanks and cutter heads with a wide tooth pitch. Horn also recently added a type 842 cartridge system to its grooving system.

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room-style presentations along with matching live machine demonstrations. Presentations covered topics such as Tangential Milling— Effectiveness and Quality, Molding Tools and Special Tools in Series Production, Wear Parts—Reducing Costs Through the Use of HighPerformance Carbide Rods, Precision Tools in the Added Value Chain, etc. Presentations were offered in English and German. Visitors could also tour Horn’s production facilities and check out displays from 16 suppliers including Schunk, Renishaw, Haimer and DMG Mori Seiki.

At the press conference, Horn officials spoke about the company’s massive expansion, which includes two new buildings in Tubingen. The first building will be a three-story structure containing 12,000 square meters of production space for making tool holders. The building will also house the coating department and logistics. Horn is constructing a six story building for administrative staff and seminars as well. Both buildings are slated for occupancy in late 2016.

Vollmer said Horn also hopes to open a facility in Mexico in 2016.

This facility would “only service the Mexican market” which is “rapidly devel-

oping,” said Vollmer, who offered few details about the venture.

Technology Days attendees were full of praise for the event and its host.

“The technology is beyond what I see in the States. It’s a very friendly environment. Everyone works as a team,” added Knobloch.

Technology Days 2015 set a “new record on attendance. We expected 2,650 people and [total attendance] is definitely more,” said Christian

Thiele, Horn press spokesperson.

Visitors “not only saw technology and tools, they saw the processes and philosophy of Horn” and “got into a good dialogue with our people,” continued Thiele.

He hoped attendees understood “how much we are into technology.

How much passion we give the topic, our tools and [finding] the best solution for the customer.” www.hornusa.com

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TOOL TALK

CTMA HOLDS 17TH ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT The CTMA was very pleased to hold its Annual Golf Tournament on June 2nd, 2015 at Pine Knott Golf and Country Club, in Dorchester.

This is the 17th year that the association has held this successful event and was again thrilled by the support that it is given by its members and sponsors.

The weather was perfect and it was great to see everyone participate in

the events that were held throughout the day. Being a Not-for Profit Association, the funds received from this event is a major contributor to our annual revenue stream and we are extremely grateful to all of our sponsors and support from our member companies.

The CTMA looks forward to hosting the 18th annual event next year, and they hope that you will

be able to join for a day of golf and networking with your peers.

HXGN LIVE EVENT FOCUSES ON “SENSING. THINKING. ACTING.” Hexagon Metrology had over 3,500 attendees from more than 70 countries attend the HxGN LIVE event in Las Vegas, Nevada at the beginning of June.

The theme for this year’s event was “Sensing. Thinking. Acting.” Hexagon Metrology demonstrated that this focus resonated with all of its product development and services.

The event offered attendees a unique opportunity to see “Sensing.

Thinking. Acting.” in action. The engaging keynote address by Norbert Hanke, Hexagon Metrology President & CEO explained why the company is aligning technologies in areas to create a closed-loop, data-driven manufacturing strategy. The presentation showed how quality can drive productivity through an intelligent, integrated manufacturing approach.

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Automation was also a key technological focus and the conference agenda featured industry professionals and technology users presenting sessions on the transformative power of automated solutions in manufacturing.

“At HxGN LIVE, we explored innovation within metrology and beyond.

By enabling our customers to not just gather data, but also to be able to process it and use it to inform future actions, we can make a difference to all kinds of manufacturers,” explained Hanke. “Automation offers us new and exciting potential for continued advancement as we help the manufacturing community sense, think and act their way to better productivity.”

The Metrology Track offered insightful sessions from Hexagon Metrology experts and guest speakers, including reports on measurement and inspection trends, new technology previews and interactive demonstrations.

Hexagon offered a variety of engaging topics and speakers, which included Julie Shah, MIT

Associate Professor and leader of the Interactive Robotics Group of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory who spoke about collaborative robotics and her unique work with Boeing. Other speakers included Gardner Carrick, VP of Strategic Initiatives at The Manufacturing Institute; SimonMarkus Kothe, Group Manager of Machining Technology at the Fraunhofer Institute and his colleague Juan Ramirez; J. Corwin Carlson, Director of Sales-National Accounts at Rethink Robotics and Charlie Isaacs, CTO for Customer Connection at Salesforce.com.

