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Message From The Editor
Our leaders during the pandemic
As we approach the end of the pandemic lockdown, we can more easily see positive aspects to the COVID-19 crisis. This period has required us to face uncertainty with resilience. Today, I would like to pay tribute to leaders we met earlier this year who had agreed to take on new and significant challenges in the midst of the pandemic, without having any idea when the crisis would end. These leaders even saw opportunities and opportunities to change and improve practices, affirm choices and more. Good reading!
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Interview with a Leader
Rexel’s Jeffrey Moyle — Taking Strategy from a White Board to Reality
By Line Goyette
“The ongoing integration of Rexel Utility into our Canadian business platforms has underscored our responsibility as an organization to find creative solutions for today’s challenges, as well as to prepare for tomorrow’s opportunities.” This quote from Jeffrey caught my attention. Vice President, Supplier & Digital Strategy at Rexel Canada Electrical Inc., Jeffrey has extensive experience in the industry and is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario with a Master’s in Business Administration, focusing on internarial leadership. During the pandemic, Jeffrey embarked on a lifegoal of completing a Masters in international affairs and diplomacy, with a long-term vision of completing a PhD in the field. I had no doubt he would have much to say about the industry and the challenges we face.
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Interview
Marcos Simard — A Young Leader with a Huge Desire to Meet the Challenges Ahead
By Line Goyette
Marcos Simard was recently appointed Managing Director of WESCO and Anixter EES Montréal (Electrical & Electronic Solutions). This young manager, a graduate of the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières with a degree in business administration and holder of a post-graduate degree from Laval University in Information Technology Management, does not seem destined for a career without unexpected shifts. Perfect for a cross-country and marathon runner like him. This young manager is undoubtedly a great optimist, unphased by the scope of the challenges resulting from the merger of these two giants in the midst of a pandemic. Marcos has been with WESCO since 2015. We remember that in 2020, WESCO proposed a merger with Anixter, but the Competition Commissioner demanded that WESCO sell its utility division in Canada and its Canadian company associated with the distribution of data communication products.
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Interview
Martin Stephenson — A Focus on Connectivity and Sustainable Innovation
By Line Goyette
As of February 2021, Martin Stephenson is the new President and CEO of Signify Canada. Given that he took office nearly a year into the pandemic and its related restrictions, it is easy to imagine him drawing on past experience to lead Signify’s response to this current health challenge and its consequences for Canadians and Canadian business. I first asked Martin, “How has your journey led you to the position you hold now? What were the most important moments?” If I were to sum up his answer in three words, I would say automation, connectivity and sustainable innovation.
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Diversity
Jennifer Green on WXN Top 100 Award and Promoting Women in Trades
By Blake Marchand
This past December Jennifer Green was honoured with Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award for the Skilled Trades category by WXN (Women’s Executive Network). “It is truly an honour to be recognized by WXN and to be among this group of amazing women,” said Green of earning the distinction. “Throughout my career, I’ve worked with many great mentors and team members – to them, I say thank you for always inspiring me. I am absolutely thrilled.” Green is an industrial mechanic millwright by trade and works with Skills Ontario as Director of Competitions and Young Women’s Initiatives. She is also an Apprenticeship Youth Advisor for the Ministry of Labour.
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Profile
AD Canada’s Rob Dewar on Investing in Canada and More
By Line Goyette
Rob Dewar is President of AD Canada as of this past January, when AD announced it had made the strategic decision to establish AD Canada as a distinct business unit, serving the more than 150 members of its three Canada-based divisions. I recently had the chance to virtually meet Rob. I met a passionate leader about his new challenges. “There are many projects in progress and specific to the Canadian industry and industry players. Interesting initiatives for the fall of 2021 will be announced shortly.” As Rob Dewar confirmed, “We took a high road as an organization and are making a lot of investments in Canada. I’m probably one of the proudest Canadians you will ever meet.” Read on as we ask Rob about AD Canada investments in its members and suppliers.
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Profile
David Nathaniel: A Talent for Still Being There at the Right Time — Part 2
By Line Goyette
Six years ago in February 2015, I interviewed David Nathaniel and called the profile I wrote “A Talent for Being There at the Right Time.” We met again this past February, this time virtually (without a cup of his wonderful expresso coffee). What follows is a summary of our conversation — “A Talent for Still Being There at the Right Time — Part 2.” My first question to David was, what has happened in those six years? “Everything,” he said, and he started to laugh.
