PLNT62_2010

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Volume 5, No. 01 >> Supplement, Canadian PLANT >> March 2010

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FORESTRY JOINS THE

BIO AGE

Industry looks for growth in energy and chemicals HIGHLIGHTS Budget 2010: Not much for manufacturing 7 Is your plant hissing money away?

8 New ways to treat wastewater 9 Blue Falls heats up the home spa industry 10

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Editorial

New reality, new PLANT

6

Y

ou have likely noticed something different about your copy of PLANT WEST. Well, ta-da! It has undergone a reboot as we begin 2010 facing all the changes and challenges that lie ahead. Welcome to Canadian PLANT WEST. Manufacturers who have survived the glorious year that was 2009 are awakening to a new reality: the global economy has changed since the financial meltdown last fall ignited the recession that accelerated job losses and plant closings around the world.

On the home front, Statistics Canada pegs manufacturing job losses at 190,000, two thirds of the total job losses for the entire economy. The forestry industry has been hit particularly hard by conditions that were exacerbated by the recession. So far, 50,000 jobs have been lost over the past few years.

Canada’s energy sector has been the power behind its economic engine, but there are challenges ahead. The world needs our oil, but our biggest customer residing south of the border thinks what comes out of the oil sands is dirty. So the pressure is on Alberta and the extraction operations to clean it up, as new regulatory levers lurk in the background.

On the bright side, business is picking up for provinces that are strong in resource commodities but it will be slow-going for manufacturers who can look forward to even fiercer competition for fewer opportunities in the marketplace.

Canadian companies that export will have to figure out a way to win with a loonie on or close to par with the US buck. Business will be slower with the US, so you will have to look to other markets. And you’ll have to invest in new technologies, not only to become more, innovative, productive and efficient, but to transform your operations into more environmentally responsible enterprises.

All of these factors and others prompted the PLANT team to rethink how it serves you, Canada’s manufacturers.

The challenges you face require a sharper focus on certain management issues. So, as you change your companies to address the new realties of your marketplaces, we are changing with you.

Canadian PLANT WEST will reflect our national mandate as a business publication for senior executives and operations management, and the emphasis will be “Insights and strategies for industry leaders,” which is our new tag line.

Canadian PLANT WEST will focus on several main themes such as management, trends, operations, innovation, sustainability and technology. You’ll see profiles of successful western businesses, case studies, application stories, and new products, all with more spin on taking action.

You still trust print publications and spend a lot of time with them. They are wonderfully portable, organized for easy access and provide an easy to read format. But there are some things the internet world can do better, and one of them is deliver the news.

As a result, we are shifting the bulk of our news coverage to online channels. There will be news available daily from PLANT staff and Canadian Press at www.plant.ca, but we urge you, if you haven’t done so already, to sign up for the PLANT e-Newsblast.

It will deliver to your inbox about five news stories weekly, plus a couple of industry reports and other valuable features. Turn to page 4 for instructions to subscribe online.

Hope you like the familiar but revitalized format.

Joe Terrett, Editor Comments? E-mail joe.terrett@plant.rogers.com.

Vol. 5, No. 01, March, 2010 Editor: Joe Terrett 416-764-1546 joe.terrett@plant.rogers.com Features Editor: Noelle Stapinsky 416-764-1449 noelle.stapinsky@rci.rogers.com Contributing Editors: Ron Richardson, Steve Gahbauer Art Director: Kathy Smith 416-764-1542 kathy.smith@rci.rogers.com Junior Web Producer: Jessica Mirabelli 416-764-1316 jessica.mirabelli@rci.rogers.com Director of Sales, Marketing and Customer Service: Laura Goodwin 416-764-1492 laura.goodwin@rci.rogers.com District Sales Manager: Dean Walter 416-764-1776 dean.walter@rci.rogers.com Advertising Representative: Jason Lofkrantz 416-764-1521 jason.lofkrantz@rci.rogers.com

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Canadian PLANT Fax: 416-764-1742 Circulation Manager: Celia Ramnarine 416-764-1451 deokie.ramnarine@rci.rogers.com Production Manager: Adrian Valks 416-764-3852 adrian.valks@rci.rogers.com Executive Publisher of the Industrial Group, BPPG: Tim Dimopoulos 416-764-1499 tim.dimopoulos@rci.rogers.com Rogers Media Inc. President and CEO: Anthony P. Viner Rogers Publishing Limited President and CEO: Brian Segal Senior Vice-President Business & Professional Publishing: John Milne Senior Vice-Presidents: Marc Blondeau, Michael Fox Vice-Presidents: Immee Chee Wah, Patrick Renard Editorial Advisory Board: Robert Hattin, Edson Packaging Machinery • Ron Harper, Cogent Power • Greg MacDonald, Wentworth International Services • Roy Verstraete, Anchor Danly Subscription Department: For subscriptions services e-mail: rogers@cstonecanada.com 416-932-5071 Fax 416-932-1620 Outside Toronto 1-866-236-0608

7

9 Features

>> TRENDS

6 Forestry Industry looks to bio products for growth.

7 Budget 2010 Not much for manufacturing.

Opinion Buy American exemption: bad for more open trade.

>> OPERATIONS

9 Saving Energy Compressed air leaks are costing you money.

>> SUSTAINABILITY

9 Wastewater New technologies address environmental and operational challenges.

>> INNOVATION

10 Company Profile Blue Falls builds winter-proof home spas.

Departments 4 Industry View Events 5 PLANT Pulse 12 Postscript

10 Mail: Canadian PLANT, Circulation Dept. 7th Floor, One Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto ON M4Y 2Y5 Subscriber Services: To subscribe, renew your subscription or to change your address or information, please visit us at www.rogersb2bmedia.com/plnt. Mail Preferences: Occasionally we make our subscriber list available to reputable companies whose products or services may be of interest to you. If you do not want your name to be made available, please contact us at rogers@cstonecanada.com or update your profile at www. rogersb2bmedia.com/plnt.

Canadian PLANT—established 1941, is published by Rogers Publishing Limited, a division of Rogers Media Inc., One Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, Ontario, M4Y 2Y5. Montreal Office: 1200 avenue McGill College, Bureau 800, Montreal, Quebec, H3B 4G7. Subscription Price: Canada $69.00 per year, Outside Canada $141.00 US per year, Single Copy Canada $5.50. Plant is published 8 times per year except for occasional combined, expanded or premium issues, which count as two subscription issues. Printed in Canada, contents of this publication are protected by copyright and must not be reprinted in whole or in part without permission of the publisher. Publications Mail Agreement #40070230 R10814. Return undeliverable items to: Canadian PLANT Circulation department., 8th Floor, One Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto ON M4Y 2Y5. U.S. periodicals registration no. 0010-881 at Lewiston, N.Y. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Rogers Media, PO Box 4541,

Buffalo, New York, 14240, USA Performance claims for products listed in this issue are made by contributing manufacturers and agencies.

