Ottawa takes first step into the future

The bigger the job the more help you need, and there is no bigger job than building an economic future for Canada.

The federal government realizes the enormous task it is facing and has taken the first step in the process with a recent report entitled "A Plan for Growth and Prosperity."

The report, which outlines a growth strategy and various proposals for Canada's future economy, was recently presented by Finance Minister Ralph Goodale to the House of Commons finance committee.

"By virtually every measure, over the past decade the Canadian economy has been one of the most successful in the world. Since 1997 our country has posted the longest string of federal budget surpluses in our history and our records of growth in living standards, job creation and debt reduction are unmatched by any other major country.

"To build on that progress and to maintain a quality of life second to none, our country must now focus on the opportunities and challenges that will shape the world over the next two decades," the reports notes.

In particular, the report singles out the rapid growth of new economic giants such as China and India, as well as the widespread adoption of new ways of producing and delivering goods and services around the world.

A second issue is the challenge posed to Canada's future standard of living as the baby boom generation retires and the relative number of working-age Canadians begins to shrink.

"(The plan) acknowledges that the Government of Canada alone cannot achieve the goals of greater jobs, growth and sustainable prosperity, but rather that all orders of government, private firms, labour unions, non-profit agencies and individual Canadians will play important roles in building the Canada we want and our children deserve," the report states.

The plan recommends action in four specific areas including creating opportunities for all Canadians; advancing an innovative economy; positioning Canada at the centre of global commerce and networks; and building the right investment environment.

According to the plan, a critical area of focus for Canada's future economy will be innovation. "A successful 21st century economy creates and quickly adopts leading-edge technology. An innovative economy rests on the foundation of knowledge created in its universities, the level of excellence it attains in new discoveries and its success in training people with advanced skills.

"Our country must constantly improve its capacity to generate the knowledge, innovation and research that lead to new products, services and methods of doing business in order to provide working Canadians with better jobs and incomes. Sustained, long-term economic growth also requires a comprehensive and innovative approach to environmental sustainability," the plan emphasizes.

In order to build a more innovative economy in the future, the federal government will focus on strengthening international research networks; retaining leadership in university-based research; encouraging private sector research and development and technology adoption; and accelerating the commercialization of new technologies. It may only be a first step, but it is an important one.

Jerry Cook
Editor, MPP
jcook@clbmedia.ca 

Hougen establishes Canadian warehouse/support center

In order to better serve its Canadian customers, Hougen Manufacturing Inc., Flint, MI has announced the formation of Hougen of Canada.

At the same time, Hougen opened a new Canadian distribution warehouse and technology support center based in Hamilton, ON. The facility, which 2,500 sq. ft., currently has two employees.

The new organization and facility will provide product sales support services for the company's entire line-up of holemaking technologies. The technologies that Hougen of Canada will support include all 15 models of Hougen portable magnetic drills; Rotabroach annular cutters; RotaCut and Holcutter Series of sheetmetal holecutters; Punch-Pro portable electro-hydraulic hole punchers; and a variety of auxiliary tools and accessories.

Opening the new facility provides a variety of benefits for both Hougen customers and Hougen's network of Canadian distributors, states Mike Tobola, who has been appointed manager of the new Canadian operation.

"We have a number of Canadian distributors and they previously had to get products out of our office in Michigan. They had (the problem of) getting the products across the border and pay the exchange rates as well as freight charges," explains Tobola.

According to Tobola, the establishment of Hougen of Canada and the new warehousing facility now makes possible immediate shipments, including overnight and next day deliveries, throughout Canada from the new center.

In addition, Tobola says that the consolidated distribution point in Hamilton also means that duties on individual drills shipments are eliminated.

"We've landed everything in Hamilton and produced Canadian pricing on all of our products," he states.

According to Tobola, the support functions directed from the Hamilton facility will provide sales assistance to the Canada-wide network of Hougen product distributors.

Looking ahead, the Hougen of Canada operation could grow in the future, says Tobola. "At present most of the work such as application support is handled out of our office in Michigan. "However, that could change in the future. It depends on how we grow and gain momentum in the marketplace," he adds.

For further information contact Hougen of Canada at (800) 426-7818; Fax: (810) 635-8277.

(Above) Jim Kaiser, North American sales manager and Mike Tobola, Canadian sales representative, both with Hougen Manufacturing are shown here at the recent CMTS 2005 show.

December 6-8, 2005- FabForm 2005, NürnbergMesse, Nuremberg, Germany. For information contact Mack Brooks Exhibitions at +44 (0) 1707 278 200 or visit www.fabform.de

January 23-25, 2006- Manufacturing for Performance Conference and Exhibition 2006, Indiana Convention Centre, Indianapolis, IN. For information contact the Society of Manufacturing Engineers at (313) 271-1500.

February 7, 2006- ABCs of Aluminum Welding-Part 2, Royal Woodbine Golf Club, Toronto, ON. For further information or tickets for the event, which is sponsored by the Canadian Welding Association contact Victor Andrisani with the Canadian Welding Bureau at (905) 8265133, Ext. 322 or visit www.cwa-acs.org/toronto

February 23-26, 2006- BI-MU MEDITERRANEA (Machine Tools, Robots, Automation Show), Fiera del Levante, Bari, Italy. For further information contact BI-MU MEDITERRANEA at telephone +39 0226 255 229/861 or visit www.bimu-mediterranea.it

March 21-23, 2006- METALFORM'06, Nashville Convention Center, Nashville, TN. For information contact the Precision Metalforming Association at (216) 901-8800 or visit www.metalforming.com

March 27-30, 2006- WESTEC 2006 Exposition and Conference, Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA. For further information contact the Society of Manufacturing Engineers at (313) 271-1500 or visit www.sme.org

May 15-17, 2006- Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show, Place Bonaventure, Montreal, QC. For further information contact Denise Hayward, show manager with Reed Expo at (416) 848-1683 or visit www.reedexpo.ca

May 23-25, 2006- EASTEC Exposition and Conference, Eastern States Exposition, W. Springfield, MA. For further information contact the Society of Manufacturing Engineers at (313) 271-1500 or visit www.sme.org

September 6-13, 2006- IMTS-International Manufacturing Technology Show, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. For information contact AMT-The Association for Manufacturing Technology at (703) 893-2900 or visit www.IMTSNET.org

Coming in the January issue of MP&P

• Welding Equipment and Supplies

• Fabricating/Forming

• Laser/Robotics/Automation

• CNC Machine Tools

Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association of Canada - This site is an information resource for Canadian OEM producers of parts, equipment, tools, supplies and services to the automotive industry. www.apma.ca

Canadian Machine Tool Distributors Association - A resource for Canadian machine tool distributors. www.cmtda.org

Canadian Welding Association - Information resource for the Canadian welding industry. www.cwa-acs.org

Miller Electric Manufacturing Company - The new web site offers information and resources on welding for end users and business owners. www.MillerWelds.com/Results

Wilson Tool International - New e-Business Center offers online tool orders, quotes, invoices, special tool drawings, and shipment tracking for fabricators. www.wilsontool.com

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