In June 2016 the conference moves to Anaheim, California, while this November, HxGN LIVE makes its debut in Hong Kong. www.hxgnlive.com AUGUST 2015 | 99

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TOOL TALK

SST TO DISTRIBUTE MILLUTENSIL SPOTTING PRESSES

S

ingle Source Technologies (SST) will now distribute Millutensil spotting presses, a new offering in the company’s advanced die and mold manufacturing solutions.

“With increasing design comcomplexity, technical standards and lead-time requirements for dies and molds, traditional methods for spotting inhibit long-term competitiveness, which is why SST is excited to offer Millutensil spotting presses,” said David Warren, SST national sales manager.

Millutensil spotting presses are designed to improve proproduction speed and safety by reducing time-intensive mold handling and delays due to tilttilting upon opening and closure.

With the push of two buttons,

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Millutensil spotting presses can place mold halves in a comfortable working position and carry out a test injection or spotting

stroke. This capability is particularly advantageous in the manufacture and reconditioning of large, complex molds.

The spotting presses’ resin manuinjection unit enables manu facturers to produce sample reuscastings in two distinct, reus able special thermoplastics.

The toolmaker can then check the casting characteristics, the complete mold filling, the dimensional accuracy and tightness of the mold as well as undercuts and de-molding.

This feature supports the production of higher quality dies and molds with longer service life and helps reduce correction grinding through reproducibility. www.singlesourcetech.com

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TOOL TALK Ultra high-speed and agile Tool Turrets The SAUTER family of “Crown-Type Live Tool Turrets has been upgraded and expanded, with the largest having a standard drive motor rating of up to 20 hp.

This “series” of ultra high-speed and agile Tool Turrets uses a single motor for both Turret indexing and live tool drive. Available with 4, 6 or 8 tool positions that are complemented with a wide variety of standard “off-the-shelf” tool spindles, which use HSK quick-change toolholding adaptors. Multitool and special tool spindles are also available to meet specific application requirements.

Tool Turrets can be used in any orientation and are lubricated for life, alternatively, they can be connected to a central lubrication system, extending MTBF and reducing maintenance.

With a rugged design and standard features such as tool speeds up to 15,000 rpm, bi-directional high-speed indexing, a non-lifting tool carrier, high-speed/high-torque tool spindles and an integral high-pressure coolant distribution system, these Tool Turrets are the ideal choice for medium and high-volume production machines for all industries. www.indexingtechnologies.com

Ideal for boring operations of workpieces with die cast holes

CVD-coated grade for cast iron turning

BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling introduces a new small-diameter indexable rough boring solution. The new MW boring head permits small-hole rough boring in a range of Ø16mm-21mm and is ideal for semi-finish boring operations of workpieces with die cast holes.

The new MW does not feature the modular KAISER KA/ KAB connection. Built with a Ø20mm straight shank, the product performs best when paired with a milling chuck at fixed bore depths up to 4xd.

A spiral groove carved in to the body facilitates clean and quick chip removal with the help of coolant holes near the end of the groove. However, for cenblind-hole situations, an additional cen ter-through coolant option was added to aid in chip evacuation for this tricky scenario. www.bigkaiser.com

Tungaloy’s T515 is a new CVD-coated grade for cast iron turning. T515 is the highly versatile CVD-coated grade most suitable for machining cast iron. The adhesion strength between the substrate and coating layer has been drastically improved, which will strengthen the chipping and peeling resistance and offer stable machining. Excellent wear resistance in high-speed machining is another strength of this new grade. www.tungaloy.com

Excellent thread finish and gaging Emuge is offering an expanded line of Solid Carbide Thread Mills in their popular THREADS-ALL Program.

The expanded line includes a new 3XD sizes designed for maximum reach. A total of 17 new sizes have been added, from miniature to standard size tools, providing maximum versatility in a wide range of thread milling applications.

