Corma Industries

Manufacturing Success Through Professional Dedication

Tag: Alberta

  • The Secret to Successful Manufacturing: Focus on What You Are Good At

    The Secret to Successful Manufacturing: Focus on What You Are Good At

    If it’s one thing I’ve learned in my many years of manufacturing, it is impossible to be everything to everyone. You must focus on the “craft” of machining, rather than the industry you are working in.

    What is Corma Industries’ secret to being such a successful machine jobbing shop in Calgary, AB, despite the current recession? Knowing what we are the best at and focusing strictly on that is the key. Here’s why.

    The process of machining is more than just operating a machine, pushing buttons and spitting out parts. For Corma, it is all about relationships. The machine jobbing shop’s role is to fully understand the machining process.  It begins with listening to the client’s needs and discussing the job at hand, while liaising with vendors to get the right material on time at the right price.

    It also means working with machine and tooling suppliers to make sure we have the right equipment and tools for the correct application. It is crucial to concentrate on purchasing specialized tooling and fixtures that will streamline our business and improve processes. The customer’s job is to focus on engineering and obtaining a top-quality product in order to be the best in their industry. They are the experts in what they do after all.

    These are all critical elements to successful machining. But what sets Corma Industries apart from other competing machine shops is becoming an expert in a specific process of machining. It is the best way to satisfy our customers’ expectations. They can be assured they are receiving focused value in the top-quality produced parts.

    At Corma Industries, we specialize in milling. Milling, of course, is a machining process where a rotary cutter removes material that remains stationary in a clamped vice. We have established ourselves as experts in milling operations with a fast setup and turnaround times. We specialize in manufacturing intricate items like housings, fixtures, bracketing, manifolds, and more. Our state-of-the-art vertical and horizontal milling machines are tailor-designed to produce high-quality parts, whether it is a one-off custom prototype or a medium-volume production run. New and existing customers know that we are the experts in milling and seek us out because of our reputation.

    Corma is perfectly able to handle our customer’s turning, welding, and grinding needs. But because we believe in the motto “you can’t be everything to everyone,” we know that developing transparent alliances with other successful, like-minded, and expert machine shops that specialize in other machining processes will ensure that our customers get the top-quality service for all their application needs. For example, Corma has excellent and transparent relationships with machine shops specializing in welding, waterjetting, honing, turning, EDM wiring, electroplating, anodizing, etc. As a jobbing shop, our role is to cater to our clients by facilitating the other machining-related operations, making the customer’s job easier, quicker, and less stressful.

    The benefits of being an expert in a specific area of machining are obvious to clients. Machine shops are more able to become very organized in what they do. For example, they can purchase the best machines and equipment for the right application. They can organize their shop floor to maximize efficiency, knowing ahead of time what types of cutters, inserts, and end mills to buy. The routing steps used can be streamlined to optimize efficiency in order to keep costs and turnaround times shorter. In the end, specialized machine shops with a key focus on one or more machining processes will produce higher-quality parts, manufactured by top experts in the field.

    While Alberta is still in the midst of an economic slump, and even though the price of oil has risen to the $50 price point in recent months, machine jobbing shops should be diversified in other markets (solar and alternative energies, automotive, mining, retail, etc.). But specializing in one or more machining focus(es) with strong alliances with other expert machine shops at the top of their specialized area has been the key to our success during the recession.

  • Machine Shops need to Embrace Change in Today’s Economy

    Machine Shops need to Embrace Change in Today’s Economy

    The winds of change are blowing hard in Alberta, but the good news is change is never bad, so we might as well embrace it.

    Change frightens most people. We usually like to stay within our comfort zone and continue doing things the way we always have. It is easier and safer. Facing the unknown leaves us uncomfortable, as if we are all alone in the middle of the ocean, unsure of where we are and how to get back to the shore. To make matters worse, there is usually a swarm of hungry sharks (lenders) underneath us ready to chomp!

    Yet, because our rapidly changing world is filled with ambiguity, shifting priorities, different expectations, and new responsibilities, being flexible, creative, and adaptive are critical skills for machine shops to lean on.

    Change requires that we abandon the status quo, expand out of our comfort zones, and adapt quickly to new situations and ways of doing things. One of the most effective ways to cope with change and find new opportunities is to never stop learning. It is important for machine shop owners to keep their eyes and ears on the marketplace and gain ideas from every place they go and everyone they meet. Reading and listening to local, national, and international news and trade publications, talking to suppliers, and strengthening relationships with current and potential customers are all ways to create new opportunities to contribute to the economy in a meaningful way. Paying attention to upcoming trends can pave the way to new prospects as well.

    During a recession, it is especially important for machine shops to diversify their markets. On average, companies tend to apply the 80/20 rule to their sales plan. That means they focus on 80 per cent of the work from only 20 per cent of their customer base. This is in part because, during the boom time, work was plentiful and it made sense for machine shops to focus most of their attention on their top clients. But for small and mid-size manufacturers, the 80/20 rule can be disastrous during a recession. All it takes is one big customer to force discounts to the point where jobbing shops cannot make a profit. Or, the customer decides to go offshore, where the products appear to be cheaper. That is scary for small and mid-size manufacturers, especially when the shark lenders are circling.

    So what is the answer for machine shops in Alberta? Market diversification. Manufacturers in Alberta need to shift away from dependence on the oil & gas sector, which is struggling at the moment, and focus on expanding the markets they serve and even search for unconventional markets that may not be “glamorous” but are underserved. Working on complicated projects that are not easy to do can also bring in additional lucrative work.

