Ottawa links with Magna on ultralight car plant December 20, 2009
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Ottawa will contribute to a $7.2 million joint venture with Magna International aimed at making Canada a manufacturing hub for lightweight cars of the future.
Industry Minister Tony Clement unveils details of a joint venture with Magna International Inc. in Woddbridge, Ont.(Cheryl Krawchuk/CBC)
Industry Minister Tony Clement was flanked by Magna officials in Woodbridge, Ont., on Friday, announcing a joint venture between the National Research Council and auto parts maker Magna that aims to develop ultralight auto parts.
“This ability to build the world’s lightest, most durable cars, and make them affordable to Canadians ? I don’t have to tell you how excited we are about this,” Clement said.
The joint venture will bring together the intellectual heft of the National Research Council to take their know-how outside of the lab and link up with private firms such as Magna to develop the next generation of car parts.
It is not clear how much of the $7.2 million price tag Ottawa will contribute.
“What we’re talking about is more jobs for Canadians,” Clement said, although he declined to pin a precise number of jobs that might come out of the deal.
Other private companies will also have access to the site, which will be housed in an existing Magna facility, Clement noted.
“This deal creates the ideal conditions for the next breakthrough in automotive technology,” Clement said.
Automakers are scrambling to develop ultralight auto parts because they reduce the amount of fuel cars will consume and can help improve durability.
“We’re competing with the world, and we can win,” Clement said.
The research facility is expected to be operational by the summer of 2010.
Newspaper workers picket Mirabel printing plant December 15, 2009
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Journal de Montréal workers, who have been locked out since last January, picketed the paper’s printing plant Monday overnight.(CBC)Locked-out workers at the Journal de Montréal picketed the newspaper’s Mirabel printing plant Monday night, delaying delivery trucks.
About 100 employees travelled to the plant north of Montreal late in the evening for the overnight protest.
They blocked delivery trucks leaving the premises with copies of the morning newspaper.
Mirabel police called provincial authorities for backup around 11 p.m., said provincial police Sgt. Gregory Gomez del Prado.
“Our officers went on the scene, we had a team there that was ready to intervene,” but the protesters dispersed around 4:30 a.m. and police “didn’t have to intervene at all,” he said.
The protest means copies of the Journal and Montreal newspaper Le Devoir ? also printed at the Quebecor plant in Mirabel ? may be delivered late on Tuesday, officials said.
About 250 workers at the Journal have been locked out since last January.
Employees and management are at odds over job layoffs, salaries, and benefits.
600 Calgary jobs lost in Haworth plant closure August 19, 2009
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Office interiors manufacturer Haworth announced it’s closing its Calgary factory and cutting 600 jobs. (CBC)
Haworth Inc., a maker of office interiors, is closing its factory in Calgary and eliminating about 600 jobs as it moves manufacturing to Michigan.
The U.S.-based company will maintain an office and showroom in the city, employing about 100 people.
Haworth is consolidating its operations in western Michigan because of excess capacity as a result of the global recession and to better integrate its product lines, the company said Tuesday.
The state is close to approving a tax incentive package for the company worth $22.4 million over 13 years. Haworth said its move will create up to 649 jobs in Michigan, which has been hit hard by the restructuring of the automakers based there.
“It’s difficult to compete when you’ve got states pulling out all the punches to attract any manufacturing that you get,” said ATB Financial senior economist Todd Hirsch.
Michigan’s economic woes also mean Haworth will probably be able to pay lower wages than they would have in Calgary, which has a fairly robust labour market in comparison, Hirsch said.
‘We missed an opportunity there. There’s no reason for these guys to have left. They should have stayed here.’? Mogens Smed, former owner
The company, based in Holland, Mich., has been operating the factory in southeast Calgary since 2000, when it acquired SMED International for $250 million.
“It’s a shame,” former owner Mogens Smed told CBC News on Tuesday. “I feel very, very badly about it, because a lot of those people are my friends. A lot of those people were the very reason I was successful in the first place, and to see all this happen is just typical of a big corporation.”
Smed, who has since built up another furniture company called DIRTT Environmental Solutions, said the Alberta government doesn’t understand the value of manufacturing and got outhustled by the Michigan offer.
“There’s something to be said there ? that, you know, we missed an opportunity there. There’s no reason for these guys to have left. They should have stayed here,” he said.
Deal contradicts NAFTA
Bruce Graham, president and CEO of Calgary Economic Development, said the job cuts are a disappointing blow to the city’s economy.
“To some degree, it’s a surprise but recognizing the industry they’re in and the marketplace that we’re dealing with, it’s not a big surprise that they’ve had to make some adjustments across their global operations,” he said.
Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason said the incentive shows how the North American Free Trade Agreement is failing Canada. In an economic downturn, he said Americans will ensure they look after themselves, even at the expense of their biggest trading partner.
“We’ve seen that with softwood lumber and I think that the incentives being offered by Michigan in fact contradict the principles of the free trade agreement,” Mason said.
