OFF THE COVER
SEPTEMBER 2015
21
VALLEY’S MANUFACTURING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Manager of the Salmon A rm Chamber of Commerce. “They are also an example of the types of businesses governments and organizations like the chamber are working to encourage opening in the Okanagan as they bring good paying jobs to the community. We’re doing everything we can to encourage a positive environment that would attract those types of businesses.” The range of products and materials produced by Okanagan based manufacturers is as broad and varied as the character of the communities the businesses are located in – from steel fabrication to electronics manufacturing and from boat builders to food products developers the Okanagan Valley’s manufacturing sector represent a full spectrum of products. “T he Cit y of Sa l mon A r m has a very vibrant and growing manufacturing sector. The City’s designated industrial park is home to more than 80 world class design, engineering and manufacturing firms, as well as the Shuswap Regional Airport and the Okanagan College Trades Training Centre. Our manufacturing firms are producing unique and innovative products which are being exported around the world,” explained Lana Fitt, with the Salmon Arm Economic Development Society. “Salmon Arm has many comp e t i t i ve a d v a n t a ge s w h i c h support our world class manufacturing businesses, including a highly skilled workforce drawn to our Shuswap lifestyle, ready access to markets via the TransCanada Highway, a dedicated Industrial park with available and affordable land and fiber optics allowing our businesses to operate locally and compete globally.” M a ny of t he m a nu fa c t u ring companies operating in the Okanagan, especially those servicing high tech markets, had origins that have spanned the globe. “We design, manufacture and sell electronic controls for hydronic heating, which is heating with water. It’s a very specialized product and it provides for things like radiant floor heating systems and snow melting systems for example,” said Greg Leupin, Senior Product Manager with Tekmar Controls in Vernon. “We sell products all across Canada, the US and some in the UK as well, so the product we manufacture is sold worldwide. The company started back in Germany in the 1960s and it came to Canada, starting Tekmar Control Systems in Canada in 1984. We got acquired in 2012 by Watts Water Technologies (a major American builder of water solution products). Currently Tekmar in Vernon has about 60 employees, it varies based on seasonality.” N a t i o n a l l y, d e s p i t e t h e
Penticton’s Cut Technologies is an industry leader in the manufacture of blades, both round and band, for the North American sawmilling industry
Specialty refrigeration units are manufactured at Penticton’s Piscine Energetics plant. The company serves a global aquarium and fish food market
Specialty refrigeration units are manufactured at Penticton’s Piscine Energetics plant. The company serves a global aquarium and fish food market fluctuating Canadian dollar and a slower economy the country’s manufacturing sector remains active and growing. In a recent report the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association stated that most of Canada’s major manufacturing industries posted gains in June. When addressing the British Columbia manufacturing industry the Association’s report stated: “Although growth has slowed in recent months, BC is nevertheless emerging as the runaway leader in sales growth across Canada. While national sales through June are down 1.6 percent compared to the first six months in 2014, shipments from BC are up 4.5 percent. The next best performer is Nova Scotia, where sales are 2.5 percent higher.” Clark, when not wearing his Cha mber of Com merce hat, works in management with a manufacturer of saw blades for the sawmilling industry. “The company I work for, Cut Technologies is a leader in the sawmill industry as a manufacturer of round saws and right now we’re doing fairly well. A full 70 percent of our product goes down to the US. Currently there are no plans to lay off anybody, we’ve not hired anybody for a while either, but we’re definitely not laying people off. There’s opportunity to be had you just have to think outside of the box sometimes.” T he Cent ra l Ok a n a ga n E c o n om i c D e ve lop m e nt
“The whole Okanagan lifestyle is a real selling feature when it comes to hiring new employees” GREG LEUPIN
The Piscine Energetics assembly line is a busy place as staff finish work on the latest batch of its fish food refrigeration units
Commission’s recent (May 2015) report which summarized the economic expectations of the region’s manufacturers expressed optimism about the sector’s future growth. The report stated more than two-thirds of Okanagan’s manufacturing companies expect to continue to grow during the next five years, with two-thirds of the companies polled expecting to hire additional employees (as many as 75,000) during that same period. For manufacturers the Okanagan Valley itself is one of the most effective recruitment tools.
“Being part of the high tech industry we manufacture here but we also design and we also provide the marketing and tech support – it’s a high tech product and therefore a lot of the people who work for us are coming from a lot of other areas,” Leupin said. “We have employees here who come from Ontario, from Saskatchewan, Alberta, all down the coast – all working here. So yes we’ve definitely attracted a lot of people to the area from outside of Vernon, or the Okanagan in general. The whole Okanagan lifestyle is a real selling feature when it comes to hiring new employees I think a lot of people really like that for sure.” “The climate is certainly one of the pluses of the area. We’ve seen growth across the Okanagan’s population where you have not only access to the expertise you need for some of this manufacturing, as well as the good quality of life that makes it attractive
for people to relocate,” Rogers said. “The region is definitely a positive while the supply line improvements, from a railway perspective, roads and the expansion of the Kelowna Airport are all contributing in an advantageous way for the manufacturing sector.” Economic development leaders throughout the region are optimistic about the future of Okanagan’s manufacturing community. “Nothing is ever going to be perfect. The economy is a cycle, the forest industry is a cycle it will go up and it will go down. The progressive companies are one step ahead of it and are already planning for the next downturn and figuring out how they are going to get through it,” Clark said. “With some innovative thinking and some creative management you can be optimistic, you can make it through the next downturn and be ready for whatever the world gives us.”