View from the Floor: 110 years and going strong

The beginning of 2015 has hit Canada like a punch in the stomach. First our oil patch is reeling from sub-$50 a barrel prices, leading major players to begin slashing their capital expenditure budgets for the year ahead. It’s at the point where Alberta is actually considering a sales tax, and the Feds are delaying their budget to adjust for the oil revenue well running dry. And as a result our Loonie has tumbled compared with the U.S. greenback.

And then Target gives up on Canada, leaving without hardly getting to know us. Creating a lot of vacant retail space and workers out of a job.

Yet, there are the positive effects of low oil prices. Drivers are happy at the pumps, and this comes after a record year for auto sales in this country with a forecast for even more cars in 2015. And for manufacturers who export, our low dollar once again provides a competitive advantage.

This year marks the 110th year this publication has been chronicling the ups and downs of this nation and this industry, and when we look back, it’s interesting to see how far we’ve come.

In 1905, this publication’s launch year, Ford introduced its first luxury car, the Model F, a larger, more modern four-seater with running boards. Priced at $2,000, production started in 1905 and ended in 1906 after about 1,000 were made.

It was in 1905 that Albert Einstein introduced his theory of relativity, which likely had no newsworthiness then, but has served as a foundation for modern astrophysics.

And the world of aerospace, our cover story topic this issue, made a giant leap forward in 1905 when the Wright brothers launched their Flyer III with an upgraded engine and slightly larger cylinders. After crashing its first flight, the brothers made some radical changes to the design that influenced all future aircraft. And a flight later that year covered 38 kilometers and lasting almost 40 minutes, until the plane’s three-gallon gas tank ran out. Days later they wrote to the U.S. Secretary of War, offering to sell the world’s first practical airplane.

And closer to home, in 1905 both Alberta and Saskatchewan (my home province) joined confederation becoming the 8th and 9th Canadian provinces. Through the good and bad, our energy and resources sector wouldn’t be the same without them.

So while no one can predict what 2015 will bring, we can promise that our nation and this industry will experience more ups and downs, and we’ll be here to share the news with all of you.

DOUG PICKLYK, EDITOR

dpicklyk@canadianmetalworking.com