Field Notes: ProMat 2025 has Canadian manufacturers competing with optimism amidst a trade war

ProMat 2025 is a little different for Canadian companies this year. The four-day trade show, which took place at McCormick Place in Chicago, Il., featured companies from across the globe showcasing the latest technologies and solutions in a bid to compete for business.

For Canadian manufacturers, that meant standing out in the midst of an ongoing trade war, which has seen tariffs levied on both sides of the border, and the pausing and unpausing of other tariffs.

For businesses like Attabotics, a Canadian robotics manufacturer attending ProMat, this was a concern.

“Because the U.S. approach to tariffs has, from my perspective, been a little reactionary and haphazard, we can’t plan for anything until we know what’s true,” said Scott Gravelle, CEO of the Calgary-based robotics company. “As a business owner, it’s impossible to speculate right now. We’ve been focused on making sure we’re communicating with our customers. We are a Canadian company but we’re an international business.”

Gravelle’s sentiment was echoed by many other Canadian companies attending ProMat, who were not dissuaded or discouraged by the political climate.

“We don’t really see it impacting our business,” said Gary Bryant, chief revenue officer of Ontario Bollards, showcasing their CoreFlex safety systems for industrial settings. “But there is definitely a nuisance factor to it. Our supply chain is resilient enough that we wouldn’t be affected by it. And from the customers we’re speaking to today, it has not come up even once. The general consensus seems to be that this is a temporary thing.”

The Canadian manufacturers at ProMat spanned a diverse number of industries. Outside of robotics, there were companies offering automation solutions, 3D printing companies, new AMRs and steel workstation manufacturers from all across Canada.

Most Canadian companies understood the importance of having a diversified supply chain and did not seem too worried about the impending tariffs, though did describe the situation as less than ideal.

“Of course, it’s not ideal,” said Scott Gravelle. “But a lot of our products are already made all over the world. A lot of our aluminium comes from the U.S. We make our products close to our clients to avoid the transportation costs and impacts like this. The best automation providers are global, they’re Canadian, they’re in France they’re in China. There isn’t a lot of cutting-edge automation that’s built just in the U.S. So, picking fights with your friends and your neighbours is just sad to see.”

Companies were also asked if they were expecting to field questions from potential clients in the U.S. about their potential hit from the tariffs.

“The tides are changing so quickly, it’s too soon to even say if we’d be affected,” said Julie Tremblay, an account manager at NuMove Robotics & Vision, based out of Montreal, Que. “All our main partners are in the U.S., so I don’t see us having any conversations this week that will be a problem.”

That was not the case for all the Canadian manufacturers at the show. When asked if they’d received any questions regarding tariffs, others said yes.

“We’ve received tons of questions about the tariffs already,” said Alexandra Corey, the director of marketing at Mosaic Manufacturing, a company with manufacturing operations in Canada. “We have an interesting position with regard to tariffs. We’ve taken measures already to be able to support our American clients. But we’ve had a lot of companies also come to us because of the tariffs. 3D printing enables the localization of your manufacturing efforts.”

Corey expanded, saying that if companies were hit from ordering a part that would now be 25 per cent more expensive from the U.S., or China, because of tariffs, their printing solution could offer a solution that would be able to avoid that by manufacturing on-site.

When asked how they were approaching trade shows like ProMat in the midst of an ongoing trade war, Corey was optimistic and insightful.

“Whether the tariffs go through or not, it’s a signal to start thinking about manufacturing differently. We’re never going to compete on the cheapest labour, but what we do have access to is emerging technologies and advanced technologies, and we can replace that reliance on overseas labour with technologies we can leverage in Canada to build resilience for ourselves in a climate like this.”

Rousseau Metal, a manufacturer of workstations for industrial settings based out of Que., was also fielding questions regarding the tariffs impact from potential clients.

“There’s a lot of fear out there,” said Randy Peardon, director of Canadian sales and business development. “We’re dealing with our American friends and partners the way we always have. We’re having those conversations we’re making sure they know we’re there to support them. Nobody really wants this kind of negative impact. They know our products are different, we’re all in it together.”

When asked if there would be a business impact for them if tariffs were to go through on April 2nd, the Rousseau director was clear.

“I think on some level there’s always going to be a business impact,” Peardon said. “But our brand and product are designed to meet the exact solution of the end-user, and we use those advantages to compete on product quality. We strongly feel that the brand advantages will keep us competitive.”

OTTO by Rockwell Automation, an AMR manufacturer based out of Kitchener, Ont., spoke more to the optimism on display by Canadian manufacturers in the midst of the international trade dispute.

“Our expectations are that the show will be busier than it has been in the past,” said Jess Blenkarn, content marketing specialist at OTTO by Rockwell Automation. “We think that a lot of manufacturers that are interested in material handling solutions will be coming by and we’ll have some great conversations about what our robots can do for them.”

Canadian manufacturers across all verticals at ProMat seemed to approach the trade show with confidence and gusto, though with an understanding that the political climate was less than ideal for everybody.

“I don’t know if you noticed but I’m wearing a Canada t-shirt today,” said Gravelle. “It’s not to provoke, it’s just to inform and take the temperature of the show. And all of the feedback has been positive so far. They see the situation as just as frustrating as I do. I haven’t seen anybody here with a global perspective that thinks the situation is good for business at all.”