Answer: They were all products from EMC member companies that hosted EMC Waterloo Region consortium events in 2011!
The EMC Waterloo Region consortium had a great and diverse group of hosts for their SIGs in 2011. We started the year off at Tigercat in Cambridge which makes huge and very cool forestry equipment and finished with a tour of RIM in Waterloo (who make the blackberries in case you didn’t know). While they may seem like very different products it is interesting to note that they are both high mix/low volume producers. They are also companies whose roots started in this community.
Throughout the year we had a tremendous amount of sharing of information and ideas. I loved the way we built on the Continuous Improvement topic at Centra Industries in Cambridge in October where we talked about some of the tools they use to create a continuous improvement culture to how we helped Spartech Color work on their 3-5 year Continuous Improvement plan. We then finished the year with Chad Metcalf from Value Stream solutions talking about creating a continuous improvement culture. For Chad’s full presentation please check out this link: http://www.emccanada.org/membersonl/ontario/kitchener/2011/creating-a-lean-culture-nov-2011-sig.pdf
The value of these SIGs went far beyond the few hours we spent in these buildings because relationships were built and many tours were given after the event took place. The value of having other manufacturers in this building is huge – you can get help solving your manufacturing challenges, showcase your best practices and work towards achieving world class.
On the Human Resources/Health and Safety side we had many interesting discussions. We discussed and learned from each other on such diverse topics as racking safety to hiring incentives and recruitment strategies to compensation and benefit trends.
Thanks for another fabulous year to Waterloo Region EMC members! We couldn’t have done it without our great hosts: Tigercat, Boehmer Box, Taylor and Grant; Airboss Rubber; Conestoga Meat; Centra Industries; Spartech Colour; Ontario Drive and Gear; and RIM. We look forward to another great year in 2012! If you are interesting in joining us at an event and participate in worldclass networking activity, please contact me, Laura Gibson at 226-388-3894 or lgibson@emccanada.org.
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