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Peers & Profiles
A Human-Centred Leader in a Highly Technical Field: EHRC Leader of the Year Stephanie Smith
By Blake Marchand
“It was quite surprising,” said Stephanie Smith of being named EHRC’s Leader of the Year. “Leadership in 2020 has certainly been a challenge for everybody in the world let alone the nuclear industry or the electricity industry.” An engineer by trade, Smith spent the majority of her career with Ontario Power Generation (OPG). She was the first woman to be certified by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station where she served as Plant Manager and was recently named the first President and CEO of CANDU Owners Group. Smith is also a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion.
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Young Leader
Ariane Cardinal Discusses Her Journey to Stelpro, Mentorship, and Finding Success
By Blake Marchand
Ariane Cardinal is Director of Planning, Purchasing, and Distribution with Stelpro. Ariane owns a bachelor’s degree in engineering, although she said, “I always knew, when I was doing engineering, that I wanted to have a career more oriented towards management.” After earning her degree, she did an internship with a company in the gas industry based out of Paris, France, which is where she was introduced to supply chain management. Ariane noted she was interested in the problem-solving aspects of supply chain, which meshed well with her engineering background. “There are so many opportunities to optimize everything,” she said.
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Survey Says
Salary by Position: Industrial Lighting Fixture Manufacturing
Top of the heap: technical product managers at $110,000. Down at the bottom: industrial designers, at $49,000. See where six other positions fit.
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Looking Back
Looking Back: Establishing Member Fees — 1981
CThe ceiling that had been placed on membership fees remained a point of contention among members. Treasurer Dougherty said the ceiling should be raised to $220 million so that larger member companies would pay their share of increasing operating costs. Director Harry Johnson argued that the big three national companies would then be paying far more than their fair share, and this could prove counterproductive as smaller members could feel threatened by the perceived power that this financial support could give the big companies.
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Economy
Value of Building Permits Declined in May
Following four consecutive months of reaching new highs, the total value of building permits dropped a record $1.6 billion (-14.8%) to $9.5 billion in May. Every component was down, with multi-family dwellings in Ontario accounting for nearly three-fifths of the overall national decline. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), building permits decreased 14.5% to $7.1 billion. The value of permits for multi-family dwellings dropped 20.6% to $3.3 billion in May, the lowest value since August 2020. Ontario was responsible for the majority of the decline. All provinces except for Newfoundland and Labrador posted a decrease in the value of permits issued for single-family dwellings, which fell 10.6% nationally to $3.2 billion. Quebec accounted for almost half of the national decline, with fewer permits issued in municipalities outside of the census metropolitan areas.
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GDP Contracts in April After 11 Months of Increases
Real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.3% in April after 11 consecutive monthly increases. With the first decline in 12 months, total economic activity remained at about 1% below its level before the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020. Overall, 12 of 20 industrial sectors were down as gains in goods-producing industries (+0.5%) were more than offset by contractions in services-producing industries (-0.6%). Preliminary information indicates a decrease in real GDP of approximately 0.3% in May. The retail trade, construction and real estate rental and leasing sectors contributed the most to the declines, while the finance and insurance, and wholesale trade sectors posted gains.
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Economy
Investment in Building Construction Dipped 1.9% in May
Investment in building construction cooled slightly in May, decreasing 1.9% to $19.4 billion. This was the first drop in seven months. Residential construction investment (-2.7%) was down for the first time since April 2020, while non-residential construction increased slightly. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction declined 2.7% to $14.8 billion in May. Residential construction was down 2.7%, bringing total investment to $14.8 billion with declines in both single and multi-unit construction. Non-residential investment increased 0.6% to $4.7 billion.
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Changing Scene
- Ouellet Group Inc. Acquires Innovair Corporation
Innovair Corporation is a major supplier of air conditioning and heat pump equipment in Latin America and the United States. This new acquisition allows Ouellet Group to grow further and develop new markets and consolidate its position as a major player in the North American market.
- Northern Transformers’ Colin Mark Appointed to EFC Committee
Colin Mark, Northern Transformers’ Director of Sales and Marketing, has been appointed Vice Chair of EFC’s Joint Transformer Business Section committee.
- Innovair Corporation is a major supplier of air conditioning and heat pump equipment in Latin America and the United States. This new acquisition allows Ouellet Group to grow further and develop new markets and consolidate its position as a major player in the North American market.
