Ontario-based firms are world leaders in:

• design and engineering
• assembly and subassembly
• systems and component integration
• automation and robotics
• hydro-forming, stamping, injection and blow moulding
• ferrous and non-ferrous casting
• powder metal coating and fabrication

Firms consistently point to the highly skilled workforce as the "Ontario Advantage." With lower business and wage costs than in any G8 nation, Ontario auto parts can be produced with a keen competitive edge. Moreover, our parts manufacturers have a global reputation for just-in-time delivery of quality products.

Innovation drives our parts industry

Research and testing are essential to the development of new materials, products and processes that help keep parts manufacturers – and their customers – competitive.

Ontario is the R&D location of choice for industry leaders: R&D talent is plentiful, costs are low – 11 per cent lower than in the U.S. (according to KPMG's Competitive Alternatives 2006) – and we offer companies the ability to acquire the rights to the intellectual property developed at our public research centres.

Ontario's R&D tax credits are also among the most generous in the world. In fact, they can cut the cost of $100 in R&D to less than $41.

Quality that's recognized worldwide

Ontario parts manufacturers are consistent winners of industry and customer-based awards.

There are over 90,000 well-educated and skilled people working in our parts sector. And Ontario's 44 universities and colleges offer degree and certificate programs in all facets of automotive design, engineering and production, as well as business management.

And on average, our workers stay with a company for almost nine years.

Why Ontario automotive products?

• The Ontario government is supporting new investment in the Ontario auto sector. Investments by assemblers and parts manufacturers have topped $6 billion in the last three years alone and have averaged $2.6 billion a year for the past decade.
• Ontario's auto parts workers are smart and skilled; 55 per cent have a post-secondary education, the highest rate in North America, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan.
• A lower cost of doing business means that our exporters can produce auto parts with a competitive edge. KPMG's Competitive Alternatives 2006 reveals that Canadian auto producers have a 5 per cent cost advantage over the U.S., 10 per cent over Germany and 14 per cent over Japan.
• Ontario parts companies have a well-deserved reputation for meeting the tightest specifications and delivery dates of the world's biggest automakers.

Ontario's car production dates back to 1904, and has been growing ever since. Today, we're a powerhouse, assembling some 2.5 million light vehicles annually, more than any other auto jurisdiction in North America. Contributing strongly to that success is Ontario's high-powered parts industry – from the giant multinationals to pioneering local companies.

450

Auto parts are big business in Ontario. There are 450 companies employing over 90,000 well-educated, skilled workers using the latest technology to supply global markets. In 2005, shipments totalled $31 billion, of which 70 per cent were exported.

Magna International

Magna International, headquartered in Aurora, Ontario, is the most diversified automotive supplier in the world. Established in 1957, Magna has 229 production centres in 23 countries on five continents and designs and manufactures automotive systems, assemblies, modules and components for all the world's major automakers.

ABC Group

Toronto, Ontario-based ABC Group has specialized in the design and production of plastic automotive systems and components for more than 30 years. The award-winning company has 38 manufacturing facilities in North and South America, Europe and Asia and supplies all the major OEMs globally.

Woodbridge Group

The Woodbridge Group of Mississauga, Ontario is an acknowledged leader in automotive urethane technologies and a specialist in just-in-time assembly and sequencing systems. With 64 facilities in 20 countries, the Woodbridge Group's products can be found in the vehicles produced by all the world's automakers.

Valiant

For close to 50 years Valiant has been delivering innovative automated production systems to the world's auto manufacturers. The Windsor, Ontario-based company has 17 production facilities in North America and Europe which manufacture body-in-white, parts cleaning, parts conveyance and space managing systems.

ATS

Cambridge, Ontario-based ATS is the world's leading automation company with 26 facilities on three continents. It provides automation solutions to the leading Tier 1 suppliers for a wide range of automotive components and subassemblies, including steering, suspension and drive trains, safety systems and instrumentation, switches and controls.

Want to know more about our OEM and aftermarket auto parts industry?

Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association
www.apma.ca

Automotive Industries Association of Canada
www.aiacanada.com

We connect companies around the world with Ontario firms that provide business solutions in the global marketplace.

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