Canadian mold makers have launched a strategy to help their companies grow and to support their home communities.
The Canadian Association of Moldmakers is speaking up for a 'Made in Canada' approach aimed at making sure people to know mold makers are an essential part of the overall supply chain.
Jonathon Azzopardi is President and CEO of Laval in Maidstone as well as the chair of CAMM.
He says smaller operations need some help.
"There's not really a manufacturing strategy for any manufacturer to plug into, but even more specifically SMEs or the small and medium size enterprise that is about 70 per cent to 90 per cent of our economy. It's kind of looking for a guiding light from the government and we really haven't seen one very clearly set forth," he says.
Azzopardi says many shops have been hit hard by the pandemic.
"This is a sector that is, average shop 55 employees. So you're talking about a small group. As they've been going through the pandemic and they've been trying to make ends meat to do normal business, the pandemic has really put a lot of pressure on this group," he says.
Azzopardi says the industry continues to try to be resilient during COVID-19.
"This group has been continuing to try to employ and continue to manufacture while the supply chain right around them has just been basically falling apart. That's been really tough. Not only are they struggling with a lack of business, but the business they are trying to get out the door is in some ways almost impossible," he says.
Azzopardi says, in the long term, their goal is to combat the hollowing out of the advanced manufacturing sector — a risk faced by small and medium-sized manufacturing facilities.