No responsibility for the accuracy of these performance claims can be assumed on the part of Canadian PLANT or Rogers Media and its agents or distributors. Contents copyright© 2010 by Rogers Publishing Limited, may not be reprinted without permission.

Canadian PLANT receives unsolicited materials (including letters to the editor, press releases, promotional items and images) from time to time. Canadian PLANT, 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. This statement does not apply to materials/pitches submitted by freelance writers, photographers or illustrators in accordance with known industry practices. Our environmental policy is available at www. rogerspublishing.ca/environment. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) towards our mailing costs.

TM

ISSN 0845-4213

Canadian PLANT WEST 3

>> Industry View

>> PLANT Online

Solar film-growth joint venture formed

NEWS ALERT!

The internet and Canadian PLANT WEST’s e-news capability means we can deliver important manufacturing news to you in a more timely fashion, so we are moving it online. Tune in by signing up for Canadian PLANT’s weekly e-newsletter. It’s a quick read: there will be about five fresh news items, including national coverage provided

by Canadian Press, some industry reports and a poll question that will give you an opportunity to sound off about the weekly topic.

• Go to www.plant.ca • ABOUT US/Print Subscription • Scroll down to the PLANT logo • Click on the mouse icon • Select register/check Online Access

Click on Community The PLANT web site is your go-to for research and reports. Click on Research and download these reports: • The Real Have-Nots In Confederation: British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.

• Future Bio-pathways Project (see Trends, page 16) • Leaner product portfolios increase profitability And be sure to go to www.plant.ca throughout the week for daily news updates from PLANT staff and Canadian Press.

VANCOUVER: Natcore Technology Inc. is forming a joint venture company with a consortium in China to develop and manufacture film-growth equipment and materials used in solar cells.

Vancouver-based Natcore, sole licensee of a thin-film growth technology developed by Rice University in Houston, and Zhuzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone will form Natcore China to manufacture anti-reflective film growth equipment and materials using Natcore’s proprietary liquid phase deposition.

Natcore’s technology grows thin films of silicon dioxide that enables roomtemperature growth of various silicon oxides on silicon wafers.

The company said the technology has the potential to allow for the first time mass manufacturing of super-efficient tandem solar cells with double the power output of today’s most efficient devices.

Day4 catching rays in Australia BURNABY, BC: Day4 Energy Inc. has signed a distribution agreement with an Australian company that will cover the Australian, New Zealand and Oceania markets.

Regency Solar, a supplier of solar energy products and systems based in Melbourne, will focus on providing its

Day4 solar panels installed at Portland Habilitation Center, in Portland, Ore.

PHOTO: DAY4

Departments

customers with solar energy solutions based exclusively around Day4 Energy solar module technology.

This is the first foray into the region for Day4 Energy, a Burnaby, BC-based manufacturer of high performance photovoltaic solar technology for residential, commercial and utility scale installations.

The first shipment of Day4 Energy’s high performance 48MC modules to Regency Solar was completed immediately upon the signing of the agreement.

Solar inverters going to Spain CALGARY: Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd. will deliver 500 of its

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4 Canadian PLANT WEST 2010-UK COL.indd 1

C-More April 12-16, Toronto Improve your reliability decisions. Centre for Maintenance Optimization and Reliability Engineering (C-More) at the University of Toronto presents a five-day learning experience that will help maintenance pros cut costs, reduce interruptions, anticipate and spot trouble, and achieve greater output.

Visit www.utoronto.ca/april.

Micromanufacturing & Nanomanufacturing Conference SME April 14-15, Phoenix The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) provides ideas to improve micromanufacturing. Nanomanufacturing will look at the latest applications and trends in topdown fabrication and bottom-up assembly techniques. Visit www.sme.org/micro and www.sme.org/nanomanufacturing.

World Tooling & Machining Conference ISTMA June 20-24, Windsor, Ont. This is the 13th annual meeting of the International Special Tooling and Machinery Association (ISTMA). The world event, hosted by the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association (CMTA) and the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) in the US, will explore global opportunities for special tooling and machining companies.

Visit www.istma.org/istma-world.

Sunergy solar power inverters to Spain for a power plant in El Pinos, Alicante.

Tejados Industriales de Fotovoltaica, SL., an engineering procurement and construction company affiliated with Signet Solar GmbH, will be taking the delivery for the 2.5 megawatt plant.

Sustainable Energy Technologies, a Calgary-based manufacturer of power inverters for grid-connected solar photo voltaic (PV) systems, said this is the first delivery under a 10-megawatt supply contract with Tejados.

The ground-based solar plant, which is being developed by Tejados using Signet Solar thin film PV modules, is scheduled for grid-connection in early May. Sustainable Energy said its patented Paralex system architecture allows most thin film solar PV modules to be wired in a massive parallel array, eliminating module mismatch losses, and mitigating the impact of dirt and debris on total system performance.

Raydan closes Ontario plants EDMONTON: Raydan Manufacturing Inc., a manufacturer of specialized suspension and coupling systems for trucks, trailers and heavy equipment, has shut down its wholly owned Ontario subsidiary.

The Edmonton company said the best way to protect the troubled company and its creditors would be to privately appoint a receiver and to enter Raydan Manufacturing Ontario Inc. into voluntary receivership.

Raydan said the closure applies to operations in Ontario only and will “minimally affect” its operations in Alberta.

Profire expanding to US EDMONTON: Profire Energy, Inc. has purchased warehouse and office space in Lindon, Utah as its US-based headquarters.

The manufacturer and service provider of oilfield burner management systems and related combustion products is expanding in the energy rich regions of the US. The new facility will be configured for inventory storage and for assembly of products and systems, which the company said will cut lead times and decrease shipping costs.

Profire’s Canadian headquarters will remain in Spruce Grove, Alta., just outside of Edmonton.

March 2010 12/9/09 11:24:28 AM

Economy << Departments REAL GDP

1,245 1,240 1,235 1,230 1,225 1,220 1,215 1,210 1,205 1,200 1,195 1,190 1,185 1,180

Economic developments and trends

D J

J J

2007

GDP 5% ahead of last year index

(1997=100)

J

2008

2009

Growth goods-producing Source: in Statistics Canada industries rose 1%, in January largely on the strength of mining and manufacturing.

