Photo: ProMation's Fanuc Robot Integration for Suspension Assembly Line is put through the paces.

When Mark Zimny, a Polish born and trained mechanical engineer, came to North America in 1985, his first job was working on an overhaul of the monorail at Disneyland in California. Now, 23 years later, Zimny is president and chief executive officer of ProMation, which supplies the world's largest automotive manufacturers with state-of-the-art robotics and automated equipment. Starting out with a single customer, a seating manufacturer in Ontario, ProMation now provides automated factory solutions to customers throughout North America.

Zimny credits ProMation's ongoing success to several factors, among them a strong focus on company values. He recognizes the struggles many immigrants have in finding suitable work when they first come to Canada.

"Skilled immigrants," says Zimny, "have qualifications that are valuable in Canada. We try to hire the best, regardless of where they come from or what language they speak."

The policy has paid off. While exploring new opportunities, ProMation sticks to its automotive roots, continually developing new products that help boost productivity for more than 150 automotive customers across North America, among them Toyota, Honda, and Chrysler. At ProMation, there are more than 20 languages spoken by the 60 employees, which can certainly pose communication challenges. Zimny's attitude, however, changes the challenges to opportunities.

"Understanding how to connect with each other - in the work place - helps us to learn how to communicate and how to connect with our customers," he says. "Our diversity is a real strength."

Ontario attracts skilled entrepreneurs from all over the world, and Promation is one of about 250 tooling companies located here. In April, 2008, Ontario's Minister of International Trade and Investment, Sandra Pupatello announced new government support for this vital export sector. The tooling and auto parts industries will use $1.2 million in provincial funding to increase their competitiveness and strengthen Ontario's manufacturing base.

"This is about strengthening Ontario's auto supply chain from beginning to end," said Pupatello. "We're investing strategically to get car companies building in Ontario, sourcing from Ontario parts makers, who in turn get their tooling designed and built here too. It's our long-term, integrated plan for the industry."

Promation also serves domestic customers with an eye on future export work. When Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) was looking for a supplier to perform weld and fuel channel cutting, and other related functions safely and quickly, they turned to a company with proven experience in robotics, remote tooling, and automation. ProMation responded with radiation-proof robots that can safely perform the tasks in nuclear facilities. Zimny says the learning curve with AECL was steep, but ProMation has since applied the knowledge they gained to several other projects.

"Basically, for CANDU we had to turn the shop around pretty much overnight," Zimny explains. "We had to learn about the new industry and develop new tools, all the while working closely with AECL to make sure everything worked properly." The cutting edge robotics system that ProMation created will be used this April (2008), when refurbishment of the Point Lepreau power plant in New Brunswick begins.

Recently, ProMation has been focusing on providing more customized solutions for their customers and is launching two new companies: ProMation Experience (PX) and ProMation Ergo Handling. PX provides customized solutions and assists customers upgrading their existing equipment. Zimny explains that, "Our smaller builds go to PX, where the lower volumes allow us to customize everything and provide the highest quality."

ProMation Ergo Handling specializes in ergonomic solutions (customized conveyors and lift assists) for the automotive industry. Zimny describes a scenario where the parts of an engine are too heavy to lift for assembly. A Promation-designed and built lifting device can be used to lift the piece without causing any ergonomic damage.

As the company grows and seeks new customers and markets, ProMation's practice of attracting and retaining the best human resources continues to pay dividends.

"It's the people and their attitude towards our product that makes us strong," he explains. "We try to understand where people are coming from, and where we can use their skills to help them achieve their potential. And we take that same approach with our customers. If there's a problem, they can give us a call and we're willing to figure it out and fix whatever's not working."

ProMation's "can do" attitude certainly earned them the respect of AECL and their work on the CANDU reactors. What's next?

"Maybe oil and gas," says Zimny, "but we're still new to the nuclear industry and we need to develop that more before looking ahead. I'm confident that we can continue to enter new markets and win."

Website: www.promation.com