A new beginning for Canadian Manufacturing

Will Mazgay, Editor, Canadian Manufacturing magazine

My name is Will Mazgay, and as Canadian Manufacturing magazine‘s editor, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the new CM.

I joined CM in January 2017 as a junior editor, and over the last three and a half years I have come to appreciate just how valuable manufacturing is to the Canadian economy. It is both the linchpin and the engine; holding our economy together and giving it the power to run.

It has been a pleasure over that time to cover the issues that matter to Canadian manufacturers. The last few years have been turbulent to say the least.

The sector has had to weather the rise of protectionist trade policies around the world, including a bruising tariff war over steel and aluminum with the U.S. and an uneasy renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, along with global disruptions caused by BREXIT and the U.S. going toe to toe with China.

Domestic political ebbs and flows, both provincially and federally, have reshaped everything from climate and energy policy, namely the rollout of nation-wide carbon pricing, to interprovincial trade and the limits of provincial hegemony. A western Canada dissatisfied with Ottawa’s policies could drastically reshape the national political and economic landscape for years to come.

Automation has continued to reshape manufacturing. Industrial Internet of Things is no longer a foreign buzzword, as the technology powering the fourth industrial revolution is becoming increasingly accessible. Now, advanced software, increasingly powerful cloud networks and sleek robots are reshaping plants and workshops across the country.

The most recent upheaval has come from an invisible but insidious force, the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic cost of the disease has already been historic, and there is more pain in store for everyone. Manufacturers are working furiously to ensure business continuity, and some are even shifting gears toward new products, working to fulfill the dire need from the healthcare field for personal protection and medical equipment. The other primary concern for businesses is the safety of employees, and this has its own challenges. Creating a rigorous sanitization and cleaning schedule, ensuring a comprehensive sick leave program, developing crisis communications strategies, and adjusting processes and work stations to account for social distancing (a concept foreign to most before this year) all demand hard work, perseverance and creativity. Once the crisis has abated, manufacturers will also have to contend with the challenge of ramping back up to deal with resurgent demand for their products that is sure to follow this economic stall.

Related: Facing the COVID-19 challenge: How to keep your business and teams safe

Now, in the spring of 2020, the challenges for manufacturers have never seemed greater, but the future is also bright and full of opportunity. Momentary challenges like COVID-19 will pass, and new technologies, innovations and markets will present themselves, bringing with them the promise of growth and progress.

As we enter a future filled with both great uncertainty and great promise, we at CM have decided to change with the changing times. Our website has been overhauled to make it more user friendly and visually pleasing. You may have also noticed our new logo. Gone is the iconic gear, which is a relic of a past age of manufacturing, and in its place is something simple, with a tagline that we feel exemplifies what we do best: “Insight. Innovation. Impact.”

CM will continue to bring you insight into the most important issues affecting the manufacturing community, we will continue to cover the latest and most exciting innovations in the sector today, and we will continue to show you how and why the news of the day impacts you and your business.

The next stage of the journey is sure to be a lot of fun!

Best regards,

Will Mazgay
Editor