EI CLAIMS

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCER PRICES

RAW MATERIALS PRICES index (1997=100)

number

130

850,000 800,000

125

750,000 700,000

120

J 2007

J 2008

J 2009

2010

110 105 100

Industrial product price index (PPI) IPPI excluding petroleum and coal products J

J 2007

J 2008

2009

500,000 450,000 400,000

J

J

BY PLANT WEST STAFF

Goods producing industries were up 1%, driven by manufacturing and mining. Investment in plants and equipment was down 2.3% after a 1.6% increase in the third quarter. Machinery and equipment decreased as well by 2.4% after a 5.3% gain the previous quarter.

Exports of goods and services were up 3.7%, led by automotive products (13%), industrial goods and materials (6.9%) and energy products (5.7%).

Industrial product prices rose 0.3% in January. Petroleum and coal prices were the biggest contributors with a 4.4% rebound from a 1.4% drop in December.

Raw materials prices were up 3.3% after a 1.7% decline in December, driven by mineral fuels, particularly crude oil (up 5.6%), which had dropped 4.9% in December.

Higher demand drove up non-ferrous metals prices, particularly copper concentrates (6%), zinc concentrates (3. %) and nickel concentrates (6.9%).

Aerospace products and parts led with a 28.1% increase following a 17.1% drop in November. Vehicle sales have continued to rise since January 2009, up 4.4% in December. Petroleum and coal were up 2.4% but nonmetallic mineral products declined 6.4 per cent.

Inventories were down 1% to $59 billion in 17 of 21 industries, the tenth monthly decline in 2009. The inventory-to-sales ratio declined to a more normal 1.37 and unfilled orders rose 2.3% to $52.4 billion.

Statistics Canada has completed a study of foreign controlled assets as of 2007 and found acquisitions of Canadian-controlled firms, particularly in manufacturing and oil and gas, increased 10.6 per cent. This gave foreign-controlled firms control of 21.3% of corporate assets, up slightly from 21.1% the year before.

Assets under Canadian control rose 9.9%, led by the depository credit intermediation industry.

J

2007

2010

Industrial product prices rose 0.3% in January, an improvement over Source: Statistics Canada December’s 0.1% increase but still behind a 1% gain in November.

T

550,000

J

The Raw Materials Price Index rebounded 3.3% in January after a 1.7% Source: Statistics Canada decline in December, continuing the upward trend that began in January 2009.

he economic recovery appears to be coming along nicely, and profits are up, even for manufacturers, according to Statistics Canada’s latest economic reports.

Corporation profits increased 7.9% ($4.4 billion) during the fourth quarter to $60.1 billion, with manufacturers’ share up for a third consecutive quarter to $11.2 billion, an increase of 4.4 per cent. Top contributors were chemicals, plastics and rubber; wood and paper; and primary metal, while motor vehicle and parts manufacturers saw profits drop $583 million.

All provinces saw fewer regular EI beneficiaries in December, especially Ontario, Quebec, BC and Alberta.

There were 70,100 Albertans receiving regular benefits, down 3,200 from November, following three months of increases; that’s 7,200 more than June’s level.

BC’s recipients declined by 3,300 to 89,300, the fifth decline in six months. There have been gains since June finance, insurance, real estate and leasing.

Statistics Canada reported 1.2% growth in real GDP in the final quarter of 2009, a 5% jump from a year earlier.

December’s growth was 0.6%, the fourth consecutive monthly increase.

Manufacturing sales rose 1.6% in December to $43 billion with most gains in the transportation equipment industry. Aerospace products and parts, motor vehicle, and the petroleum and coal product industries fuelled the increase.

Manitoba saw an increase of 5% to $56 million, reversing a 4.2% drop in November. Sales decreased 2.3% in BC reflecting declines in both the primary metals and wood products industries.

600,000

J

D

2008

2009

The number of employment Source: Statistics Canada insurance claims received has been trending down since the peak in May 2009.

INVENTORIES $ billions 70 68 66 64

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

J

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

Raw materials price index (RMPI) RMPI excluding mineral fuels

115

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

650,000 SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

240 230 220 210 200 190 180 170 160 150 140 130 120 110 100

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

billions of chained (2002) dollars

62 60 58

DJ 2005

J 2006

J 2007

J 2008

D 2009

A 1% decline in manufacturers’ December inventories was partially offset Source: Statistics Canada be a 3.3% increase in petroleum and coal products.

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1/18/10 10:54:4

Trends

>> Forestry

Forestry industry

banks on bio-age

Integrating bio-energy production will be key

By Noelle Stapinsky, Features Editor

T

he economy may be on the mend, but Canada’s battered forest industry continues to struggle. The recession didn’t help but forestry’s declining fortunes were well underway before the economy tanked last year. Demand for many forestry products is in decline while crippling pricing pressures from global competitors, particularly those in developing countries, are driving Canadian companies into bankruptcies, and plants are closing, resulting in mounting job losses (more than 90,000 since 2001).

The industry needs to find new ways to prosper and support its workforce of 270,000, and that “something new” may be bio-energy and biochemicals.

A year long-study—The Bio-pathways Project—was commissioned by the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), which represents Canada’s wood, pulp and paper producers nationally and internationally. It revealed forestry companies could capitalize on the bio-age by integrating bio-energy production with existing operations.

“It’s really about the transformation of the sector,” says Catherine Cobden, FPAC’s vice-president of economics and regulatory affairs.

The study pulled together more than 60 industry experts, executives and governments to assess 27 traditional and emerging biochemical and bio-energy technologies on an economic, social and environmental level. And they discovered forestry companies need to look no further than their existing operations.

By integrating biotechnology, forestry companies can convert biomass (wood fibre) for other uses while producing traditional products.

“There are some segments that are always going to be profitable. Lumber is the most obvious one,” says Cobden.

However, a lot of pulp and paper companies need to transform themselves and they have the most significant opportunities in the biochemical field. Their relationships with the sawmills will have

6 Canadian PLANT WEST

to change, though.

“Pulp mills look at saw mills as providers. They have to become partners,” says Pierre Lapointe, president and CEO of Quebec-based FPInnovations, Canada’s largest forestry sector research organization and the provider of the potential technologies studied in the Bio-pathways Project.

Traditionally, saw mills would burn residual waste to generate energy. With an integrated bio system in place, Lapointe says they can produce hardwood, two by fours and other wood products while using the residual waste such as the tops of trees, bark and stumps as the feedstock for a bio product.

