‘Size of the prize is significant’

Manitoba’s manufacturing sector is not the largest in the country or the most automated, nor does it have the largest employers — but it’s likely the most diversified and export-oriented and its trade association, CME Manitoba, is the most engaged and supportive of its members.

With the recent retirement of long-time Manitoba division vice-president Ron Koslowsky, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters national organization decided to take advantage of the local operation’s depth and breadth of service by putting his successor, Terry Shaw, in charge of Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well.

This week, Shaw started his new job as CME regional vice-president for the Prairies.

Chad Brick, chair of CME Manitoba’s advisory board and president of the Eastside Group of Companies, said: “We have a huge sense of pride with the CME team here. We definitely punch above our weight.”

He also said there’s plenty of confidence in Shaw’s ability to handle the broader mandate.

“We’re fortunate Terry accepted the offer,” Brick said. “I’ve had to recruit for these types of positions in the past. It’s not easy, but there’s no concerns about the choice that was made. I can sleep easy.”

With CME Manitoba’s staff of about 40 people in Winnipeg — compared to fewer than 10 in Alberta and Saskatchewan combined — Manitoba’s manufacturing community had been spoiled with some of the country’s best intel on lean manufacturing, leadership training and safety infrastructure.

It also manages Protein MB, the province’s industry-led hub for Manitoba’s sustainable protein industry, and runs Made Safe, a certification program for health and safety services designed specifically for the needs of manufacturers. (Made Safe has a large, dedicated staff and is booked up months in advance.)

Dennis Darby, CME president and CEO, said the organization wants to expand Manitoba’s market offering into its two closest western neighbours, effectively increasing its impact on the industry five-fold.

“We believe there were a lot of things done very successfully under Ron’s leadership and the board was really keen to say, we have had such success in Manitoba, let’s see if we can’t expand that into the rest of the Prairies,” Darby said. “The size of the prize is significant.”

In his first week on the job, Shaw already sounds like an old hand. He knows how to run trade associations, having done so with the Manitoba Trucking Association for 10 years.

“I know the rules of the game, personnel management, non-profit management, program development and delivery,” he said. “I’ve got the skills set. I’m working on the knowledge set.”

Shaw also knows how to lobby government for a cause. But instead of one provincial government, he’ll now have to keep on top of regulations and policies in three. “Don’t forget, CME is also a lobby group, and that’s my favourite part,” he added.

No one seems to know exactly how it came to be that CME Manitoba is so much more of a presence than the organization is in other regions.

Shaw thinks it might have something to do with the fact Manitoba is so centralized in its capital district and does not have the push and pull, like between Calgary and Edmonton or Regina and Saskatoon.

Darby said both Alberta and Saskatchewan have had to suffer through significant downturns in the oil and gas sector that took its toll on their respective manufacturing sectors.

Meanwhile, it will be business as usual as far as the Manitoba operations.

Brick said it won’t water down the Manitoba programming in any way. The plan is to add resources in Alberta and Saskatchewan as demand requires.

“We will earn our way,” Darby said. “We can offer more services to our members in Alberta and Saskatchewan and it will help drive efficiencies in the investments we make.”

They won’t have to reinvent the wheel. Manitoba has pioneered CME’s training and promotion of lean manufacturing — the rigorous methodology that focuses on minimizing waste while simultaneously maximizing productivity — and its Made Safe safety program is the industry standard. Its leadership training and executive support groups are easily exportable.

Shaw does not want to get ahead of himself, but with Saskatchewan’s manufacturing sector about the same size as Manitoba’s, and Alberta’s four times the size, there’s the potential to address a market that’s five-fold larger.

“Five years from now, the CME Prairies region will be dramatically different than it is today, with Manitoba being a service provider to Saskatchewan and Alberta,” he said. “It’s no secret there is an opportunity to increase our membership base and that will come through increasing and expanding our service offerings out there.”

Shaw is starting to get up to speed on regulatory issues that impact the sector.

The Manitoba NDP government has already announced one change that affects manufacturers by reducing the ratio of journeymen to apprentices to one-to-one. He said there is a general sense in the industry the regulatory environment in Manitoba makes it less competitive than, for instance, in the U.S., where members say it is easier to expand operations.

Shaw figures promotion of automation and the implementation of advanced technologies will likely be an on-going issue for him.

“At CME, we have a keen focus on continuous improvement,” he said.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca