Linamar Corporation is a Guelph, Ontario-based manufacturing company that designs and produces components, systems, and equipment for the automotive, industrial, and agricultural sectors. The company operates globally through businesses focused on vehicle technologies, access equipment, agricultural machinery, and other engineered products.
Manufacturing has undergone significant change over the past few decades. What stands out as the biggest shift you've witnessed firsthand?
Automation. The pace of change continues to accelerate.
When I started at General Motors in London, Ontario, I was working around military vehicles, locomotives and similar equipment. Since then, manufacturing has evolved from highly manual, labour-intensive processes to automation across the factory floor, documentation and operations. The gains in efficiency and productivity have been tremendous. At its core, that progress comes from innovation, which remains critical to the success of both companies and economies.
Linamar today operates across industries ranging from mobility and agriculture to robotics and defence. What drove the company's evolution beyond automotive manufacturing?
Linamar is an advanced manufacturing, product development and technology company. We provide capabilities across forging, machining, casting, stamping, fabrication, welding and painting, alongside a range of product businesses. Today, we operate across eight sectors: mobility, access, agriculture, medtech, power, water, robotics and defence.
That diversification came from our Vision 2100 strategy. We looked at where markets would grow over the long term and where Linamar's strengths could be applied. We asked where these markets would be in 2100 and where our capabilities would fit. Together, those sectors could represent $15 trillion to $20 trillion annually by around 2035, compared with roughly $4 trillion to $5 trillion if we remained focused solely on automotive.
Many Canadian companies are successful at home but struggle to scale internationally. Why do you think that gap exists?
Canada has the talent, capability and innovation. The challenge is scaling beyond Canada. Many companies doing $50 million or $100 million in sales struggle to make the jump into larger international markets.
Partnerships can help. Larger companies can act as a bridge, providing access to markets, customers and capabilities that smaller firms wouldn't otherwise have. Expanding internationally is a long-term investment. We faced those same challenges ourselves. When we entered Mexico, the number of issues we encountered in the first few years was enormous. We were learning the culture while building manufacturing capability at the same time. That's why partnerships can be such a powerful catalyst for helping Canadian companies accelerate their growth internationally.
Canada is often described as having the ingredients for industrial success. Where do you think the country still falls short?
Our most productive plants are here in Canada. Canadian manufacturing sometimes gets a bad rap on productivity because everything gets lumped into one number. If you isolate manufacturing, it's a different story. At Linamar, our most productive facilities are in Canada, and this is where we develop and deploy the systems we use globally.
Last year, we acquired a distressed U.S. company with strong casting capabilities and helped save 2,400 jobs by bringing the Linamar approach into that business. That's a Canadian company taking Canadian manufacturing expertise into the U.S. and helping strengthen a struggling business.
Where Canada needs to improve is in helping more companies compete internationally. If you're a $50 million or $60 million company dealing with tariffs and supply-chain challenges, getting outside Canada can be difficult. That requires stronger partnerships, better networks and support programs that help companies reach export scale. The government also has a role to play through reducing red tape, supporting workforce development, investing in skills and apprenticeships, and backing advanced manufacturing through AI, robotics and technology. At the end of the day, competitiveness wins. If you can't compete, you don't get the business.
The Canada-U.S. economic relationship is entering a period of greater uncertainty. What does the current moment mean for businesses operating across both countries?
One thing I've been saying is that this period is a business person's nightmare but an entrepreneur's dream. We're a very entrepreneurial company, and that's been part of our culture since the beginning. Our founder started the business in the basement of his house, and that mindset still shapes how we operate today.
Chaos brings opportunity. That's how some of our recent acquisitions came about. We saw opportunities where others saw disruption and were able to move quickly.
When it comes to the Canada-U.S. relationship, the message I keep hearing on both sides of the border is that we're better together. There will be tariffs, changes to USMCA and ongoing negotiations, but fundamentally, this relationship works best when both countries succeed. My biggest concern is the amount of unnecessary animosity created by the rhetoric. People in the U.S. are told they've been ripped off, while people in Canada are told Americans don't like Canada. Neither is true. Long-term, we're bigger together, we're better together, and that's how I expect this relationship to evolve.
Linamar is expanding into areas such as robotics and defence at a time of rapid technological change. Which opportunities are you most excited about today?
Our focus this year is what we call GRIT: guts, resilience, integrity and teamwork to grow revenue, grow income and grow our team.
Robotics is one particularly exciting area. The amount of technology being driven through robotics is incredible. We're working with both cobots and humanoids, and currently have two humanoids at our iHub. What's fascinating is that when they arrive, they know nothing. It's like having a baby—you have to teach them everything you want them to do. That's where AI modelling and the supporting technology come in.
Defence is another area generating enormous momentum. The company has roots in aerospace and defence, so in many ways we're returning to part of our heritage. More broadly, periods of disruption create opportunities. Because there's so much change taking place across industries, we're able to stay entrepreneurial, pivot quickly and pursue opportunities as they emerge.
