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Blog Post
February 14th at EDC Growth Hub in Kitchener, BWA members came together to discuss and share experiences in a round table discussion about their experience with exporting as well as address questions for those looking to extend their sales into export markets for the first time. The event tackled a wide variety of topics from logistics to installations, dealer networks and more with industry professionals of various specialties able to weigh in on how to address these matters. “I thought I got a lot of usable information and (the event) gave me more...
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Blog Post
If you could change one thing in your factory, what would it be? What is a key struggle you deal with in your business? Electricity and expensive machines can only do so much for a company. It takes great ideas, great company culture, and a road map to guide you to your destination. Great ideas to create a lean culture in your manufacturing operations are easy to come by, but the absence of buy-in can be a struggle to move things forward. On January 29th, 2020, the Bluewater Wood Alliance delivered a dynamic and engaging training event on Lean Leadership at EDC Export Growth Hub in...
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Blog Post
January 15th at EDC Export Growth Hub in Kitchener, Canada’s only business hub, the Bluewater Wood Alliance launched for the first time it’s Production Leadership Training Event! The landscape of our workforce is changing, and so is the approach to traditional management styles for a new generation of employees. But what does it take to be a leader? What are the attitudes, perspectives, and objectives that define the great managers and leaders that separate them from the rest? The BWA brought in Barry Reid of Leadership Management International (LMI) to address the essential components that leaders and managers need in their companies. Barry...
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Blog Post
December 11th, 2019 at EDC Export Growth Hub in Kitchener, Canada’s only business hub, BWA members came together to learn about how lean is transforming companies into competitive forces to be reckoned within the market place. As more and more BWA members continue their lean journey, their competitive strength continues to grow. The day began with BWA key lean trainer Brad Cairns teaching how to think about the concepts of lean and how it can apply to a vast spectrum of applications in manufacturing – from custom shops to high volume production. The training carried on discussing the history of...
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Blog Post
On November 21st, members of the Bluewater Wood Alliance attended the Plant Tour Focus Group at Windmill Cabinets located in Chatham, Ontario. The 40,000 sq. ft. facility opened its doors to the BWA and focused the group challenge around its product flow and the layout of the facility. “We are looking for opportunities for continuous improvement, this is a time we welcome interaction with our employees during this tour. Please feel free to ask them questions about their workspaces” Will Holsappel of...
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Blog Post
On November 18th, members of the Bluewater Wood Alliance attended the Cambridge Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) tour, which included a 2-hour seminar on the world-renowned Toyota Production System (TPS). Attendees started with an in-depth guided tour of both the North and South Plant to see all aspects of production from stamping to final roll off the line. “Look at how clean that is,” a BWA member remarked, “you could eat off the floor!” he continued. Post-tour, the group gathered to learn about the official TPS with videos and explanations on how Toyota thinks about principles that are the bedrock...
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Blog Post
Thursday, October 9th, 2019 the BWA facilitated a Plant Tour Focus Group of 35,000 sq. Ft Doma Doors Ltd. located in Mississauga. Plant Tour Focus Groups strive to spur innovation among wood companies by allowing the host company to showcase what they do well as a manufacturer as well as address the current challenge they are facing they want to improve. Doma Doors Mfg.’s focus was on finding new ways to manage the vast quantity of machinery used to produce the volume of productions they run, as well as managing the software for operations. Prior to the tour, the group...
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Blog Post
Thursday, October 3rd, 2019, Mike Baker, Executive Director of the BWA, delivered an informative discussion on the state of Wood Industry 4.0 adoption and Innovation Networks at the sold-out event – Manufacturing Matters 2019. Manufacturing Matters is an annual event hosted by the London Economic Development Corporation & London Region Manufacturing Council. The event features breakfast, keynote address, break out sessions and networking breaks, exhibitors, and a supplier fair. Industry 4.0 is the link that has...
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Blog Post
Export Development: Removing the risk; expanding markets Canada is widely regarded internationally for its high-quality wood products. Our expertise opens the doors to exporting, but exporting has its own set of challenges. Guest speaker Lucian Mihett, Export Development’s Senior Account Manager, and an experienced commercial banker discussed how to access capital, de-risk international sales, and take advantage of the current low-interest-rate environment. EDC is Canada’s international trade expert devoted to supporting Canadian companies with international business opportunities. Lucian shared how...
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Blog Post
September 18, 2019, the BWA hosted its Sales Training Event – An Export Readiness Series in Milton, ON and hosted by the President of Sandler Training Milton, Andrew Wall. Small & medium size companies may not always have the time and resources to train their sales staff in-house on effective selling techniques and it can be difficult for companies to grow without a solid sales growth strategy. That’s why the BWA continues to offer an effective and practical sales training event to assist wood manufacturers, service providers and wood product suppliers. It provides techniques and honest approaches to sales, that...
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