Manufacturing sector should be celebrating successes, says Linamar’s Hasenfratz
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
The Linamar CEO says business owners should "run your business as if you were the founder of a small company"
Toronto—Canadian manufacturers can compete and win on a global scale if they devote themselves to innovation in their products and processes, and efficiency in their operations.
That’s the message from Linda Hasenfratz, Canada’s 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year and CEO of Guelph, Ont.-based Linamar Corp. as she prepares to deliver the opening address at SME’s Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show 2015 (CMTS 2015) and Automotive Parts Manufacturer’s Association (APMA) Automotive Outlook Conference, co-located at The International Centre in Toronto.
“All too often, we fall into a negative tone when we talk about the Canadian manufacturing sector when we should be celebrating our successes,” said Hasenfratz, who will be speaking Monday, Sept. 28 at, 9:00 a.m. “It’s time to tell positive stories of success, about companies with fantastic productivity and amazing products who are growing and winning right here at home.”
Hasenfratz’s advice to manufacturers is to “…run your business as if you were the founder of a small company that has to watch pennies and really care for your people and customers, and embrace that same determination to get results that a start-up has,” she said. “If you create strategies focused on opportunistic markets that solve real problems, and push relentlessly for those wins even when it means taking mitigated risk, you’ll absolutely remain competitive.”
This is the second time the APMA chose SME’s CMTS to co-locate its one-day APMA Automotive Outlook Conference. “This partnership brings together Canada’s fastest-growing export sector with its premier exhibition of innovation and know-how,” said APMA President Flavio Volpe. “There is real benefit to companies sharing their market development experience and demonstrating their product leadership in the same place and we are proud to be a part of it.”
Building on the theme Capturing Growth: Lessons to Share, the outlook conference is aimed at providing Canadian manufacturers with strategies to achieve sustainable growth. Immediately following Hasenfratz’s keynote, Michael Robinet, Managing Director, IHS Automotive Advisory Services, will share an automotive industry outlook and forecasts, followed by a series of industry-leading panel discussions.
Topics include: strategic insights into Canada’s tooling and mold-making sectors; best practices to navigate today’s human resources challenges; and, insights from Tier 1 suppliers.
CMTS 2015 is Canada’s largest manufacturing event, presenting the largest display of manufacturing equipment and technology to about 10,000 Canadian and global manufacturing professionals. The show also features the RAPID Canada Conference, Sept. 29-30, an industry-leading forum for the exchange of information related to the latest developments in additive manufacturing, 3D printing and 3D scanning.