The 3XD THREADS-ALL tools, as well as the 2XD offering, enable easy machining of a variety of difficult-to-cut materials such as stainless, titanium and inconel, most often used in the demanding industries of aerospace, defense and medical. Both 2XD and 3XD THREADS-ALL tools provide a single tool solution for through and blind holes and offer full bottom threading to within one pitch. With THREADS-ALL, pitch diameter can be easily controlled. In addition, STI threads can be readily produced with THREADS-ALL, ideal for aerospace threading www.emuge.com www.canadianmetalworking.com

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HBA-110T-R2 CNC Table Type Horizontal Boring & Milling Machine

HBA-110T-R3 CNC Rotary Table Type Horizontal Boring & Milling Machine

HBA-135P-R5 CNC Planer Type with Rotary Horizontal Boring & Milling Machine

Nomura is the oldest Boring Mill manufacturer in Japan and their CNC Horizontal Boring & Milling machines are skillfully designed and superbly crafted to provide decades of accurate and trouble-free operation.

Features like a consistently straight nitride-hardened spindle and rigid construction are your assurance of virtually error-free machining of costly materials for many years to come.

To learn more about how you can get lasting precision from Nomura, give us a call.

1-589 Middlefield Rd, Toronto ON M1V 4Y6 in Phone: 416-291-9499 Fax: 416-291-4990 Machinesow Stock N Email: peter@compumachine.ca Web: www.compumachine.ca

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Introducing an opportunity for small-space and classified advertising in Canadian Metalworking

For a quote on any size ad, contact: STEVE DEVONPORT, Publisher 416-543-1641 sdevonport@canadianmetalworking.com

Metalworking Marketplace will be available in all nine issues of Canadian Metalworking, and provides the opportunity to run small space advertising and classified ads at low cost.

There are two main parts to Marketplace, Listings for Products and Services, and Classified for Machine Tool and Fabricating Equipment.

ROB SWAN, Associate Publisher 416-510-5225 cell 416-725-0145 rswan@canadianmetalworking.com

NICHOLAS HEALEY, Account Manager 416-442-5600 x3642 nhealey@canadianmetalworking.com

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING RENISHAW (CANADA) LIMITED. Renishaw laser melting system is a pioneering process capable of producing fully dense metal parts direct from 3D CAD. From tooling inserts featuring conformal cooling, to lightweight structures for aerospace & high technology applications, laser melting gives designers more freedom. Find out more at www.renishaw. com/additive.

T: 1 905 828 5519 E: Canada@renishaw.com www.renishaw.com

ASSOCIATIONS

Canada’s leading source for metalworking news and information

CANADIAN MACHINE TOOL DISTRIBUTORS’ ASSOCIATION (CMTDA) The CMTDA is a trade association dedicated to the marketing of machine tools and services in Canada through distributors. For more information about CMTDA or our members products and services, contact us at: T: 519 599 2803 E: info@cmtda.com www.cmtda.com

CUTTING TOOLS HORN USA, INC. HORN is the technology leader of indexable cutting tools with experience in over 100,000 custom application solutions and engineering expertise applied to more than 17,000 standardized turning and milling tools.

T: 888 818 4676 E: info@hornusa.com www.hornusa.com ISCAR TOOLS INC. ISCAR provides industries machine tools, carbide cutting tools, engineering and manufacturing solutions for a wide range of metal cutting applications, including innovative products, designed specifically for customer increased productivity requirements globally.

T: 905-829-9000 www.iscar.ca SANDVIK COROMANT (Cutting tools for turning, milling and drilling, modular tooling systems for lathes and machining centres. Direct sales personnel and specialists in more than 60 countries plus authorised distributors and 20 Productivity Centres worldwide providing training in tooling solutions for increased productivity) T: 905 826 8900/800 268 0703 E: coromant.ca@sandvik.com www.sandvik.coromant.com SGS TOOL COMPANY. SGS is a privately-held, ISO-certified leader of round solid carbide cutting tool technology providing value at the spindle for the aerospace, medical, power generation, and automotive industries.

T: 330-688-6667 E: sales@sgstool.com www.sgstool.com TUNGALOY. Tungaloy has supplied carbide cutting tools for over 70 years.

