Columbia Plastics Ltd. has been in business since the end of the Second World War and understands a thing or two about survival, something B.C. companies are urged to cotton on to.
Having a competitive edge demands innovation, and that's what the Surrey-based custom injection moulding company, which makes products for the medical/dental devices, electronics and other industries, has long realized the importance of.
"Most of our innovations have been around lean manufacturing processes and automation," said Brian Holmes, Columbia's vice-president and general manager. "And how to continually reduce costs and provide a quality product to the marketplace."
Lean manufacturing is a well-established production practice used by numerous multinational companies, notably Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM; LSE:TYT). It considers expending resources for any goal other than creating value for the end customer to be wasteful and thus a target for elimination.
Holmes said all of Columbia Plastics' 75 employees are at the forefront of continuous improvement initiatives that keep it ahead of marketplace competition.
He added that businesses need to maintain a competitive edge by working faster, better and cheaper. But the challenge is basic training and government funding for education and training.
There are always rewards for risk-takers, he said, and if a company doesn't innovate, its market will stagnate.
The Surrey Board of Trade says local businesses can be more innovative and many appear to be content with doing business as usual.
"People are not preparing for tomorrow today," said board CEO Anita Huberman.
She added that Canada is known globally as the world's least innovative or commercialization-ready country.
"We're not risk-takers. We're a very service orientated economy, and for some reasons Canadians have the culture of not taking risks."
But the board's attempts to change that mindset have thus far produced few results.
With limited funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the board has held seven "innovation roundtables" – a discussion on topics ranging from human resources and marketing to international trade and social development.
Huberman said Surrey businesses can learn from others in the city that have been using innovation to leapfrog their competitors. •
