Top stories of 2012

As 2012 comes to a close, here’s a look back at our most read stories of the year.

1. Mark’s Work Wearhouse pulls Caterpillar boots
Considering the ire Electro-Motive workers felt when parent company Progress Rail Services Corp.—a subsidiary of Caterpillar—closed up shop after workers rejected an immediate 50 per cent wage cut, the national work-wear chain pulled Caterpillar-brand work boots from area stores.

2. Walmart supercube saga
When retail super chain Walmart in November unveiled its “supercube” trailer configuration that carries 40 per cent more cargo, it quickly became the talk of the trucking industry, which was pretty cool because it was designed by a Mississauga, Ont. company.

3. Caterpillar building $200M Georgia plant, creating 1,400 jobs
Mere weeks after eliminating more than 400 jobs in Canada, Caterpillar was making news south of the border, this time announcing a $200-million manufacturing facility in northeastern Georgia.

4. RCMP execute search warrant at SNC Lavalin HQ
The Canadian engineering giant has fallen into controversy as RCMP members executed a search warrant on its Montreal headquarters.

5. Hostess to wind down operations
Many people believed the equally loved and maligned cream-filled Twinkie was resilient enough to withstand a nuclear winter. Alas it couldn’t make it through a difficult labour negotiation as Twinkie maker Hostess announced in November it was wrapping up production of the famous snack cake when it couldn’t make a deal with one of its unions.

6. Police make arrests in the great maple syrup swindle
Pancake lovers rejoiced earlier this month after police announced three arrests in a massive maple syrup theft in Quebec back in August.

7. GM suspends Volt production
General Motors made headlines when it announced it would pull the plug (ahem…pun intended) on production of its Chevrolet Volt electric car this summer in a bid to control inventory.

From all the staff at CanadianManufacturing.com, Happy New Year!