A lively group discussion about the challenges and issues of Sr. Manager's took place on Friday December 11, 2009 at the Brantford Tourism Centre.

We were privileged to have Joanne Gies, MEDT ( joanne.gies@ontario.ca  ) and Robert Ham, City of Brantford Economic Development (rham@brantford.ca) as our guests. 

The focus of the event was to talk about the challenges and opportunities from a Sr. Manager perspective as we enter the next decade.   One of the areas we discussed was funding options that are available and how to access them.  Joanne did a great job outlining just some of the programs available for manufacturers in Ontario (please check out specific links for exact qualification requirements):

CME SMART - $50K grant (50% of project value) - currently there is no new money (which means only projects that had applied previously will qualify) but there is a possibility that more money will become available

Export Market Access - money available to help enter new markets; up to 50% of cost or $30K available; deadline for using funds is March 31, 2010

Yves Landry Foundation - training money for training that is innovative; grant of up to 75% of cost; deadline for initial application is December 31, 2009; money must be used by March 31, 2010

Feddev Ontario (also known as Southern Ontario Development Program) - 0% financing (unsecured) for up to $5 Million

Export Development Corporation - they have been given additional funds; they will help guarantee operating line/term loan insurance

Please see the website link for full information on all of these programs as guidelines; submission deadline and amount of funding is subject to change. 

 

Other issues that were discussed were the issue with cost; finding training for a small group of employees (1 company in Simcoe invited other companies to send their employees for 1^st aid training since they were trying to reduce costs and run a class).  We also discussed the issue of how the nature of business is changing - the inability to rely on the weak Canadian dollar against the US currency as a competitive advantage;  quicker turnarounds on orders and the need for a change in the culture of many 'old school' organizations.   We also talked about how to balance multiple roles; having enough time in the day and getting control of inventory levels (and establishing the right level to respond quickly to customers' needs). 

Going forward into 2010, watch for Brantford and Region SIGs that cover these topics and many more.  The schedule for 2010 is now posted on the Brantford forum page - it is a work in process and will change as the needs of YOU - our manufacturing members - change.   Please let me know if there are other topics you would like to see discussed for 2010 and if you are interested in hosting.  For more information on the Brantford and region SIGs contact Laura Gibson at 519-304-4648 or by e-mail at lgibson@emccanada.org.