Pulp mills would continue to produce paper, but also extract some of the cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin at the end of the process. The cellulose is used to make bio chemicals and hemicelluloses produces polymer and ethanol.

“If you can replace polymer with hemicelluloses you are reducing your hydrocarbon use within plastics and you end up with a greener product,” says Lapointe.

One of the technologies studied (which had the highest return on capital employed at more than 20%) was a pyrolysis system developed by Ottawa-based Ensyn Technologies Inc.

PHOTO: iSTOCKPHOTO

to its survival

cooled. This creates a high yield of liquid bio oil from the residual biomass.

“This piece of equipment is mostly focused on running on residual materials such as sawdust and bark,” says Goodfellow. “From a company perspective those are materials that they’re trying to find a better use for.”

FPInnovations has developed a new technology that produces nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), which may become an alterative to nano-carbon tubes used in the automotive and aerospace industry.

The cellulose within a tree is made up

“The challenge is not going to be the willingness to change...There's no capital money available... ” Ensyn’s rapid thermal process (RTP) pyrolysis converts biomass into a liquid in less than two seconds.

“It can process pretty much any type of biomass. Certain types perform better than others, but wood works really well.

It also processes agricultural biomass and materials from construction demolition,” says Randall Goodfellow, senior vicepresident of Ensyn’s corporate relations.

When biomass is put into the RTP vessel, it’s rapidly heated to 500 degrees C by a tornado of hot sand, and then quickly

of long linear molecules packed closely together to create a strong chemical bond that forms crystalline regions that are highly resistant to pulping chemicals.

But this strength is also what makes it possible to prepare pulp, which would otherwise turn into syrup.

“We are doing research with a helicopter company to introduce NCCs in their rotors,” says Lapointe. “It’s a totally new field. Imagine using [trees] in aerospace manufacturing.”

FPInnoations is currently working with

a Canadian company to set up a pre-commercial NCC demonstration plant that will cost $40 million. Lapointe estimates it would cost $150 million to $250 million for a full commercial plant and getting this kind of money will be tough.

“The challenge is not going to be the willingness to change,” says Lapointe.

“There’s no capital money available at this point.”

Armed with the study results, FPAC is calling on the federal government for help, asking for $300 million per year over the next three to five years. Cobden says the $300 million could come from additional funding or changing existing programs. And the association would like the government to come up with a Made in Canada clean energy action plan to help advance the development of home grown technology; create a repayable revolving fund for capital investments; and leverage the tax system to create capital investment tax credits to keep up with incentives offered in the US and abroad.

Although the request for an interview from the Minister of Natural Resources was denied at press time, the Ministry did release a statement from Christian Paradis, minister of natural resources, who said a $1-billion pulp and paper green transformation program is in place to help companies become leaders in the production of renewable energy from forest

March 2010

Budget 2010 << Trends

Slim pickings for manufacturing Continued commitment to

Companies can convert wood fibre from forest waste into bio-chemicals and alternative fuels.

reduce corporate taxes

Prepping industry Last December, FPAC presented the study findings to all of the CEOs in FPAC’s and FPInnovations’ memberships. They have access to all the details and technical issues necessary to make decisions, and a suite of interactive tools that will allow companies to analyze their specific circumstances and gauge their best prospects.

Although there is potential for many companies to profit from bio-integration, Cobden and Lapointe agree it’s not for everyone. It really boils down to location and site specificity, which makes a huge difference in the cost structure.

For example, if a company in northern Quebec were to produce ethanol but have to travel 400 kilometres south to get it to the marketplace, it wouldn’t be economical.

All the same, Cobden says bio-integration will inspire companies to look at new ways of doing business and it could potentially lead to new partnerships with other industries. The study also showed that companies integrating biotechnology not only sustain their current work forces, they create more jobs.

For an industry so closely tied to the environment, it’s fitting that salvation and renewal may come from pursuing a greener agenda.

Noelle Stapinsky is the features editor of Canadian PLANT and Canadian Manufacturing.com. E-mail noelle. stapinsky@rci.rogers.com.

Comments? E-mail joe.terrett@plant. rogers.com.

www.plant.ca

By Mike Ouellette

C

anada’s embattled manufacturers have been left to fend for themselves.

Granted, while some measures in the 2010 Federal Budget touch portions of the sector that contributes 15% of our GDP, these measures will have little impact in reducing the costs of doing business or driving investment in new technology, new products and access to new markets.

“We were really looking for an extension to last year’s write-off on machinery and equipment and more tax credits for training and improving the research and development in the manufacturing sector,” said Jayson Myers, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, an Ottawa-based advisory and lobby group.

“With employment insurance rates going up, it will hold back employment so I would have thought they would want to encourage training. We need more targeted measures that support investment in new technology, products and skills. We should have seen more money going to support industry investment instead of government investment in research,” he said.

Perhaps the most important item is the federal government’s continued commitment to reducing the corporate tax rate from 22.12% in 2006 to 15% in 2012, with the aim of having the lowest corporate income tax rate in the G7 countries.

As for budget items actually announced this year, there are few that will provide a broad benefit.

Tariff inputs The much-anticipated tariff elimination on 1,541 manufacturing inputs on March 5, 2010 will save about $88 million a year on average, a paltry sum. Indeed, many manufacturers don’t currently pay tariffs on their inputs because they have already been removed.

The removal of administrative and economic barriers to foreign investment in Canadian innovation and technology could help Canadian companies fill the void left by reduced business lending levels during and after the recession.

“The Canadian government has listened to the financing community, understood the severity of the problem and removed the major tax barriers that have prevented critically needed international investment capital from crossing our borders,” said John Ruffolo, global tax technology, media and telecommunications leader at Deloitte in Toronto.

This measure removes huge barriers for many venture capitalists who considered the previous requirements and

economic delays strong deterrents to investing in Canada.

This is important because foreign venture capitalists—which are not subject to Canadian tax when selling an investment—face a delay of many months to work through the tax clearance process.

Often each of the investors, sometimes numbering in the hundreds, is subject to this clearance process as if they held the investment directly. This results in lower returns and causes direct financial loss to investors.

The budget also extended the maxi-

Mike Ouellette is the editor and online producer of Canadian Manaufacturing. com. E-mail mike.ouellette@rci.rogers. com.

PHOTO: CANADIAN PRESS

biomass. And the government has made a $292.5-million investment—$170 million of which came from Canada’s Economic Action Plan—to expand new domestic and international markets, advance innovation and to help FPInnovations develop breakthrough technologies.

