Finding financing for a start-up business certainly can be a challenge, and there are many factors that need to be evaluated. It is important to know what lenders look for in a new owner, but it is just as important to understand that there are options beyond traditional financial institutions....

In May Montreal hosted the Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show (MMTS), a biennial event held at the city’s Place Bonaventure. This show is placed in one of the country’s booming manufacturing regions and attracts a who’s who from the local aerospace industry. In fact, it’s a popular...

Technology is constantly reshaping the way we live our lives, from advancements in medicine to the latest cellphone applications. One less conspicuous impact on our day-to-day activities is the way we pay and are paid. Organizations that experience a high volume of payments between suppliers,...

Major changes in financial reporting have started in recent years, with the most obvious being the continuing adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) worldwide. Many countries have been using IFRS for some years, and more are planning to adopt the standards, which were first...

Coffee is the reason I get out of bed in the morning. Not money or a good work ethic or boredom. Coffee. Each day starts with the same routine: I stumble down the stairs to meet the day, stop for a cup of brain juice, and then, and only then, start working. The problem facing all coffee drinkers,...

Attending a tradeshow can be a valuable use of your time for networking and shopping for new equipment. This year the only formal Canadian machine tool exhibition is the Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show (MMTS), which provides a unique experience to interact with all the major sellers in that...

Every shop worker knows the importance of active first aid, whether it’s triage and treatment after a cut, burn, or trip to the eyewash station, or simply being told to take a short break on a hot, humid day. These actions maintain worker health over the long term and protect them in the short...

Manufacturers invest in new equipment for many reasons. And, having performed equipment financing for about nine years, I have been fortunate to get a unique perspective on many of these transactions. One thing is always clear: Regardless of whether a manufacturer chooses to use its own capital...

Every year we work in an increasingly global marketplace, and Canada’s metal manufacturers are no stranger to the growing need to reach beyond our borders. Whether you’re buying new equipment to improve productivity and increase competitiveness, sourcing lower-cost suppliers, or tapping new...

Noted joke-teller Jerry Seinfeld once quipped that bookstores are the only evidence we have that people are still thinking. Outside of the world of academia and its research papers, he might be right. With all the media bias, outright partisanship, and “fake news” floating around, it can be...

Most manufacturing companies’ annual reports, press releases, and documents dedicate some time to describing the future, whether it’s the next generation of products, the five-year plan to develop a market-leading product with huge growth and margin potential, or the R&D partnership with a...

One of the many questions I get from my customers is whether financing is possible to buy a good, late-model, or demo piece of machinery. The reality is machinery is expensive, whether it’s purchased outright or through monthly payments, and significant savings can be gained if you can find a...

With the economic outlook in Canada positive, many business owners wonder if this is the year to sell the business. In most of the major regions of Canada, five specific reasons make selling sooner rather than later attractive. Many factors determine the best time for selling a business, including...

No secret formula exists for creating leadership. Not even Colonel Sanders could whip together enough ingredients to patent a leadership recipe. Leaders, the good ones anyway, all share key attributes, like self-confidence, creative thinking, and the ability to delegate tasks to those further down...