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Blog Post
Dear BWA members and partners: We would like to take the time to thank all of you for your ongoing engagement and support of the Bluewater Wood Alliance (BWA) Cluster! This past year had some important successes and milestones! Some quick data for 2019: 25 new member companies! 18 BWA cluster events this year! 410 BWA members attended our events this year! We had a very successful networking event at the Wood Machinery Show (WMS), which we will be expanding at the 2021 show. The value of the cluster model is that it is “industry-led,” meaning that our members dictate...
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Blog Post
December 11th, 2019 at EDC Export Growth Hub in Kitchener, Canada’s only business hub, BWA members came together to learn about how lean is transforming companies into competitive forces to be reckoned within the market place. As more and more BWA members continue their lean journey, their competitive strength continues to grow. The day began with BWA key lean trainer Brad Cairns teaching how to think about the concepts of lean and how it can apply to a vast spectrum of applications in manufacturing – from custom shops to high volume production. The training carried on discussing the history of...
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Blog Post
December 11th, 2019 at EDC Export Growth Hub in Kitchener, Canada’s only business hub, BWA members came together to learn about how lean is transforming companies into competitive forces to be reckoned within the market place. As more and more BWA members continue their lean journey, their competitive strength continues to grow. The day began with BWA key lean trainer Brad Cairns teaching how to think about the concepts of lean and how it can apply to a vast spectrum of applications in manufacturing – from custom shops to high volume production. The training carried on discussing the history of...
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Blog Post
On November 21st, members of the Bluewater Wood Alliance attended the Plant Tour Focus Group at Windmill Cabinets located in Chatham, Ontario. The 40,000 sq. ft. facility opened its doors to the BWA and focused the group challenge around its product flow and the layout of the facility. “We are looking for opportunities for continuous improvement, this is a time we welcome interaction with our employees during this tour. Please feel free to ask them questions about their workspaces” Will Holsappel of...
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Blog Post
Thursday, October 9th, 2019 the BWA facilitated a Plant Tour Focus Group of 35,000 sq. Ft Doma Doors Ltd. located in Mississauga. Plant Tour Focus Groups strive to spur innovation among wood companies by allowing the host company to showcase what they do well as a manufacturer as well as address the current challenge they are facing they want to improve. Doma Doors Mfg.’s focus was on finding new ways to manage the vast quantity of machinery used to produce the volume of productions they run, as well as managing the software for operations. Prior to the tour, the group...
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Blog Post
Export Development: Removing the risk; expanding markets Canada is widely regarded internationally for its high-quality wood products. Our expertise opens the doors to exporting, but exporting has its own set of challenges. Guest speaker Lucian Mihett, Export Development’s Senior Account Manager, and an experienced commercial banker discussed how to access capital, de-risk international sales, and take advantage of the current low-interest-rate environment. EDC is Canada’s international trade expert devoted to supporting Canadian companies with international business opportunities. Lucian shared how...
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Blog Post
Thursday, August 29th marked an exciting new phase with the first BWA Lean Leadership: To Export Readiness Training Event at EDC’s Kitchener location: EDC Export Growth Hub. Is leadership a topic that resonates with you and your company? Do you have a struggle with getting new ideas implemented? Are you not sure what methods to employ them? Are you trying to find your footing on beginning a lean journey at your facility? These aren’t uncommon questions,...
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Blog Post
On August 20, 2019 many manufacturers made their way to Burlington to attend a joint BWA-MTech Hub Event. This was a unique opportunity to connect with Karyn Brearley, Executive Director of the Yves Landry Foundation, who also provided insight into the foundation, it’s ongoing initiatives and how it supports training and innovation for manufacturing sectors. Karyn helped manufacturers to understand the potential speed, efficiency and opportunity that is available for them with the foundation’s application process and the focus to drive innovation in Canadian manufacturing. Currently the Yves Landry Foundation has an active program described as A.I.M.E. Global, which has...
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Blog Post
On Thursday, June 20th, the BWA hosted its Summer Quarterly Networking Event at the Walkerton Clean Water Center. Mike Baker, Executive Director of the Bluewater Wood Alliance opened the event with an update on current events and highlighted some new content set to roll out later on this year. What makes great leadership and why? To successfully implement programs such as Lean Manufacturing, Sales Growth Strategies, or other systems in your factory, you need your people all working together to see it through. What if you have a terrific system for your business but lack the strategic leadership, communication, team...
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