Manufacturing day is fast approaching. This Friday, October 4th is an experiential education day where local manufacturers across North America will open their doors to students and community members to explore the wonderful world of making. There are currently almost 2,000 events planned for 2019! The Government of Canada reported that we have a total of 1.7 million full time, quality manufacturing jobs in Canada. Manufacturing Day can only help inspire the up and coming generation to enter the workforce into this exciting industry.
On Friday, local high school students will be able to see what manufacturing locally actually looks like and ask engineers or owners pertinent questions. At the end of the tour, trade schools will host open houses. It is truly an exciting time to be in manufacturing! Students will learn that manufacturing is much more than just factories producing product. It is designers, mathematicians, scientists, architects, millwrights, engineers, the list goes on. Creators Wanted interviewed a series of individuals in different aspects of manufacturing in North America and it is fantastic. It goes to show the range of people that our products reach each and every day. We are in a very diverse and highly skilled profession. Keeping these students interested and sending them down a career path that keeps manufacturing in North America is key.
Did you know that Manufacturing Day has only been an officially observed day in America since 2014, when President Barack Obama put out a Presidential Proclamation making it so. He stated, “When our manufacturing base is strong, our entire economy is strong.” Couldn’t have said it better ourselves, Sir. The first celebrated event was in 2012 when the Founding Partner Fabricators and Manufacturers Association aspired to promote a day to highlight the need for skilled laborers and connect with the future generations of machinists and engineers alike. We understand the importance of the manufacturing community in North American and the prosperity of our nation’s. We are proud to belong to a group of like-minded individuals who want to keep producing locally to support our infrastructure. We advocate for sustainable, locally distributed manufacturing by doing our part. Our equipment and processes - even in the controversial field that is plastic, enable us to create zero-waste factories. For example, our equipment is capable of manufacturing plastic products from virgin, 100% recycled mixed plastics, and everything in between.
Canadian manufacturers export $354 billion dollars a year, that accounts for 68% of our country’s merchandise exports. It’s not all good news though, there was a decrease in Canadian manufacturing reported by Statistics Canada in July of this year with a 1.4% decline, bringing sales to 57.2 billion. Sales in Ontario were at the lowest, decreasing by 1.5%.
What can we do to encourage companies to produce their product in Canada? Have you watched our “The Factory of the Future” video on YouTube yet? Not only have we created ecologically sustainable technology, we have created a practical way for small scale companies to succeed right here in North America. There are many ways that we can all make an impact on the Canadian economy. The easiest being by purchasing their products - products that are developed, designed, and manufactured right here in Canada. This will create significant value in our economy. When we see Canadian-made products on the shelf, embrace them. This is a proven means of building a better life for all those in our community.
If you happen to be in the Toronto area between September 30 and October 3 check out the Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show. The four day event includes workshops, keynote speakers, special presentations and panel discussions. Imagine all the subject matter experts that are going to be there? With over 600 exhibitors – 25 of those that deal specifically in plastic – we are so excited to see what our counterparts have been up to since last year. If you are not based near Toronto, use this link to discover where you can participate in a Manufacturing Day Event.
We hope you are able to get to an event this week. If you don’t, not to worry – there are manufacturing events around the nation all year. We will be presenting Technological Breakthroughs Impacting Manufacturing in Canada on November 20th during the economic summit in our region. Make sure to register if you are in the area, you won’t be disappointed.
For other events in manufacturing, take a look at The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Association. They keep an up to date list of workshops, summits and conferences. Let us know which event you got to, and what your favorite part was.