Supported by our sophisticated materials technology and state-of-theart processing technology, Tungaloy is committed to quality. For more information on our extensive range of products contact us at: T: 888 886 4256 www.tungaloy.co.jp.ca

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

WALTER TOOLS. The five competence brands of Walter, Walter Titex, Walter Prototyp, Walter Valenite and Walter Multiply, are united under one umbrella. With a product range of around 49,000 catalogue tools for milling, drilling, turning and threading. Walter is a complete service provider for the metalworking industry.

T: 800 945-5554 E: service.ca@walter-tools.com www.walter-tools.com/us

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Campbell Morden specializes in recruiting full-time staff for a broad range of industries, such as aerospace, automotive, CNC Machine Builders, and system integrators.

Positions include: technical sales, CNC machining, applications engineers, manufacturing management, and field service technicians – among others.

Email: bp@campbellmorden.com Call Brian Pho at 905-482-0636

EXCITING SALES CAREER OPPORTUNITY As a result of a recent promotion, we are seeking an individual to fill an inside sales position selling new Metal Forming Machinery.

This is a developmental position that will lead to an exciting career in outside sales with excellent earning potential.

Requirements for this position include previous sales experience, strong mechanical aptitude, technical trade school/college diploma or apprenticeship and above all, enthusiasm.

For more details about this Inside Sales Professional role, please visit the careers section of our website: http://westwaymachinery.com/inside-sales-professional.

Send Resume to: careers@westwaymachinery.com

EVENTS – TRADE SHOWS FABTECH CANADA. March 22-24, 2016 Toronto Congress Centre, FABTECH Canada is Canada’s largest one-stop, all-encompassing venue for the latest technologies and trends in fabricating, welding, metal forming, stamping, coating and finishing. With an unmatched reputation in the industry, FABTECH is the largest event in this sector in North America.

For more information contact us at: T: 1 888 322 7333 E: jsaperson@sme.org www.fabtechcanada.com CANADIAN MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY SHOW (CMTS). Sept 28 – Oct 1 2015, The International Centre, Mississauga. Canada’s largest display of manufacturing equipment and technology attended by over 8,000 professionals. Connect with over 700 suppliers under one roof demonstrating live, working equipment. For more information contact us at: T: 1 888 322 7333 E: jpike@sme.org www.cmts.ca

FABRICATING MACHINERY AMADA CANADA, LTD. Since 1987, Amada has provided the Canadian industry with innovative sheet metal fabrication equipment including: CNC turret punch presses, lasers, punch/laser combination machines, press brakes, automated systems, tooling and software.

Peter Burell T: 905 858 4496 pburell@amada.ca www.amada.ca TRUMPF INC. TRUMPF Inc. is the largest manufacturer of sheet metal fabrication equipment and industrial lasers in North America. Our Farmington, CT facility produces precision laser cutting machines, punching machines and CO2 and solid-state lasers.

T: 860 255 6000 E: info@us.trumpf.com www.us.trumpf.com

LASERS ROFIN-BAASEL, CANADA LTD. A Canadian division of the laser industry leader ROFIN-SINAR, provides applications, sales and a sophisticated service/technical support network for our vast line of lasers for marking, welding, cutting, and surface treatment. For more information contact us at: T: 905 607-0400 E: Info-canada@rofin-inc.com www.rofin.com

MACHINE TOOLS

SEEKING

REPRESENTATIVES Royal Products, a leading U.S. manufacturer of machine tool performance accessories, is seeking independent manufacturer’s representatives for all Canadian provinces.

For further information, please contact Brian Mecca at bmecca@royalprod.com

AMT MACHINE TOOLS LTD. AMT specializes in Sales & Service of: Star CNC Swiss Style Automatic Lathes and Hydromat Transfer Machines.

We also have a complete line of filtration products including Filtermist Oil-Mist collectors.

T 416-675-7760 E: sales@amtmachine.com www.amtmachine.com DIPAOLO MACHINE TOOLS. DiPaolo Machine Tools is the one stop shop for all of your machine tool needs. We’ll source the equipment, rebuild it, retrofit it, calibrate and service it. For more information contact us at: T: 905 676-9265 E: sales@dipaolocnc.com www.dipaolocnc.com HAAS AUTOMATION, INC. Haas Automation, Inc. – America’s leading machine tool builder – manufactures a full line of CNC vertical machining centers, CNC horizontal machining centers, CNC lathes, 5-axis machining centers, and rotary products.