Dialight is a leader in LED industrial lighting technology with millions of LED fixtures installed worldwide. The company specializes in LED lighting for hazardous and non-hazardous facilities across industries, such as aerospace, chemical/petrochemical, distilleries, glass, oil and gas, pulp, paper, and packaging, paint mixing, ship building, warehouse, and more.
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Changing Scene
- Canada Releases National Issues Report on Climate Change Adaptation
The federal government has published [IT]Canada in a Changing Climate: National Issues Report[IT], a national perspective on how climate change is impacting our environment, economy and many aspects of our daily lives — and how we are adapting to these impacts. The report provides a foundation to inform decision-making and measures as the government develops Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy.
- Made in Canada for Canada: Two Iconic ABB Brands Celebrate Milestone Anniversaries
Iberville and Microlectric, two of ABB’s Canadian legacy brands, have recently reached significant milestone anniversaries. With over 100 years and 50 years of history respectively, these products have stood the test of time, refined year after year to ensure product safety, efficiency, and reliability. They have become staples and essential components of the local economy in their communities.
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Changing Scene
- EFC Marketing Awards Deadline Extended to July 30
“We are excited with the submissions being received and understand that spring has been an incredibly busy time for all,” says John Jefkins, Electro-Federation Canada’s EFC’s VP, Member Engagement & Corporate Partnerships. “Some members have expressed that a little more time to prepare would be a big help.”
- UL 8801 — The Journey from Outline to Standard
UL 8801 documents UL’s initial effort to bring photovoltaic (PV), battery, luminaire and control technologies together for safe PV-powered lighting systems. In 2018, UL received a certification request for a PV-powered lighting system with four major subassemblies, each of which was to some extent eligible for its own independent certification. However, safety implications associated with the interactions between subassemblies were not adequately addressed by individual standards and certification programs for those subassemblies.
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Changing Scene
- Global Demand for Home Automation Market to Reach US$90 Billion by 2026
A new research report forecasts that between 2021 and 2026 global demand for home automation systems will have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.5%, reaching US$90 Billion by 2026. Home automation system refers to devices that can safely regulate and monitor a range of home appliances such as lights, climate, and entertainment systems to name a few. The latest version of these systems further possesses the ability to control the alarm systems and control systems of the house.
- Put the “Success” in Succession Planning with EHRC Guidebook
Electricity Human Resources Canada’s [IT]Succession Planning Guidebook[IT] is a practical reference for employers looking to steward organizational knowledge through retirements and role changes. The guidebook provides best practices, process descriptions for key competencies and roles and worksheets for putting it all into action.
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Changing Scene
- IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook Re-Writes Energy Narrative for a Net Zero World
Accelerating energy transitions on a path to climate safety can grow the world’s economy by 2.4% over the expected growth of current plans within the next decade, a new analysis from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows. The agency’s 1.5°C pathway foresees the creation of up to 122 million energy-related jobs in 2050, more than double today’s 58 million. Renewable energy alone will account for more than a third of all energy jobs employing 43 million people globally, supporting the post-COVID recovery and long-term economic growth.
- Global Trade Group to Promote Adoption of AI in industrial Automation
The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) has created a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology Strategy Board of leading AI experts, part of a major initiative to promote education and adoption of the applications of artificial intelligence in automation industries. This new board places AI leadership at the same level as A3’s existing technology groups: robotics, vision and imaging, and motion control and motors.
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Changing Scene
- Sales Outsource Solutions Changes Ownership Structure
Tim Emoff and Dave Klarer have acquired majority ownership from founders Norm Baldoni and Greg Porter. Additionally, Roman Babych, Martin Stimpson and Brenda Knutson will also acquire a minority stake in the firm. “This is an incredibly exciting time in our company’s history,” says Tim Emoff, VP Business Development / Partner with Sales Outsource Solutions. “Over the past year, our business has experienced tremendous growth across all markets, products, and a rapidly growing customer base.”
- Liteline Promotes Evan Sadofsky to Regional Sales Manager - Eastern Canada
Since joining Liteline in January 2018, Evan Sadofsky has been instrumental in influencing strategy and growth within the GTA and Ontario. Starting as Inside Sales Manager, he progressed into a Business Development role in 2020; handling customer accounts directly with focus in Multi-Unit Residential market.
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Careers
Time for a Change? New Job Openings
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