A special message for our valued Associate Members!

To embrace and welcome all, Associate Members are now permitted to attend any Plant Tour Focus Group if they also register a manufacturing non-member to accompany them

WMCO has always been conscious of managing attendance to ensure a successful wood manufacturing focussed event.

New Process:
In order to embrace and welcome all of our Associate members, Associate members are permitted to attend any tour, if they also register a manufacturing non-member to accompany them.

This ensures that the attendance remains with a majority of manufacturers. It also introduces new companies to the network and benefits of the WMCO cluster. This suggestion has come from a few of our Associate members, in an effort to make all of the plant tours more accessible, and still accomplish the goals of the manufacturing members.

The privilege still stands for the tour host to invite associate members they choose (without the requirement of bringing a manufacturing non-member guest). The objective is that invited associate members can contribute to the production challenge portion of the tour.

We value the engagement and success of both our manufacturing members, and equally our associate members. It is what helps foster dynamic and collaborative relationships, networks, learning opportunities and business opportunities as a wood manufacturing cluster. We look forward to more engagement and opportunities to support all of our members.

Have Questions? Contact Our Team!

Mike Baker
Chief Executive Officer

E: mbaker@wmco.ca  P: 226-668-5455

Michael Petrie
Senior Membership Manager

E: mpetrie@wmco.ca  P: 519-857-6174

Brayden DeWitt
Cluster Administration Specialist
E: bdewitt@wmco.ca

Visit Event Page – Find Upcoming Tours

Our Plant Tour Focus Groups

Waterloo-based wood manufacturer CCW Architectural Millwork Inc., tapped into over 40 members logging in over lunch from the comfort of their shops to help solve the focus challenge.

Virtual Plant Tours!
Through careful planning we are successfully adapting our Plant Tour Focus Group.

Event Format: WMCO Plant Tour Focus Groups are focused on continuous improvement and the reduction and elimination of waste in our manufacturing processes.

  • Hosts provide an overview of their business, best practices, followed by the presentation of a challenge or problem to the group they are trying to solve or improve.
  • This is followed by a tour and a focus on the area in question. The group then debriefs with a facilitated discussion on suggestions for the host to help solve their problem and reduce waste in their processes.

Themes of Lean Manufacturing principles are referenced and benchmarked in informal discussion and information sharing.

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!

Plant Tour Focus Groups are focused on continuous improvement along with the reduction and elimination of waste in our manufacturing processes.

Past Plant Tour Focus Groups