Fostering the Atlantic Canadian Manufacturing Industry

Atlantic Canada is known for its titans of industry, household names like Irving Shipbuilding, McCain, Cavendish, and Fortis are the stuff of business legends. Big businesses like these are economic drivers employing many Atlantic Canadian workers. But the truth is, the vast majority of Atlantic Canadians are employed by small- and medium-sized businesses.

According to Statistics Canada, in recent years small- and medium-sized businesses created over half of Canada’s GDP, (the total value of all goods and services produced in the country). The same proportion holds true if we look at the value created by the manufacturing sector. For every dollar earned by Canada’s manufacturers, about half of that came from small- and medium-sized companies.

This is nothing to sneeze at. The bottom line is that the health of your business and the health of the Atlantic Canadian manufacturing industry, matters a great deal to the prosperity of our region.

It is in everyone’s interest to ensure the success of Atlantic Canadian manufacturers. But how does one measure success? As business owners and manufacturers, you’ve probably heard of productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness. These buzzwords are used frequently – held up as “good things” businesses should want to achieve – but do we really know what they mean?

Efficiency - An optimization of resource-use. You are more efficient the more you avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something.

Productivity - ‘Productivity’ is a related concept to ‘efficiency’. It is a measurement of output, per unit of input. You are more productive the less money, energy, materials, or personnel you spend on making something.

Competitiveness - Your company’s capability to achieve profitability in relation to your competitors in the marketplace. You are more competitive if your goods are the same or better quality, offered at the same or lower price, and cost you the same or less to produce compared to other businesses that offer similar goods to your customers.

We must act now, to ensure Atlantic Canada’s manufacturers can close the growing competitiveness gap. The earlier the adoption, the bigger the benefit modernization can bring to your business.

Manufacturers are vital to the Atlantic Canadian economy and you are not alone in managing through the Industry 4.0 evolutionary change.