Factory on Keyes Drive produces auto parts for Toyota and General Motors
Company's previous president Shinichiro Ito recently returned to plant and city for a visit
By
Mark Schadenberg
You
could say there is a great debate in Woodstock when discussing the industrial
picture -- How many additions has Vuteq had over the years?
The
factory plays an integral role in the just-in-time delivery of many auto parts to
General Motors in Ingersoll (CAMI) and Oshawa, and Toyota in both Woodstock and
Cambridge.
Vuteq
manufactures interior and exterior components for cars, including interior door
trim, and forms and instrument panels for the dashboard.
A
video posted on YouTube by Rogers TV locally notes the original plant opened in
1988 and has had 15 expansions.
The
video for the TV show Innovation features former Woodstock mayor Michael
Harding as host and the behind-the-scenes editor and videographer John Payne.
Kaizen
is the main topic in the video. Kaizen is about on-going improvements in the
factories as created and suggested by ‘team members’ and an actual Kaizen
competition conducted in-house to improve quality, safety and productivity. Many
winners of this Kaizen were rewarded by receiving a trip to Japan to learn even
more about the auto industry.
Teamwork
and cost savings are the results of the successful Kaizen ideas and projects.
Plant
manager Ezio Andreola has been an important leader for many years. In the show,
Andreola describes Vuteq as the company with the Velcro walls due to the
continuous growth of the facilities.
Vuteq
certainly has state-of-the-art robotics in a significant production role, but
I’m thinking its payroll now exceeds 800 and its operation is more than 120,000
square metres.
Vuteq
– essentially located on Keyes Drive in the south end of Woodstock -- is also
very visible as one of its newer buildings has frontage on Parkinson Road.
Vuteq is a great employer for Woodstock and they give back to the community in
many ways including creating a team for Relay For Life annually (2016 on June
10 at CASS; www.relayforlife.ca/woodstock)
for the Canadian Cancer Society.
From
1988-96 and again from 2008-12, the company’s president was Shinichiro Ito, who
just recently returned to Woodstock for a social visit, but to also see all the
innovations and expansion projects at Vuteq. Ito’ agenda included visiting with
Mayor Trevor Birtch and the cit
LINKS:
2012 Vuteq Story:
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Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . .
Destination
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