K-W April SIG Blog

Sr. Manager's Group

Our April 2010 SIG was hosted by Northern Digital Inc. (NDI) in Waterloo.  NDI was established more than 27 years ago, NDI is trusted by international leaders in medicine, industrial and research for the accuracy and reliability of its measurement technology. NDI has over 15,000 advanced measurement systems installed worldwide, across a diverse field of applications. Our innovative technologies are employed in key medical, life sciences, and industrial…

Sr Managers: V.P Mike Kuntz, V.P Dave Kuntz, and President John Hohmeier provided an overview of the business model at Kuntz and a review of the past 2 challenging years. Kuntz has weathered the economic storm quite well and right sized itself to embrace the future. The cornerstone to their strategy is their Lean initiatives that have been rolled out in both the motorcycle and automotive business units. Members provided feedback to the host and members can participate in some continued…

Senior Managers

Mark Sauve, Plant Manager of MetoKote's Cambridge facility along with Rudy Bowers, Sales Account Manager from MetoKote provided a background presentation on what MetoKote is, what they do and some of the more innovative projects they are involved in.  We were also privileged to have Mike Tanner, General Manager for the Northern Region of MetoKote up from their Ohio facility and he shared with us some of the work they are doing coating solar panel systems which will be placed in…

Sr Managers: Precision Resource (PR) Division Manager, Kaveh Vafaei, hosted this networking session for senior leaders of other manufacturers in the region. Kaveh provided an overview of the PR business model and outlined their core competencies in fine-blanking and other value added products and their various market niches. This was followed by a tour and a debrief discussion with feedback to the host, and a roundtable on business strategies that leaders are embracing to facilitate growth for…

This level of engagement is what they call "traction" and reflects highly on the innovative mindset of Waterloo region EMC members who adopt a spirit of sharing and learning with pride with each other, regardless of sector or level of sophistication. The fact that there is always something to learn and realizing that you never "know everything" is an empowering position to take as you strive to make your business better. This holds true for the 900+ member companies of EMC across Ontario and…

Sr Managers: Airboss plant manager Steve Barefoot provided an overview and history of Airboss and the old facility the company currently occupies at 101 Glasgow St with one million square feet!

Airboss has developed a sophisticated operating system consisting of performance metrics that are closely tracked and measured and linked to continuous improvement and a quarterly incentive program. Steve provided an overview of these tools and how they are leading Airboss forward. Members enjoyed a tour…

Sr Managers: Boehmer Boxes' President Mark Caines provided an overview of the business and demonstrated their custom made in-house intranet portal database containing all key depts. and their linked performance indicators that is used as a strategic business management tool. Tour and roundtable discussions touched on the following themes for the 20+ Sr Managers in attendance:

• Culture Change Strategies
• Employee Incentives
• Creating Pull- Inventory Reduction
• Communication Strategies
• Managing Value…

SR Managers: PWO Canada provided an overview of their business model and core competencies to the SIG group of Sr executives and their designates. Included were challenges and opportunities currently faced in today's marketplace. This was followed by a tour and a request for constructive feedback for the host, and acknowledgement of take-aways for the visitors. Round table discussions embraced strategic thinking, and were not limited to these topics:

• Visual Factory Strategies and Visual…

I read an interesting article in the paper Tuesday morning that highlighted one of the major hurdles Canadian companies face in a recession.  Cash-flow, and the ability to borrow money to expand or improve.  Over the last few months I have talked to a number of Canadian companies that are running into this problem. To compete long term, they need to have money to invest now. If they do not improve productivity they will loose market-share to off-shore companies expanding into Canada.  Add to…