    For example, Corma Industries, our Calgary-based machine jobbing shop, was tasked with making 10 picnic tables and canvass tent frames for an outfitter, looking to supply his backcountry camps with equipment. The picnic table bases, shown in the photo, were made out of black powder-coated steel tubing. The table tops were made out of 2′ x 6′ pieces of standard Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF) wood. The canvas tent frames were composed of custom aluminum.

    Corma Industries also manufactured a hydraulic pump for a customer’s vintage tractor. It required us to think outside the box and reimagine the design to make it work. All this while maintaining our commitment to running small- to medium-volume production jobs.

    Other strategies machine shops can adopt for changing environments include optimizing employee resources by cross-training personnel on various equipment. For example, the employee who normally runs the lathe can work the milling, laser-cutting, and welding machines. This reduces job flow time, allowing work to get out the door faster and over to the customer.

    Investing in automation will keep Alberta machine shops competitive with those in other provinces, who are further ahead in terms of automation. In addition to purchasing unmanned machines, buying supporting equipment such as sensors and equipment monitoring technologies will help streamline processes and reduce turnaround times.

    Machine shops that are primed to thrive even in the economic downturn will be those who are quick to read and act on signals to change. Transformation involves experimentation, adaptation, and being open and flexible to quick changes in direction, whether it be in the manufacturer’s products and services, business models, processes, or strategies. Change is in the air, but it is never bad as long as we accept change and remain flexible in how we handle it.

  • Is Manufacturing in Alberta Really Dying?

    Is Manufacturing in Alberta Really Dying?

    I’d been a journeyman machinist for over 25 years, even before I purchased Corma Industries six years ago. I’ve noticed a disturbing trend over the last decade. It seems to me that outside of oil & gas work, manufacturing in Alberta is floundering.

    As long as the oil & gas sector was booming, the manufacturing industry was flourishing, but as soon as the biggest resource in Alberta dried up, so did manufacturing. And yet, manufacturing is at the heart of almost every industry, in some way. Whether it be the automotive industry, infrastructure, alternative energies, mining, construction, avionics, aerospace, medical instruments, retail, agriculture, or food and beverage, manufacturing has its hand in every industry.

    So why aren’t the federal and the Alberta provincial governments supporting and promoting the heck out of the manufacturing sector? Canada needs goods and services to grow the gross domestic product. But Canada has given away its manufacturing to the global market, places like China, India, and Vietnam. Why are we giving our valuable resource to foreign countries? Because it’s more cost-effective?

    Hold on, not necessarily. Let’s think for a moment about how important manufacturing really is to Canada’s economy. It supports economic diversity, investment, and innovation. It creates jobs, provides value-added products that can be used domestically and/or exported to other markets, contributes to the federal and provincial GDP, pays taxes, and most importantly, maintains and supports our Canadian way of life. Why would we want to give that up?

    Is importing manufactured goods and services really beneficial? When you consider import tariffs, transportation costs, unpredictable and uncontrolled quality standards, rising labour costs in China, the need Canadian customers have for shorter lead times, etc., bringing manufacturing closer to home starts to make sense.

    Now, Alberta manufacturers do face some major challenges. It has been very difficult in recent years to attract and retain skilled and engaged labor able to handle fast turnaround times. In addition to labour shortages, a substantial increase in foreign competition has forced Canadian manufacturers to drop their prices to the point that they can no longer compete with foreign manufacturers.

    So what do we do to bring manufacturing back to Alberta? Well, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters published a report entitled “Manufacturing Alberta’s Future” (http://www.cme-mec.ca/download.php?file=hujy5qec.pdf) which proposes to double Alberta’s manufacturing output by 2020. This report lists recommendations to revitalize the sector. The entire manufacturing industry in Alberta must work together to make these recommendations a reality.

    According to the report, revitalization starts with sector diversification, innovation, and investment. First, we need to promote local manufacturing to a larger variety of industries. There is a huge need for producing goods and services in Alberta beyond the traditional energy industry. Instead of just focusing on oil & gas, we need to create opportunities to support other sectors.

    Secondly, we need to get the provincial and federal governments on board to make manufacturing in Alberta a priority. In her television address on April 7, 2016, Premier Rachel Notley alluded to investing in infrastructure and diversifying the economy but was short on specifics. She never once mentioned supporting and promoting manufacturing in Alberta through investments from the private sector and the government. We need to educate the government and the private sector about how important the sector is to Alberta’s economy.

    Thirdly, the manufacturing sector itself will have to adapt to change. We may need to re-evaluate and revise our training programs to attract and retain educated employees adept at keeping pace with technological change. But we need to think outside the box to adapt to labour challenges. For example, if finding reasonably priced, skilled, and motivated labour is an issue, then we will have to invest in automation. This is scary, particularly for small manufacturing shops, because of the upfront costs of purchasing expensive machinery, but the cost savings can be remarkable in the long run, especially with the technological advances that allow machines to now run unmanned. Believe me, other provinces have already invested heavily in automation.

    Not only does Alberta need to develop a reputation as a leader in the manufacturing industry, but we must also look for new markets and export opportunities as well. This will take a collaboration between governments at all levels, decision-makers in the private sector, educational institutions, and manufacturers.

    The ability to re-energize the manufacturing industry and bring back this province’s wealth is possible and within our reach, but it will be up to producers to lead the way and bring about opportunities in Alberta.