Cobden says FPAC’s approach is not to pick winners and losers, but remain neutral on the technologies and products and make funds available for whatever delivers the best economic and social benefit.

If the government doesn’t invest additional money or make funds more readily available through existing programs, Cobden believes a biotransformation will take place anyway. “The economics are pretty clear. It will just take longer.”

Apart from capital costs, transforming a forest products company is mostly about changing the way the industry sees its markets and how it can diversify into new ones.

mum length of work-share agreements, which helps avoid temporary layoffs when facing a reduction in the normal level of business activity.

A few other industrial mentions include a capital cost allowance to encourage deployment of renewable energy technology in the forest sector, $1 billion over three years for pulp and paper companies to improve energy efficiency and environmental performance and $75 million over three years to improve cattle processing plant operations.

Wow, that’s a lot for the cows, but for manufacturing this budget doesn’t have much meat.

Finance minister Jim Flaherty delivers the 2010 budget.

>> Opinion

Buy American exemption: part of the problem

By Todd Hirsch

I

t’s been a long time coming, but there were sighs of relief emanating from some Canadian boardrooms and factory floors when news came that a deal was in place to exempt Canadian companies from the Buy America clauses in US stimulus spending legislation.

We learned 37 US states and the US federal government are involved in a deal that will allow previously shut-out Canadian companies to bid on infrastructure projects financed under the massive $787-billion economic stimulus package. And a “fast-track” consultation process will kick in if more Buy America clauses are imposed in the future. Essentially a precedent has been set that more-or-less ensures Canadian firms will be exempt. In exchange, US firms get access to provincial and municipal projects. Previously, they had access only to Canada’s federal government procurement.

Unfortunately, much of the $787 billion in stimulus cash has already been spent but the real disappointment is the Buy America policies continue and such major protectionist trade barriers are bad news for the global economy. Governments around the world are under enormous pressure to erect similar protectionist policies.

Before you know it, global trade flows start to drop and years of gains in wealth under liberalized trade are erased.

Opponents to global trade will cheer on these protectionist developments. They’re against globalizm because of the injustices sometimes associated with international trade, such as the lack of labour laws in developing countries and the pillaging of natural resources in places with corrupt or naïve governments. While these issues are serious, they are not the result of global trade.

Without question, growth in worldwide trade since the 1950s has boosted global wealth and standards of living. The Buy America policy sets a very poor example. The exemption deal will certainly benefit Canadian firms, but all we’ve managed to do is get behind the American’s trade wall, and there’s no incentive to press Washington on trade issues.

Todd Hirsch is a senior economist at Edmonton-based ATB Financial, a Crown corporation that extends financial services to Albertans. E-mail thirsch@atb.com.

This column is distributed by Troy Media Corp.

Canadian PLANT WEST 7

Operations

>> Saving Energy

>> Products Conveying & lifting

Spiralling into control.

LOW-TENSION CONVEYING The Spiral Conveyor from General Conveyor Co. Ltd. in Aurora, Ont. provides an alternative to a low-tension spiral.

It’s constructed with mild or stainless steel and is simply designed using minimal parts. Because the drum is stationary, a special chain with a bearing mechanism is used to reduce the tension.

The conveyor, suitable for cases, totes, bottles, cans, trays, books and many other products, not only provides an elevation change in a limited space, it can also be used for accumulation/cooling and integrates easily into a conveying system.

Infeed/discharge can be configured in a variety of ways and reversible models are available.

Standard belt widths range from 7-1/2 to 24 in. and a PLC with operator interface panel is optional. www.gccl.com

SYSTEM OFFERS DYMAMIC CONVERGENCE The DynaCon Spur Conveyor from Dynamic Conveyor gently transfers products from one conveying line to another.

The conveyor system manufacturer based in Muskegon, Mich. has designed it for merging or diverging products and boxes where numerous lines must transfer onto a main conveyor line. It’s made with a series of 4-in.-wide plastic link style belts, running on a common/shared driveshaft, mounted in a centre drive. The tailstock has a staggered end for each 4-in. belt, which creates the 45-degree in-feed.

The conveyor can be used with a pneumatic diverting arm to merge product from workstations, machines or similar operations onto a main conveyor.

It comes in widths ranging from 4 to 24 in. and can be up to 8 ft. long. www.dynamicconveyor.com

FORKLIFT ONBOARD SCALE WEIGHS, GATHERS DATA The Rice Lake CLS-420 scale from Alliance Scale Inc. combines lifting, weighing, transfer and data collection onboard your forklift.

The 5,000 lb. capacity, NTEP-certified scale saves the space needed for a traditional floor model. It’s powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion smart battery— which lasts 24 hours—and has an onboard weigh indicator with 1 MB memory.

Capable of data logging and storing up to 10,000 records, the scale uses wireless communications to transmit data to a central computer system in real-time. www.alliancescale.com

8 Canadian PLANT WEST

PLUG your compressed air leaks YOU'RE HISSING MONEY AWAY THAT COULD BE FALLING TO YOUR BOTTOM LINE

BY DOUG WAETJEN

W

ith all the talk about energy and carbon reduction, many manufacturers fail to realize there are incredible opportunities for cutting energy waste and carbon gases that are right under their noses. And it isn’t always necessary to commit to major capital-intensive programs that produce long-term returns on investment. There are plenty of inexpensive projects with short-term, almost immediate returns.

One of these is repairing leaks in compressed air and steam systems, which for some has translated into hundreds of thousands—even millions—of dollars in savings per year.

Many plant personnel think compressed air is free since it’s just air and used every day. And they think it doesn’t require much attention, even if there are obvious leaks. This is far from the truth. Compressed air is an extremely expensive utility.

The US Department of Energy has estimated 30% of it is lost to leaks with an annual cost of around $3.2 billion. (No similar statistics for Canada).

Why so costly? It’s expensive to produce and inefficient to use. Of the energy required to produce compressed air, less than 20% of it is available for use. That means 80% of what you pay for is used up before the compressed air makes it into the distribution system. For example (see Air Leak Costs), one 1/64-inch leak can cost $48 a year. A 3/8-inch leak can cost more than $27,000. So imagine what hundreds of leaks of varying sizes will cost a plant.

One simple way to plug those costly leaks is to schedule routine compressed air audits and leak surveys.

While design and compressor efficiency are important factors to consider, there are two other contributing factors: misuse and waste. It’s not uncommon to walk through a plant and hear the hissing of leaks, which are often ignored as background noise. When they are loud enough to be annoying, the sound is muffled by rags or duct tape. Sometimes workers use air hoses to continually cool their working spaces. In one plant, an enclosed metal box was set up with an air hose running through the top to blow air on pop cans to keep them cool!

