Floor space

“Traditionally, we always respected holidays such as Christmas and Easter weekends by closing and this tradition still holds true. There have been situations, however, that have caused us to bend those rules the last two or three years, mainly because of economic and market changes.”

-Joseph Manzoli, president, Colourfast, Concord, ON

“In all our 40+ years we have always been closed on Easter and Christmas. On Canada or Labour Day, we have also observed these holidays. On rare occasions we have worked to complete a project or have worked and taken the holiday to extend a weekend. At Christmas, we always plan our workload to have some time off to enjoy a break and come back fresh at work.”

-Marco Gagnon, co-owner, Gagnon Ornamental Works, Grand Falls, NB

“I typically work through the holidays. My employees have the days off but I keep the machinery running. Because our machines are automated, we have the ability to keep running production even though no employees are working. It’s not something that I enjoy doing but it’s the only time we can catch up on overdue orders.

-Larry Stuyt, president, Ontario Laser Cutting, Tillsonburg, ON

“Well, I would say I used to. We worked all the time. As the shop grows and you get a little more organized we seem to be doing less of that. And that’s good.”

-Rob Muru, president, A-Line Tool, Toronto, ON

“We always take holidays off. The type of work we perform—tight tolerance, miniature parts—takes a lot of concentration. The time off allows for regeneration of staff.”

-Jason Bannerman, president, Xakt Komponents, Brampton, ON

“We usually shut down for the whole of Christmas and come back in the New Year. We also close for Easter.”

-Peter Alden, co-owner, Wessex Precision Machining Ltd., Ayr, ON

“We typically will take advantage of the holidays. Life is very short already.”

-Gerry Vandersanden, president, Sciens Industries, Peterborough, ON

“We have worked through a few holidays in our time but as a rule, we take the time off. I think it’s good to get away from work once in a while and spend extra time with friends and family.”

-David Foscarini, president, Mecon Industries Ltd., Scarborough, ON