Mason said Haworth’s Michigan deal proves Canadians should be concerned by the U.S. administration’s “Buy American” policy. The provision gives priority to U.S. iron, steel and other manufactured goods for use in public works and building projects funded with recovery money.
Haworth expects the move to Michigan to take several months and will be completed in 2010.
Haworth also has a showroom in Toronto and a factory in Quebec.
With files from The Canadian Press (more…)
Construction starts on Vale Inco plant in southern Newfoundland April 15, 2009
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Despite the global economic chill, mining giant Vale Inco is pushing ahead with a $2.2-billion plan to build a nickel processing plant in southern Newfoundland.
Work on the Long Harbour site formally started Monday, launching a four-year construction plan that will need a peak of 1,600 workers by 2011.
Even though nickel prices are in a slump, Vale Inco said Monday that proceeding at full steam with the hydromettalurgical plant, which will use water, oxygen and acid to separate metals from concentrate shipped from the Voisey’s Bay mine in northern Labrador.
Crews moved on to the site on the weekend.
“I think that marks a pretty important milestone for us, as we move forward with the project in Long Harbour,” said Vale Inco corporate affairs manager Bob Carter.
Nonetheless, Carter acknowledged that the project, which Vale Inco promised to build following completion of a test hydromet facility in nearby Argentia, is proceeding under gloomy economic clouds.
“Anybody involved in business is looking very closely at what’s going on. Our industry has been affected by changes that are occurring globally,” Carter said.
The project is enormous by most standards. When completed, the plant will have a footprint 40 times the size of the Mile One stadium in downtown St. John’s.
Company will look for skilled workers
To pull off the project, Vale Inco will be recruiting for scores of skilled trades workers, and is anticipating shortages, in particular, with pipefitters and electricians.
The economic crisis, though, may actually help Vale Inco with its recruitment. Because of the sudden downturn in the Alberta oilsands, hundreds of workers from Newfoundland and Labrador who would ordinarily be away are now home, and have been calling for work.
“That should be a benefit for us as we move forward looking for the trades that we need,” Carter said.
Vale Inco will award 45 major construction contracts during the construction of the processing plant, and some construction and service contracts have already gone to local comapnies.
The immediate goals for crews are demolition of the old port site at Long Harbour and the ensuing cleanup.
One steeler boosts sales, another shuts Montreal plant April 12, 2009
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Tiny Ontario steel producer Lakeside Steel Inc. said Thursday that its annual revenue will jump 28 per cent for the year, a glimmer of hope for a sector that hasn’t seen much positive in the past 12 months.
Welland, Ont.-based Lakeside estimated that it would post sales of $207 million for the year ended March 31, 2009, when the final figures are tallied. If accurate, that rise would be a $45.5-million improvement compared with revenue for the same period one year earlier.
“Despite the changed environment in the steel industry, the company is focused on managing its business to break even profitability in FY 2010,” said Lakeside’s chairman and chief executive and well-known financier Vic Alboini.
Lakeside, which makes specialty pipe for Canada’s oil and gas sector, however, appears to be the pleasant exception to the dismal prospects for steel globally.
Arcelor’s Canadian job cuts
Also, on Thursday, the world’s largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA said it would close its Controeur mill outside Montreal and shut its slab steel production business.
The total cost to Canada will be 198 jobs.
ArcelorMittal has already said it would reduce production by 45 per cent and slice 9,000 jobs from its workforce. Plunging car sales and slowing steel demand in other sectors have hurt Arcelor’s fortunes.
The global economic slowdown has crimped demand for steel, hurting companies that produce this finished metal.
The Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute said U.S. mills shipped 4,576,000 net tons of production in January, down 50 per cent versus what the same facilities produced last January.
Uranium report says Saskatchewan could build nuclear power plant April 4, 2009
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The report of the Uranium Development Partnership, published online Friday afternoon, contains 20 recommendations for Saskatchewan’s uranium industry.(CBC)
A report for the provincial government says a nuclear power plant could be in uranium-rich Saskatchewan’s future.
Examining the potential of power generation from uranium was among 20 recommendations in a $3-million report on how the province could develop its radioactive resource.
The power plant recommendation was evaluated in what the report authors described as a “high-level economic and technical analysis,” which concluded that “nuclear could be a competitive power-generation option for Saskatchewan.”
The report identifies nuclear power as a long-range project and suggests that Saskatchewan team up with Alberta to consider “a common power-generation solution for the two provinces by pooling their power needs.”
A nuclear power plant was also viewed by the report authors as a generator of economic activity.
“In addition to providing affordable low-carbon electricity for the province’s residential, commercial, and industrial users, a nuclear power plant would create 700 to 800 long-term jobs,” the report noted.
The report also suggests focusing on further exploration and mining of uranium, as well as more research and development.
The report specifically discourages Saskatchewan from pursuing two value-added ventures related to uranium: producing reactor fuel and converting uranium ore into various subcomponents. Market conditions make those activities not worth investing in, the report said.
In releasing the report, Lyle Stewart, the minister responsible for Enterprise Saskatchewan, said public consultations will take place before a final policy is announced.
