Situated halfway between Toronto and Detroit on the 401 Superhighway, London offers a strategic location for manufacturers that can access 150 million consumers within a one-day truck drive to the vast U.S. market.
Manufacturers benefit from Canada's abundance of high skilled labour, excellent healthcare, and preferred access to both U.S. and European markets through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA).
With industrial land in high demand, a number of companies with open positions that are looking to grow their teams, and new funding to support manufacturing growth such as the Ontario Automotive Modernization Program (O-AMP), it’s clear the manufacturing sector is an economic driver in London that continues to attract new investments and support.
Manufacturing Matters 2019
With over 500 companies employing 31,700 people, the London region’s manufacturing sector has strengths in both traditional and innovative subsectors, including advanced materials, industry 4.0, aerospace, defence, automotive, building materials, environmental technology, and sporting goods.
Every year for the past 10 years, the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) in partnership with the London Region Manufacturing Council have hosted a manufacturing-focused conference to explore what’s happening in the region’s manufacturing sector. Now called Manufacturing Matters, the conference brings together over 500 manufacturers and service providers each year to share common challenges, solutions, and opportunities.})
At the 2019 conference, attendees heard a keynote address from Ben Brooks, Senior Vice President and General Manager, and Adrian Adnan, Product Manager at Maple Leaf Foods of Maple Leaf Foods, on why the company chose London for its latest investment.
This year's event featured a new supplier fair which offers services to local manufacturers, an exhibitor showcase, and breakout sessions on topics including cyber security, funding, women in manufacturing, employee training programs, and human resource best practices.
Haven’t attended our Manufacturing Matters conference before? You can read more about this year's conference in the London Free Press, or take a look at our 2018 conference:
Manufacturing Revolution
Read about three London-based companies that are revolutionizing the manufacturing industry locally and globally. You can find these stories on page 46 of our London Magazine.
The Internet of Everything
Between three core divisions – Technologies, LED Video & Scoreboards and Electronic Design & Manufacturing Services – London’s OES Inc., is known for successfully bringing to market products for mission-critical applications across automotive, transportation, sports and entertainment, health care, defense, and environmental industries.
According to Jeff Stewart, CEO, OES Inc., diversity in both customer base and manufacturing capabilities help fuel business growth. “We don’t see the global market as a single solution provider.” says Jeff. “Being diverse helps drive innovation in the products we design and the solutions we offer while fueling sustainable growth and mitigating industry risk for our customers and partners.”
Since inception in 1980, OES has been providing technology solutions, building new applications and making connections where connections hadn’t existed. Whether it’s developing applications to improve manufacturing operations, providing software solutions or developing scoring and LED video options, connectivity and adaptability has been a key element of every product developed and produced by OES.
“OES has been able to differentiate in our core market spaces by designing solutions capable of being linked across different industry-related networks in a way that meet customer needs, “says Linda Russell, Principal OES Inc.
OES’ success in the highly competitive global market comes with a commitment to R&D activities and a vision for future market needs. “London has many technology companies successfully competing globally, which help unlock opportunities for us all to grow,” says Linda. For OES, offering advanced technologies, along with a strong culture focused on relationships, is a cornerstone for continued growth both in London and internationally.
As the company looks ahead to 2020 and their 40th anniversary, there’s a lot to celebrate. You can find OES products in 26 countries, visit offices in Switzerland and China and talk to OES representatives throughout Asia, Europe and North America. To add to their achievements, OES is proud to be an authorized scoring and timing provider for major sports leagues, including the NBA, NHL and NFL.
As Jeff notes, “We’re excited about our focus on growing our international presence. There is an incredible amount of opportunity ahead for OES in both Canada and the global marketplace. Knowing we can help showcase the depth of talent and innovative thinking available from companies in London, Ontario makes us very proud.”
The Human Element
With over 1,000 machines and 80 plants connected around the world, FreePoint Technologies is bringing the industrial internet of things (IIOT) to the factory floor. Typical factory equipment is at least 30 years old, predating the internet. FreePoint has developed an out-of-the-box solution to connect existing machines to big data solutions.
The goal is to create the ultimate factory of the future – where every machine can be monitored for efficiency and businesses can plan for equipment repairs well in advance.
Crucial to that vision is the human element, ensuring that data collected from monitoring is meaningful and engaging for employees.
“We gamify a lot of the jobs on the plant floor,” said Paul Hogendoorn, President of FreePoint. “We benefit from having Fanshawe College with their videogame development curriculum. The way to make jobs important for people is to have meaningful work and metrics.”
From Reactive to Proactive
Having spent more than three decades working in the Industrial IIoT arena, ZTR Control Systems has been driving digital strategy long before Industrial IIoT became a catch phrase.
With Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), rental companies and railways looking for ways to modernize control units and improve data access, the ZTR smart telematics systems help reduce operating costs, improve safety, and can field-follow equipment in real-time.
When it’s difficult or impossible to have a human presence, ZTR provides data and remote monitoring from afar.
Central to the success of ZTR’s global strategy have been London’s resources, talent pool, and IT infrastructure. “London has always been out in front in terms of emerging services, broadband and networking,” said Paul Wilson, ZTR’s Director of Commercial Development & Program Management. “Through organizations like LEDC, there’s always been a collaborative peer group to help drive economic development.”
