MAGAZINE The official magazine of Automate Canada.Issue 6, Spring 2025 Canada Post Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 with Automate Canada Stay in the LoopThe official publication of Automate Canada |www.automatecanada.ca 5 Issue 6, Spring 2025 Published For: Automate Canada Institute for Border Logistics and Security 3475 Wheelton Drive Windsor, Ontario N8W 0A6 Email: info@automatecanada.ca Tel: (519) 818-8866 Published By: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. 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To advertise in the next edition of Automate Canada Magazine, please e-mail sales@matrixgroupinc.net or call (866) 999-1299. contents 12 Automate Canada: 2024 Year in Review & Strategic Plans for 2025 16 Upskilling the Workforce to Prepare for a More Automated Future 20 Automation Meets a Focus on Community up front 7 Greetings from the Chair of Automate Canada 9 Greetings from the Executive Director of Automate Canada 10 All About Automate Canada 11 Board of Directors 11 Why Should You Join Automate Canada? features Member Showcases 22 Beckhoff Canada: A Leader in Automation Technology 24 Ro-Matt International Inc.: Dedicated Service, Technical Expertise, and Problem Solving Cover photo courtesy of Beckhoff Canada (www.beckhoff.ca). 26 Index to AdvertisersThe official publication of Automate Canada |www.automatecanada.ca 7 Considerations to Mitigate the Impact of Tariffs UpFront Dave Fortin Chair, Board of Directors Automate Canada hen I started writing this message on February 3, 2025, we were on the eve of expecting 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods and the start of a trade war. Wondering, “Will it happen?” Well… now it’s the next day, February 4th and it has been deferred by 30 days, phew! Oh wait… it’s now February 11 and the White House has announced a 25% terrif on steel and aluminum. Seems by the time we go to press, these back-and-forth decisions will make my message the length of an essay! What will happen in April… who knows! May? Anyone’s guess. And the months go on and on… What we do know is that this tariff war will have a considerable impact on our automation industry. Most of our membership does business in the Unites States and if we do not do business directly in the U.S., then many or most of our customers certainly do. Is there anything to be learned from this? Is there anything we can do in the future to protect ourselves from such disruption? Certainly, we cannot control these outside events. The best we can do is mitigate their impact. Let’s explore this topic... The supply chain a. Have alternative supply sources in other countries (U.S., Mexico) for key high value hardware that you use in your particular business. Buy from a Canadian/(U.S.) supplier if you’re selling to a Canadian/(U.S.) customer. b. Have the customer free issue some hardware (i.e. robots). They buy the robots and you don’t, but you assemble/integrate the robots to your machines on their floor. c. Say you’re selling a machine to a Canadian customer—where possible, substitute U.S.-based products for European, Japanese, or Korean products as they will not have a tariff. Efficiency / mindset d. Increase working capital (cash) in the business to weather payment disruptions or delays in getting projects complete. e. Find ways to be leaner. Can you reduce admin costs? Can you use artificial intelligence? Can you put systems in place to do more with less? f. Imagine if the U.S. and Canadian dollar when to PAR! Your U.S. input costs would effectively go up and your exchange would gain down. Would you be profitable? Would you be competitive? Why not? This is important to understand regardless of tariffs! g. In some cases, you may want to absorb the cost of the tariff (at least in the short-term) to keep the customer and to keep out a competing product and potentially lose the customer forever. h. Consider the impact of the exchange between CAD and USD. At the time of this writing, it is 1.45 CAD to 1 USD. This is 15% higher than the norm over the past few years. If you quoted the job with 1.30 base exchange in mind, then from that perspective the tariff is only really costing you about 10% more and maybe this can easily be absorbed in the short-term. Customer strategy i. Diversify! Diversify! Diversify! While this is easier said than done, it’s always a good idea to keep this strategy top of mind. Even more-so now! Don’t just diversify by industry, but by country as well. j. Stay close to your key customers. People are still people and like to do business with those who they like and trust. Pass costs forward k. Depending on the actual details of the tariffs, it may be possible to change the quote and/or invoice the customer to overvalue services or products with no tariffs and undervalue those with tariffs so that the price is the same for the customer in the end, but the tariffs are less. l. In some cases, the customer may be willing to pay the tariff if you have a very niche product. Count yourself very lucky if you do! Transfer work m. Have a business incorporated in the U.S. and if necessary, in Mexico. Note that incorporating in Mexico is much more difficult as is banking and tax reporting, so give yourself several months to get this done. n. If you have a U.S. facility then build products there for the U.S. market. o. And finally, consider joining Automate Canada to get valuable peer-to-peer interactions, timely and useful information, as well as advocacy. I hope you found this informative. I would like to thank the various members of the board who helped me with some of these ideas. If you have any other ideas to add, email me at dfortin@ datarealminc.com, and I will get it to our membership. Share, Learn, Grow, (and Advocate). See you around!The official publication of Automate Canada |www.automatecanada.ca 9 Celebrating our Accomplishments and Looking Forward to 2025 Nicole Vlanich Executive Director Automate Canada Workforce development has remained at the forefront of our efforts, and we are committed to addressing labour shortages through meaningful initiatives. By partnering with educational institutions and government agencies, we are ensuring that the next generation of skilled automation professionals is equipped with the necessary training and opportunities to thrive in this ever-evolving field. Looking ahead to 2025, Automate Canada will build on this momentum. Our upcoming Leadership Conference in June will provide an invaluable platform for business leaders to connect, learn, and strategize for the future. We will also strengthen our advocacy efforts, working closely with policymakers to push for more funding, investment incentives, and talent development programs that will drive the growth of automation in Canada. As we step into the new year, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our members, partners, and industry stakeholders for their unwavering support. Your commitment and collaboration are what make Automate Canada a thriving and dynamic organization. Together, we will continue to shape the future of automation and ensure that Canadian companies remain competitive on the global stage. Thank you for being part of this journey. I look forward to another year of progress, innovation, and success. s we reflect on 2024, I am incredibly proud of the strides Automate Canada has made in advancing the industrial automation sector in Canada. This past year has been a time of remarkable growth, innovation, and collaboration, strengthening our industry’s position both nationally and globally. One of our biggest achievements was the expansion of our membership, welcoming more industry leaders into our community and increasing our ability to advocate for the needs of automation companies. Our Strategic Plan set a clear direction for our work, ensuring that we continue to SHARE, LEARN, GROW, and ADVOCATE for the future of automation in Canada. We successfully hosted our first EV Battery Cell Seminar, drawing over 100 professionals to discuss the evolving role of automation in battery manufacturing. This event was a testament to the power of knowledge sharing and industry collaboration, and it has set the stage for an even more ambitious lineup of events in 2025. This year, we are pleased to present our virtual Speaker Series with a new speaker each month who will provide valuable information and education to our members on topics such as government funding, new export opportunities, and cybersecurity. UpFront If you work at an Automate Canada member company, you can receive Automate Canada Magazine for free! Simply email distribution@matrixgroupinc.net to be added to the mailing list! If you have moved and need to update your address, please reach out as well. Read For Free and Update Your Mailing Details! One of our biggest achievements was the expansion of our membership, welcoming more industry leaders into our community and increasing our ability to advocate for the needs of automation companies.Next >