“I can assure you that no decisions have been made,” Steward said. “The input received will be considered by the provincial government as part of the decision making process.”
The recommendations were released Friday in Saskatoon. The 136-page report was prepared by a government-funded panel and has been in government hands since March 31.
Kazakhstan poised to surpass Saskatchewan
The panel, chaired by Richard Florizone, the University of Saskatchewan’s vice-president of finance, included nuclear science experts, CEOs from the nuclear industry, as well as representatives from labour and First Nations.
The 12-member group also included a co-founder of the activist organization Greenpeace, Patrick Moore, who is currently associated with a consulting firm.
The panel was asked to make specific recommendations on how to develop Saskatchewan’s uranium industry beyond its current focus on mining.
According to the province, Saskatchewan is the world’s largest producer of uranium, with an output of more than 11 million kilograms of ore per year.
The report recommends Saskatchewan work to ensure its position in the marketplace is maintained. It says the province should encourage more exploration, particularly in light of the emergence of significant competitors.
“Forecasts indicate that Kazakhstan will overtake Saskatchewan as the world’s largest producer this year ? and that Australia could overtake it next year,” the report notes.
Also on Friday, Stewart unveiled the schedule for nine community consultation meetings, which would begin on May 19 and end on June 5, 2009.
Parts shortage prompts shutdown at Chrysler minivan plant April 2, 2009
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Workers at Chrysler’s Windsor, Ont., minivan assembly plant were sent home Tuesday night and Wednesday morning because of a parts shortage.
The shortage is due to an interruption in supplies from manufacturer H.E. Vannatter in Wallaceburg, Ont., where about 100 workers were laid off on Monday.
“If not resolved, this parts interruption could affect production at our Brampton [Ontario] assembly plant and other Chrysler facilities in North America,” Chrysler said in a statement.
The automaker said it is currently seeking to relocate production of the parts, which include die-cast aluminum engine and transmission brackets, to its casting plant in Etobicoke, Ont.
CAW Local 444 president Rick Laporte said Chrysler is hopeful it will have enough parts for the afternoon shift.
With files from Canadian Press (more…)
AbitibiBowater selling stake in Quebec power plant March 14, 2009
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AbitibiBowater Inc. is selling its stake in a hydroelectric station in Quebec for $615 million as part of a massive debt revamp.
The paper and forest-products company said Friday it is selling its 60 per cent stake in the station on the Manicouagan River to Hydro-Quebec.
The company said the sale will not affect its Baie-Comeau paper mill or any of its other hydro-electric operations.
AbitibiBowater 3-month TSX chartThe sale of the power plant comes as the company unveiled a refinancing it said will reduce its net debt by $2.4 billion US and cut its annual interest expenses by $162 million.
The plan will see about $2.9 billion in existing debt replaced by new debt, along with company stock and warrants.
The company said noteholders owning more than $1 billion of Abitibi notes, approximately 34 per cent the total outstanding, have agreed to vote in favour of the recapitalization.
AbitibiBowater said it will solicit additional support for the debt plan from other noteholders, from its secured noteholders and from its lenders.
“This recapitalization is another important step in AbitibiBowater’s ongoing efforts to deleverage the company and refinance its current debt obligations,” said David Paterson, AbitibiBowater’s president and CEO.
“The transaction offers substantial benefits to AbitibiBowater, increasing its financial stability while also reducing the company’s annual interest costs and improving overall liquidity.”
The refinancing still requires noteholder acceptance and court approval.
Chrysler warns of Canadian plant closures March 12, 2009
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Chrysler LLC has warned that it could close its plants in Canada unless it gets enough concessions from its workers, along with government aid and resolution of a tax dispute.
Chrysler president Tom LaSorda told the House of Commons Finance Committee on Wednesday that the concessions deal between the Canadian Auto Workers union and General Motors is not acceptable to Chrysler.
The union has said that it hopes to use the agreement with GM as a model for pacts with Chrysler Canada and Ford of Canada. CAW officials announced Wednesday that members have voted 87 per cent in favour of the deal, which was reached last weekend.
The agreement would extend the contract with GM until 2012, while freezing wages and suspending cost-of-living adjustments for both wages and pensions.
It also reduces paid time off by 40 hours a year, scraps an annual $1,700 bonus and cuts company contributions to union-sponsored programs by one-third.
LaSorda said if the CAW-GM deal were applied to Chrysler, it wouldn’t eliminate even half the labour cost gap with Japanese auto plants in Canada.
“As a corporation with operations in multiple jurisdictions, we cannot afford to manufacture products in jurisdictions that are not competitive,” he said.
“The labour cost, government assistance, and of course the transfer tax will place our Canadian manufacturing operations at a significant disadvantage relative to our manufacturing operations in North America and may very well impair our ability to continue to produce in Canada.”
Chrysler Canada is involved in a dispute with the federal government over up to $1 billion in back taxes due to a reassessment by the Canada Revenue Agency.
Chrysler has asked for about $2.8 billion in aid from the Ontario and federal governments.
With files from the Canadian Press (more…)