Clearing the air Even engineers miss the inefficiency and cost associated with misusing compressed air. In some plants, it cools bearings or continuously blows on conveyors to clear dirt and debris.

A simple, inexpensive approach to reducing compressed air waste is to embark on an educational campaign. Use meetings to clear the air about the cost of energy waste and its impact on operating costs. Ask personnel to help identify misuse and encourage them to inform their co-workers. Motivational signs placed around the plant should illustrate wasteful behaviour and suggest changes. Use newsletters to promote a campaign and a suggestion box offering rewards or awards given to the most effective suggestion.

When compressed air is misused, conduct a survey to look at alternatives. For example, instead of blowing compressed air on a bearing, try a fan. Instead of mixing or agitating with air, try an electric mixer.

A survey requires planning, personnel, training, equipment, identification, reporting and follow-up. Planning includes consultation with management and personnel, observation and a review of the compressed air system.

A walk-through will help set up a survey, breaking it down to small workable units. Look at safety issues, plan route logistics, including where to begin and end in each section. It will also

tell you what equipment is needed. Are there keys needed to open cabinets, flashlights for dimly lit areas, ladders or lifts or special modules for piping in ceilings?

Personnel should understand the goals of the program and how to conduct the survey. Properly trained inspectors apply techniques that avoid problems such as misidentification or improper labelling, which can lead to costly mistakes and unreliable results. They also learn how to use reporting tools to calculate and demonstrate survey savings.

Using the right equipment for the job will add to the effectiveness of the survey. The most common tool is an ultrasonic detector. These instruments sense the high frequency components of turbulence produced by air leaks. Directional in nature, ultrasound is a localized signal that makes it relatively easy to locate the source of the leak. If the instrument is not sensitive enough, some mid-sized leaks might be missed. If there are accessibility issues such as leaks in ceilings, in layers of pipes or behind walls and underground, special modules that adapt to these situations should be considered.

AIR LEAK COSTS Leak DIA 1/64

Air loss CFM/day

CFM loss/day

$ loss/ day

$ loss/ year

0.45

576

0.13

48

1/32

1.60

2,304

0.51

186

3/64

3.66

5,270

1.16

424

1/16

6.45

9,288

2.04

744

3/32

14.50

20,880

4.59

1,674

1/8

25.80

37,152

8.17

2,981

3/16

58.30

83,952

18.47

6,738

1/4

103.00

148,320

32.63

11,904

5/16

162.00

233,280

51.32

18,721

3/8

234.00

336,960

74.13

27,036

Based on 100 psi, $0.22/MCF, 8,760 hours/year

Leaks should be tagged and if possible photographed to assist those who are responsible for the repair. Ideally, the tag should correlate with location, component, pressure, cubic feet per minute or even the cost of the leak.

Any survey needs reporting to identify the type of and number of leaks with an ID number that correlates to a work order and their locations. Some reports will also include a summary of identified and actualized cost avoidance along with identified and actualized carbon footprint reduction, which represents the real savings of a survey.

Some software summarizes surveys over time demonstrating the cumulative annualized cost savings. Other reporting features include a demonstration of reduced carbon footprint gases that are associated with the energy cost of leaks.

Communication is essential and it’s especially important maintenance managers and planners understand the necessity of leak repair and setting a workable schedule. If discussions include the repair team, a method could be established to break the repairs down into small workable chunks starting with the most costly leaks first, or by pairing leaks that are close together.

Follow up of listed repairs will ensure they are complete and no new leaks have developed. It will also include a review of system pressures to be restored to original settings.

Compressed air is too costly to take for granted. Plugging the leaks will save energy and reduce the size of your carbon footprint. It’s a truly green way to improve profitability.

Doug Waetjen is the director of worldwide sales for UE Systems Inc., an Elmsford, NY manufacturer of ultrasonic instruments for leak detection, mechanical analysis and electrical inspection. E-mail dougw@uesystems.com.

Comments? E-mail joe.terrett@plant.rogers.com

March 2010

Wastewater << Sustainability

Conserve and recycle New technologies address environmental and operational challenges

By David Kratochvil

www.plant.ca

PHOTO: BIOTEQ

S

ustainability has become the watchword as plants seek efficient and environmentally friendly technologies to address day-to-day operations. One area of focus is wastewater treatment.

Water conservation and recycling is a major concern for any industry requiring large volumes of water for its process streams. Contaminants, such as metals, minerals and the presence of sulphates in wastewater streams are under legislative scrutiny in many countries.

Much of the wastewater from industrial processes is too contaminated for reuse or discharge into the environment, and therefore must be stored and treated at considerable expense. For example, power plant wastewater may be directed to zero liquid discharge systems or evaporators (solar ponds and/or evaporator crystallizer systems). Mining operations have relied extensively on lime treatment for acid mine drainage, a process that creates a residual sludge that must be stored in perpetuity.

The presence of metal contaminants and/or sulphates in wastewater creates a significant long-term environmental and economic liability. Add to that increased restrictions on water quality and discharge combined with diminishing access rights to fresh water resources, and it comes as no surprise that many operations need to consider alternative ways to reduce consumption and maximize reuse of existing resources.

But the sustainability issue extends beyond the environmental realm to include economic and energy considerations.

Conventional treatment systems such as reverse osmosis effectively remove contaminants, yet they consume high amounts of energy, are costly to maintain and barely recapture half of the water used. While they continue to play a key role in water treatment, ultra-filtration systems have their limitations.

There are new technologies for safely removing metal and mineral contaminants without producing residual waste sludge. For example, sulphide precipitation effectively removes metal contaminants, while recovering up to 95% of water for reuse or safe discharge to the environment. And by-products (such as high-grade metal concentrates) can be extracted and sold to offset the cost of water treatment, thus converting a waste stream from a cost centre to a revenue generator while eliminating long term environmental liabilities.

Sulphide precipitation is already used successfully by mining industry water treatment plants to remove contaminants from wastewater. In this process,

Tanks in the Breckenridge plant treat metal-contaminated water emanating from a closed mine site.

sulphide is mixed with the water under controlled conditions to selectively precipitate metals as a high-grade metal sulphide. The precipitated metals and treated water are then pumped to a clarifier tank where the clean water is separated from the metal solids and either discharged to the local environment or recycled. At that point, the metal solids are filtered to remove excess water, producing a high-grade metal sulphide product that’s suitable for refining.

