Category
COVID-19
Both Biden and Trump victories present implications for Canada’s economy, new report says
The report from RSM Canada concludes that no matter the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, Canada’s recovery from wave two of the coronavirus pandemic and its longer-term outlook will be impacted.
Plastics Recycling Conference rescheduled due to COVID-19 concerns
The North American recycling industry’s largest trade event has been moved back to May 3-5, 2021, from its original dates of Feb. 22-24, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Canadian small business owners cautiously optimistic about the future, Scotiabank report says
Forty per cent of small business owners are either “very” or “extremely” optimistic about the future of their business, Scotiabank said.
Dow outlines cuts to make cost improvements and enhance competitiveness
The company will close some polyurethanes manufacturing sites as part of the restructuring program.
German firms Continental and Osram plan to end lighting systems joint venture
The companies said the move comes in response to the dampening influence of COVID-19 on the global level of vehicle production.
Fewer business closures, more openings in June compared with May: StatCan
The trend in June held true in every province and territory except Quebec, which had a two per cent increase in business closures compared with the previous month.
Arburg schedules its next Technology Days event for June 2021
The annual four-day event, which takes place at Arburg’s headquarters in Lossburg, Germany, was cancelled in 2020 for the first time due to COVID-19 concerns.
Thermo Fisher investing $140 million to boost laboratory plastic production for COVID-19 testing
The scientific instrumentation equipment maker is creating more than 1,000 jobs across manufacturing sites globally, increasing automation capabilities, and optimizing warehouse and sterilization capacity to improve supply chain agility.
ATS Automation gets $20 million order for COVID-19 vaccine syringe manufacturing line
The Cambridge, Ont.-based manufacturer is developing the systems for a program related to the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed initiative.
Plastindia trade show postponed from 2021 to 2022
The five-day event, originally scheduled for Feb. 4-8, 2021, will now be held Feb. 17-21, 2022, at the Pragati Maidan exhibition grounds in New Delhi.
Ontario medical technology maker Smart Safe Science gets provincial funding to make masks
The Bracebridge-based company is receiving $2 million to produce innovative face masks for healthcare and frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19.
ATS Automation announces closures, layoffs in transportation segment
The Cambridge, Ont.-based company’s reorganization plan was brought on by a downturn in its transportation markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Plastics Recycling Show Europe postponed until 2021
Scheduled to take place on Oct. 27-28 in Amsterdam, a virtual PRSE event is being planned instead for the last quarter of 2020.
Thermo Fisher Scientific opens new site for manufacturing COVID-19 sample collection products
The new facility in Lenexa, Kansas was built in six weeks to rapidly expand production of viral transport media.
Ascend completes purchase of Italian firms Poliblend and Esseti Plast
First announced in February 2020, the acquisition was put on hold as COVID-19 cases spiked in Italy and then in the U.S.
Ford preparing to cut 1,000 salaried jobs in North America, report says
The job cuts are aimed at improving the automaker’s efficiency and are not related to rising costs from the COVID-19 pandemic, the news report from Bloomberg said.
North American plastics machinery shipments up in Q2, report says
The preliminary estimate of shipments value from reporting companies totaled a 4% increase over the first quarter of 2020, the Plastics Industry Association says, when shipments decreased 19.8% from the previous quarter.
Canadian economy posted record drop in Q2 due to COVID-19, StatCan says
The decline is the steepest since quarterly data were first recorded in 1961, with almost every single component of the economy that works into calculating GDP at its lowest point over April, May, and June.
Big majority of small business owners still worry about economy, survey finds
Also, sixty per cent of respondents to the latest Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey say they fear consumer spending will stay low even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
Heavy truck sales in Canada should rebound quickly, report says
The Canadian heavy truck industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report from Scotiabank says, but sales should shift back into positive growth territory in 2021.