T: 805 278 1800/Toll Free: 800-331-6746 E: haascnc@haascnc.com www.HaasCNC.com HURCO COMPANIES, INC. Hurco invents CNC technology that makes our customers more profitable. We design and manufacture more than 60 models of CNC machines with the most versatile control in the industry— equally powerful for NC and conversational programming.

T: 1-800-634-2416 E: info@hurco.com www.hurco.com

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

MAKINO, INC. Makino is a world leader in advanced CNC machining centers for today’s most complex metalworking applications. With a wide range of high-precision metal-cutting and EDM machinery, we help our customers make what matters.

T: 513-573-7200 E: webmaster@makino.com www.makino.com MAZAK CORPORATION. Mazak is a leader in the design, manufacture and support of advanced technology solutions, including Multi-Tasking, 5-axis, milling, turning, CNC controls and automation, for all metal working industry segments.

T: 859 342 1700 E: triddell@mazakcorp.com www.mazakusa.com MITCHAM MACHINE TOOLS INC. Mitcham Machine Tools Inc. are Canadian distributors of CNC and manual Machine Tools. With our extensive product line from manufactures around the world, we will work with you to find you the right machine for your needs, both on time, and within budget.

T: 416-458-7994.

E: sales@mitchammachinetools.com www.mitchammachinetools.com TOS TRADE CANADA Inc. is a subsidiary of TOS Varnsdorf, the established manufacturer of a broad range of quality horizontal boring mills. Over 1000 boring mills installed within past 25 years.

T: 905-878-0888 E: info@tostrade.com www.tostrade.com

MACHINERY ELLIOTT MATSUURA CANADA INC. Elliott Matsuura Canada Inc. is an industry-leading supplier of quality machine tools coast to coast in Canada.

Since 1950, Elliott has provided complex metal cutting solutions to meet the challenges of aerospace, automotive, medical, energy, and other industries.

T: 905-829-2211 E: info@elliottmachinery.com www.elliottmachinery.com

MARKING GRAVOTECH, INC. Gravotech are global leaders in the design, manufacturing, sales, and support of innovative solutions for engraving, marking and artistic modeling. As a global leader in durable marking technologies such as engraving, laser, micro-percussion and scribing, we utilize our expertise to develop and market equipment, software and consumables for every application.

T 800-843-7637 E: sales@us..gravotech.com www.gravotech.us

MATERIAL HANDLING PRAB. A global manufacturer of material handling equipment for scrap metal and coolant recycling. A broad line of conveyors, wringers, crushers, briquetters, and fluid filtration and recycling equipment will automate scrap processing while maximizing production and improving safety and environmental compliance.

Robert Webb Authorized PRAB Sales Representative T: 905-296-2039 E: robert@rgwsalescanada.com

Alro Steel

Metals Industrial Supplies Plastics

Your One Stop Shop for cut-to-size Metals & Plastics with daily deliveries to Ontario, Canada Since 1948 104 | AUGUST 2015

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888-888-ALRO 2 5 7 6

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

METAL FINISHING

RETENTION KNOBS

PFERD. The PFERD brand name is synonymous with outstanding premium-quality tools and abrasives. Today, we manufacture more than 7,500 PFERD brand grinding, cutting and surface finishing tools. And a complete range of ADVANCE BRUSH power and maintenance brushes.

T: 905-501-1555 E: sales@pferdcanada.ca www.pferdcanada.ca WALTER SURFACE TECHNOLOGIES. Walter Surface Technologies has been a leader in surface treatment technologies for more than 60 years, and has been providing high productivity abrasives, power tools, tooling, chemical solutions and environmental solutions for the metal working industry.

T: 1-888-592-5837 E: csr@walter.com www.walter.com

IN STOCK American Standards and specials.

Japanese Standards - inch or metric.

FOR FAST DELIVERY: Contact your local tooling dealer or order direct.

