Canadian Manufacturing’s Top 5 quotes from the quarter, 2022

Modern Warehouse Wikimedia Commons

Canadian Manufacturers have continued their efforts to mitigate supply chain disruptions and find long-term solutions to labour shortages. Moreover, companies have carried on with adopting “leaner” or environmentally sound methods of operation, and many have also begun to create strategies for diversity, equity and inclusion.

These and other trends are reflected in Canadian Manufacturing’s top 5 quotes for the quarter.

“Canada has the potential to create an advanced manufacturing centre of excellence around this, and we already have some of the best engineering and data science programs in the world.”

— Bryan Smith, CEO of ThinkData Works Inc. speaking on the collection of data to help manufacturers mitigate supply chain disruptions.

“Today, with a new generation, I would say that on top of salary and compensation and benefits, something that is key to attracting young women, men or whomever is to give them a purpose, to give them an inspiring vision and make them part of the strategy.”

—Géraldine Moret, factory director at Danone Canada on the subject of diversity, equity and inclusion and strategies to attract talent.

“If you increase EV adoption, you’re making supply chain troubles worse. So the focus on cleantech will actually make the supply chain troubles tougher. People will have to understand that things will get worse before they get better.”

—Lewis Black, CEO of Almonty Industries, on what Canada can do to diversify its battery materials supply chain and the procurement of key resources like tungsten.

“15 or 20 years ago, warehouses were very much a pass between. I would manufacture something, I would ship it, I would store it in a warehouse, then I would ship it to its final destination. Now the warehouse has two things such as picking eaches to deliver to our homes, picking eaches to deliver to the hospital, having to do things such as taking returns, kitting at the last mile.”

—Guy Courtin, VP and industry president for retail and Tecsys on the subject of automation in warehouse management systems and how the role of the warehouse has changed

“When women succeed, we all prosper. Now it’s up to each of you to take what has been a really challenging two years and use the resilience you have found in yourself, draw on the data we have gathered for you, and change the conversation.”

—Prosperity Project founder Pamela Jeffrey on how women can overcome the effects of the pandemic in their personal lives and careers at Advance: Women in Manufacturing 2022.