In 2005, the Town of Breckenridge and Summit County purchased the 1,800-acre site as part of an open space plan. Working with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado Depart-

ment of Health and Environment, they issued a call for technologies that would remove dissolved metals emanating from the abandoned mine site.

BioteQ’s technology was selected because it doesn’t generate waste sludge.

Instead, it produces zinc-cadmium sulphide that can be sold to offset treatment costs and recycled into useful products.

The 3,200 square-foot water treatment plant was commissioned in 2008 and has the capacity to process up to 150 US gallons per minute, or up to 80 million US gallons of water per year (equivalent to 120 Olympic-sized swimming pools).

The water that’s returned to the French Gulch basin has less than 225 parts per billion of zinc and four parts per billion of cadmium, meeting strict criteria set by Colorado water quality standards. The treatment plant, which is managed by the town’s water division, removes about 4,000 pounds of metals a month, while meeting international ISO 14001 standards for environmental compliance.

Applying new technologies to wastewater treatment in industrial operations as Breckenridge has done will be key to lowering environmental liabilities.

David Kratochvil is the president and COO of BioteQ Environmental Technologies, an industrial process technology company based in Vancouver. Visit www.bioteq.ca.

Broader applications Although mining has been the primary focus, this technology has broader applications for any industry that operates wastewater treatment facilities where dissolved metals may be present, including power generation, oil and gas, municipalities and manufacturing operations.

Another option that specifically addresses sulphate removal is ion exchange. This closed-loop process increases water recovery rates to more than 90% and reduces operational costs.

It also uses low cost, off-the-shelf reagents (such as lime or sulphuric acid) for resin generation that do not produce brine or require pre-treatment. Ion exchange can be applied in a number of areas to reduce sulphate, cutting down equipment requirements, while generating gypsum as a clean by-product for use in construction and other applications.

The Wellington Oro Mine site in Breckenridge, Colo. offers a working example of sulphide precipitation. BioteQ Environmental Technologies’ ChemSulphide technology was used in the mine’s wastewater treatment facility to support the community’s open-space protection efforts. The site was actually closed in 1972; however, water contaminated with high levels of zinc and cadmium has been draining from miles of abandoned tunnels into a local river system, which has impacted fish populations.

Canadian PLANT WEST 9

Innovations

>> Product Development

Arctic spas for northern exposure Blue Falls Manufacturing builds home hot tubs to withstand Canadian winters

By Nordahl Flakstad

PHOTO: FLAKSTAD

W

hat’s in a name? Quite a bit, if you’re referring to Blue Falls Manufacturing Ltd., the Albertabased builder of the Arctic Spa line of hot tubs.

The brand name is an ongoing reminder of a rugged design and construction that allows Arctic Spas to be used year-round and to withstand the rigours of Canadian winters. The Alberta-built products have been warmly received in North America and Europe, mainly in Scandinavia and Russia, ranking Blue Falls among the world’s top six makers of home spas.

Traditionally, recreational spas were manufactured and designed in and for the sunbelt, notably California, where freezing concerns are confined to the ice cubes in spa users’ drinks.

If Arctic Spas’ product name seems a bit usual, so perhaps is Blue Falls’ base of operation 70 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, in the Village of Thorsby (population 1,000), where the 100,000-square-foot plant is located amid a bucolic setting on the southern edge of the village.

Choosing Thorsby was very deliberate. To understand the choice, it helps to rewind to 1997. That’s when Brent Macklin, vice-president of sales, along with Dennis Kellner, Darcy Amendt and James Keirstead, acquired Blue Falls, then a small Edmonton firm launched in the late 1980s as Koko Beach Hot Tub Manufacturing. Macklin, Kellner and (and Blue Falls president) Amendt grew up together near Grand Prairie in northwest Alberta. They remained close friends as students at the University of Alberta and while backpacking across Europe. Then, all four partners worked for Koko/Blue Falls or in outlets selling its products.

In 1997, the first year under the new ownership, Blue Falls turned out about 800 hot tubs that were sold mostly in Western Canada, generating some $5 million in revenues. The partners soon realized the home-spa market was overflowing with similar products. Most competing products were geared for warmer climates and mild winters, so the new owners set out to differen-

Rubbing in the finish on an Arctic Spa hot tub.

tiate itself by designing and producing a “Mercedes” spa engineered for life in Canada. That formula of building a reliable, efficient, premium product proved successful.

Along with superior products and effective R&D, Macklin credits the success of the high-end Arctic Spas and more-modestly priced Coyote Spas, introduced five years ago, to the partners’ sound grounding in marketing and a strong distribution network.

Building in Thorsby By 2005, sales had bubbled up to 10,000 units, worth more than $65 million. That kind of growth landed the privately held Blue Falls on Canadian fastest growing companies lists several years in a row.

On route to becoming the largest non-US hot-tub manufacturer, it built a 70,000-square-foot plant (30,000 square-feet were later added) on a 12-acre site in Thorsby. The village had industrial land available for $1,000 an acre versus up to $125,000 per serviced acre in Edmonton. With their farm backgrounds, the owners also appreciated an available, local pool of rural employees with a strong work ethic. When the new plant opened in 2001, Blue Falls right away became Thorsby’s prime employer. Many workers among the 180-member payroll— a high proportion of them female—have stayed with the company. In 2003, to meet rising product demand, it opened a similarly sized plant in Coleman, west of

Lethbridge, Alta. The plant closed in the fall of 2008 as the downturn drained worldwide home-spa sales, which a few years ago peaked at around $3 billion annually.

In common with other hot-tub industry players, Blue Falls forms the inside of spas using acrylic (ABS) sheets, which are heated to 150 degrees C and shaped within 30 seconds through vacuum suction in fibreglass moulds. Typically, makers of warm-weather spas then inject urethane foam for structural support, but it also covers tubing and other components limiting access.

Up to three layers of fibreglass are applied to provide strength and rigidity to the inner skin of the spa, making it heavier (up to 1,500 lb. for an 8 x 8-foot unit and more in the case of larger, 16 x 8-foot swim spas). This structural design also is key to the Arctic and Coyote spas’ cold-climate serviceability. Eliminating the foam provides more room for installing insulated walls, leaving space for components, including electric motors, purifiers, and lighting and music systems. And all of these parts are easily accessible post-sale for modification and maintenance.