TEL 937-686-6405  FAX 937-686-4125 www.retentionknobsupply.com

METALS BÖHLER-UDDEHOLM CANADA is a leading manufacturer of high quality tool steel, high speed steel, powder metallurgical steels, stainless steels, and specialty alloys. Products and conveniently located facilities are supported by a highly trained technical sales force and by a local and international metallurgical support staff. For more information contact: 1-800-665-8335 or www.bucanada.ca/contact_us.htm

QUALITY CONTROL RENISHAW (CANADA) LIMITED. Introducing a unique versatile gauging system. Equator, an alternative to custom gauging, offers inspection of an unprecedented variety of manufactured parts. Proven and Developed on the shop floor with industry leading gauging users in a variety of industries and applications. For more contact us at www.renishaw.com/gauging.

T: 1 905 828 0104 E: Canada@renishaw.com www.renishaw.com

Retention Knob Supply Company P.O.Box 61 Bellefontaine, OH43311

WELDING SUPPLIES LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY OF CANADA. Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and brazing and soldering alloys. For more information contact us at: T 905 565 5600 www.lincolnelectric.ca

WORKHOLDING SAMCHULLY WORKHOLDING, INC. Samchully Workholding leverages a broad range of complementary products to provide full turn-key custom solutions. The ability to single source the solutions ensures customers optimal compatibility and unsurpassed quality control.

T 949-727-3001/1-877-750-4747 E info@samchullyworkholding.com www.samchully.com

ADVERTISERS INDEX ADVERTISER 3M Canada Amada Canada, Ltd. AMT Machine Tools Ltd. Brubaker Compumachine Creaform 3D CWB Group Data Flute Delcam Dipaolo Machine Tools ERI America Inc. FANUC Canada, Ltd. Ferro Technique Ltd. Gullco International Haas Automation Inc. Haimer USA Heule Tool Corporation Hobart Brothers HORN USA, Inc Hurco USA Hydromat Inc. IESO Index Traub Ingersoll Iscar Tools Inc. ITI Tooling Kinetic Cutting Systems Inc. Koma Precison, Inc. Kyocera Precision Tools Inc. Lincoln Electric Company of Canada

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ADVERTISER Machitech Automation Makino Inc. MC Machinery Methods Machine Tools Micro 100 Mitcham Machine Tools Multicyl Inc. Okuma PFERD Powerhold Inc. PRAB Renishaw (Canada) Ltd. Samchully Workholding, Inc. Sandvik Schunk Intec Corporation Scientific Cutting Tools Scotchman Industries, Inc. SGS Tool Company Sirco Machinery SME CMTS Soraluce Thomas Skinner TOS Trade Toshiba Machine Co. Canada Ltd. TRUMPF Inc. Tungaloy America Inc. Vargus USA Walter Surface Technologies Walter USA, LLC Weldon Tool

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BY THE NUMBERS

CANADIAN SME OWNERS (2011)

SMEs IN CANADA

65+ (11.3%) 50-64 (48.4%)

10+ (77.2%)

40-49 (28.2%) 5-10 (17.8%)

30-39 (10.6%) Under 30 (1.6%)

Under 5 (5%) YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

Industry Canada defines a small business as having one to 99 paid employees; a medium-sized business has 100 to 499 paid employees.

Revenue growth rates for manufacturing-related SMEs stood at 4.1% in 2000, dropping to – 7.7% in 2009 at the height of the recession.

Revenue growth rates improved since then, rising to 2.4% in 2011 then 1.9% in 2012.

In 2011, Canadian businesses of all sizes exported $374 billion of goods, of which $191 billion was manufacturing-related.

Aerospace and automotive remain two of the largest segments within Canadian manufacturing. Following are some facts and stats about Canadian SMEs.

AGE

TOP EXPORT DESTINATIONS FOR CANADIAN SMEs

91.6% U.S.A.

13.5% ASIA (OTHER)

9.4%

CHINA

— By Nate Hendley

% 33.9 EUROPE

23.5% LATIN AMERICA

Source: Industry Canada

CANADIAN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY:

# OF ESTABLISHMENTS BY EMPLOYEE SIZE TOTAL OF 51,613 BUSINESSES (2012)

1-4

5-9

10-19

20-49

50-99

100-199

200-499

500+

17,478

10,427

8,556

8,001

3,638

2,113

1,115

285

(34%)

(20%)

(17%)

(15%)

(7%)

(4%)

(2%)

(1%)

106 | AUGUST 2015

06CMW-Numbers.indd 106

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