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(Event held on June 5th, 2020)
Panelists: Jayson Myers, Diane Reko, Flavio Volpe, Moderator: Peter Hatges
Dwindling cash flows, ongoing skills shortages and disruptions to supply chains. Productions lines shut down while others retooled to make new, vitally needed health and safety products. Orders cancelled while oil and gas prices plummet. Expectations of agility in the face of an unprecedented shock and an uncertain future. Welcome to the world of Canadian advanced manufacturing in the time of COVID-19.
There is no question companies across Canada have stepped up over the past few months. We have been inspired by the stories of their innovation as they create new technologies and scale up production of equipment and medical devices central to fighting the pandemic. We have also been reminded of the extent to which we rely on other countries for critical goods and supplies.
With provincial economic reopening plans slowly unfurled, many are looking to the second half of 2020 as key period for the sector’s recovery. But what that recovery looks like is unclear. Will governments continue to bring forward new policies and supports designed to increase in-country production of goods that companies long ago stopped making here in Canada? Is long-term reinvention really an option for many companies? Will their corporate clients and consumers have the funds to start buying again? And, how will physical distancing rules in plants impact efforts to restore productivity?
Join our industry leaders as they examine how the country’s advanced manufacturing sector has responded to COVID-19 and assess the pandemic’s impact on the future of the sector.
Panelists:
Jayson Myers
Chief Executive Officer, Next Generation Manufacturing Canada
Diane Reko
President & Chief Executive Officer, Reko International Group Inc.
Flavio Volpe
President, Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA)
Moderator:
Peter Hatges
Partner, National Sector Leader, Automotive, KPMG in Canada, & Managing Director KPMG Corporate Finance Inc.