The outside of the spas are clad with stamped fibreglass or BC cedar. (The wood is finished in the cabinet shop, which also builds hot-tub accessories, such as gazebos.) The resulting insulating effect is much like that in a house. Unlike urethane foam, which vents heat away from the spa water, the Arctic Spas, with their dead-air spaces plus insulation integrated into the exterior walls, trap heat from the water and from electric motors. It prevents covered spas without power from freezing for up to five days even with temperatures approaching minus 30 degrees C. Customized features along with standard components, are installed as the spa units roll along the assembly line on carts. Prior to being shrink-wrapped and placed in shipping containers, each spa is hooked up to water and power for testing.

Blue Falls has invested considerably in automation— partly in response to rising labour costs but also to enhance quality. Robotic cutting systems, programmed by an eight-member R&D team, perforate holes for jets, drains, lighting and other accessories. A new robotic tool using water rather than steel for cutting is about to be deployed. Fibreglass spraying, currently done manually, also is targeted for automation.

Such investments should help Blue Falls as it seeks to expand its network of about 200 dealers in some 25 countries. US manufacturers already have large footprints in their own backyard market; so, except for targeting the higher-end market, the company has not relied too heavily on US sales (about 30% of the total).

It has kept a strong focus on Canadian markets (45%) and since 2000 it has been developing spa sales in Europe (now 25 per cent). Blue Falls supplies Europe from a 55,000-foot show, warehousing and distribution centre near Birmingham, England. Until recently, it also had a similar site in Estonia to serve Northern Europe and Russia. And Macklin notes, “we’re the biggest hot-tub game by far in Scandinavia.”

As with other Canadian manufacturers, devaluation of the US dollar and European currencies (notably the British pound) has negatively impacted Blue Falls’ foreign sales.

An appreciating Canadian dollar does reduce costs for parts bought from the US or overseas. But so far, the reduced costs of imported inputs aren’t enough to offset the export chill associated with a watered-down American dollar. There is a remedy for export chill, though: a nice hot soak in an Arctic Spa hot tub.

Nordahl Flakstad is an Edmonton-based freelance writer. E-mail nordahl@flakstad.edmonton.ab.ca.

Comments? E-mail joe.terrett@plant.rogers.com.

10 Canadian PLANT WEST

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March 2010

Postscript << Departments

Lower the heat on the energy industry

By Robert Roach

A

new discussion paper from the Canada West Foundation outlines the importance of the oil and gas industry to the Canadian economy and asks Canadians to take this into account when debating how to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Look Before You Leap: Oil and Gas, the Western Canadian Economy and National Prosperity (a free copy is available at www.cwf.ca) argues that the idea

How do we curb GHG emissions without compromising “national economic benefits? ” The oil and gas sector is far from the only reason for the region’s economic success, but it is a key factor. It’s estimated that the oil and gas industry will add $3.5 trillion to Canada’s GDP over the next 25 years.

The West, however, accounts for more than half of Canada’s GHG emissions.

This raises a fundamental challenge: How do we curb GHG emissions without compromising the national economic benefits

and wealth redistribution made possible by the western Canadian economy?

Some will say the answer is “you can’t.” Others will argue that the green economy will fill in the void left behind by a hobbled oil and gas sector. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t, but either way, replacing an industry as fundamental as oil and gas will take time.

We can have our cake and eat it too and still reduce emissions by putting our

heads together and coming up with climate policy that does not single-out one industry and cast it as the villain.

Canadians in all parts of the country stand to lose if the oil and gas sector withers under the hand of badly designed climate policy. By realizing we are all in this together the less likely bad policy will be created.

Robert Roach is the director of the West in Canada Project, Canada West Foundation, based in Calgary. E-mail roach@cwf.ca.

PHOTO: SUNCOR ENERGY

#1 FOR A REASON

Shovelling 500,000 tonnes of oil sand per day for the ore preparation plants.

that economic pain in one region will not spill over into the rest of the country is naïve. If the oil and gas industry is hamstrung by poorly designed climate policy, the whole country will feel the negative economic effects.

The report is not saying that addressing GHG emissions is less important than economic considerations, but it does argue that climate policy should recognize the economic costs that will be incurred if the oil and gas industry is unduly targeted and that we should take proactive steps to avoid them.

A united nation Western Canada’s economy is intimately linked to the rest of Canada’s economy.

At the same time, the oil and gas industry is a key driver of the western economy as well as a major economic stimulus across Canada.

Highlighting the economic costs of climate policies that would undercut Canada’s oil and gas industry does not resolve the debate, but it does clarify the stakes and put pressure on policy makers to do more than cross their fingers and hope that the economic pain is contained to places like Alberta and Saskatchewan.

In 2008, the 30.6% of the Canadian population living in the four western provinces accounted for 37.5% of the country’s GDP. This over-performance has helped keep the national economy growing and Ottawa’s coffers full enough to pay for programs such as equalization.

www.plant.ca Canadian PLANT WEST 11

With 35 years of experience across all levels of the welding and cutting industries, Tom Wermert still has the same devotion for work as he did at age 20. “I just love the industry and what I do,” he says.

As Product Line Manager for Thermadyne® Welding Products, Tom insists the products go through rigorous testing to ensure only the highest quality product makes it to the market. “Our customers expect the best performance and the most dependable welding and cutting products, and it’s my job to see that they get it.”

As a former lab employee, testing new welding products and processes, Wermert understands what it takes to make professional-grade tools. “Take the Arcair® AngleArc® K4000® Manual Gouging Torch for example,” he says.

“It didn’t become the industry standard by accident.”

The K4000 is used to scarf or remove defective welds and defective metal blemishes from castings or weldments. It’s made for heavy-duty metal removal applications, ideal for weld preparations in fab shops and shipyards.

“Products like the K4000 are why Arcair remains the number one name in air carbon arc manual torches,” he says.

TOM WERMERT Product Line Manager, Welding Products Thermadyne Industries Tom carries the torch – will you?

THERMADYNE, A GLOBAL CUTTING AND WELDING LEADER, joins the American Welding Society in encouraging individuals to practice the art, craftsmanship and professions of welding, metalworking and fabrication. Victor, Thermal Dynamics, Thermal Arc, Arcair, Tweco, Stoody, Cigweld and TurboTorch are among the Thermadyne family of brands that you can count on for safety, reliability and quality.

2070 Wyecroft Road, Oakville, Ontario L6L 5V6 | Customer Care Tel: 905-827-4515 | Customer Care Fax: 1-800-588-1714 | e-mail: canadacs@thermadyne.com

www.thermadyne.com

HOW AUTODESK INVENTOR CONSTRUCTS EXCELLENCE WITH DIGITAL PROTOTYPING. autodesk.com/inventor

Image courtesy of Engineering Center LTD, Russia Autodesk, Autodesk Inventor and Inventor are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.