Canada’s best workplaces in manufacturing named for 2019

July 4, 2019 – The 2019 winners of Canada’s Best Workplaces in Manufacturing have been announced, and they join a number of manufacturers and suppliers on the overall Best Workplaces in Canada list.

The lists are compiled by Great Place to Work Institute Canada, part of a global organization that collects data on workplace cultures. In order to determine the best workplaces across all industries, Great Place to Work Institute Canada issued a trust survey to more than 300,000 employees at Great Place to Work certified companies across the country.

Employees answered questions about how frequently they experience the factors that make a “great” workplace, such as collaboration, work-life balance and professional development. If seven out of 10 employees responded positively to the survey, the company becomes Great Place to Work Certified for one year. The data has 95 per cent confidence with a plus or minus five per cent margin of error.

Canada’s Best Workplaces in Manufacturing
The manufacturing list consists of workplaces already certified by the organization in the past year as a Great Place to Work.

To qualify, workplaces need to have manufacturing operations in Canada and have a minimum of 90 per cent of employees who agree their workplace is safe.

The 2019 winners are:

• Aircraft Appliances and Equipment Ltd., Brampton, ON
• BASF Canada, Mississauga, ON*
• Dow Chemical Canada, AB
• Fiasco Gelato, Calgary, AB
• LMI Technologies Inc., Burnaby, BC*
• Phoenix Contact Ltd., Milton, ON*
• Rittal Systems Ltd., Mississauga, ON*
• SC Johnson, Brantford, ON*
• Vermilion Energy, Calgary, AB*
• VMAC, Nanaimo, BC
• Walters Group, Hamilton, ON

*indicates a repeat winner from 2018

Among the workplaces on the 2019 manufacturing list, 83 per cent of employees reported their customers would rate their service as “excellent.” Eighty-six per cent of employees feel positively about the way their organization contributes to the community.

Tim Rourke, president of Rittal Systems Ltd., says, “To be declared as one of the Best Manufacturing Workplaces in Canada by Great Place to Work is a testament to the great support offered by our global teams in Germany and the U.S., as well as to our own Canadian modification team that ensures that every product is customer-ready when it reaches Canada. Thanks to the fantastic work ethic, dedication and commitment of our entire team to our customers.”

Best Workplaces in Canada
Five of the companies on the Best Workplaces in Manufacturing list are also on the overall 2019 Great Workplaces in Canada list, which was published in a special supplement to The Globe & Mail on April 26, 2019.

The 2019 Best Workplaces in Canada winners operating in the manufacturing and automation sector are:

• 3M Canada, London, ON
• BASF Canada, Mississauga, ON
• BMW Canada Inc., Richmond Hill, ON
• Cisco Systems Canada, Toronto, ON
• Electromate, Vaughan, ON
• Fiasco Gelato, Calgary, AB
• Hyundai Auto Canada Corp., Markham, ON
• JMP Solutions, London, ON
• Lamour, Montreal, QC
• Phoenix Contact Ltd., Milton, ON
• SC Johnson, Brantford, ON
• Vermilion Energy, Calgary, AB
• Viva Naturals, Toronto, ON
• Whirlpool Canada, Mississauga, ON

“It’s a true honour to be recognized by the Great Place to Work Institute for a seventh year in a row,” says Scott Shawyer, president and CEO of JMP Solutions. “Our team prides itself on living our values internally and externally with every relationship we hold and project we complete.”

Warren Osak, president of Electromate, credits the company’s commitment to the principles of Kaizen – or continuous improvement – as one of the reasons Electromate made the list.

“Creating a great workplace culture has been pivotal in driving employee engagement and performance,” says Osak. “Empirical studies have shown that highly engaged employees are more productive and deliver a higher level of customer satisfaction, and much of our competitive advantage stems from the positivity in our workplace.”