STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
COOPERATION AMONG WOOD PRODUCT COMPANIES IN ONTARIO.
The advanced wood manufacturing sector in Ontario alone accounts for approximately 3,500 SME companies representing 30,000 employees with $6.6 billion in revenues.
As a consumer and further processor of Canadian wood bio-mass products, the advanced wood manufacturing sector is extremely important to the economy of Canada for job and wealth creation in our communities. Exports from this sector in this region also touch $3.5 billion (Conference Board of Canada, 2016).
The idea is to bring like-minded companies together for joint projects in skills development, technology transfer, export development, and experience exchanges in a bottom-up-driven association.
We welcome these categories of manufacturing members and their suppliers:
• Sawmills/Planing mills
• Board products plants
• Veneer mills
• Furniture manufacturers
• Wood window/door manufacturers
• Cabinet manufacturers
• Millwork companies
• Component manufacturers
If you are a wood products manufacturer or supplier, you can benefit from membership in WMCO.
WMCO Membership Includes: Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) membership.
Save $400 – $1,000 annually with our group plan.
We are excited to announce now all WMCO members have access to the business support, savings programs, and independent business advocacy provided by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). To review the many benefits for WMCO members click here.
Hear for yourself what members have to say about the cluster.
We help increase our members’ competitiveness by
improving their know-how, raising their powers of innovation
and increasing internationalization.
Benefits of working as a cluster include:
Learning, Plant Tour & Networking Events:
Our events focus on various topics such as continuous improvement, new technologies, digital marketing, finance, and lean principles. In addition, networking events provide a venue for members to develop strategic industry relationships.
Export Development Initiatives:
We seek out export opportunities and explore them for the betterment of our members. We continue to be successful in accessing government support to attend trade missions in new markets.
Collaborative Project Funding:
We develop and facilitate projects for our members to support their sustainability, growth, and continuous improvement. We work together with our government partners to support these projects.
New Technology:
A key to being competitive, both locally and in global markets, is learning about and adopting new technologies. Therefore, we are committed to monitoring and sharing technological advancements in wood processing and wood-related IT.
Training & Skills Development:
Working with the community colleges, high schools, and independent providers in the region, we create training & skills development programs. The beneifit to members is to enhance employees’ skills and provide new workers with the right ones.
Connectivity:
Our website and online community provide our members with a digital platform to connect online and access information on events, collaborative projects, programs, and training sessions
Plant Tour Focus Groups are focused on continuous improvement and the reduction and elimination of waste in our manufacturing processes.
Bring your people from your shop to see and experience common challenges and shared solutions. Best-practices for you in your own shop will emerge from participation in WMCO Plant Tour Focus Groups!