Workplace Challenges
Threat #2: GlobalizationCanada-based company competes in global marketCanada’s clothing industry has been hit hard over the past few years, yet Quebec company Tristan is able to survive — and thrive — without outsourcing all its work. By Jennifer McFee |
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 [ 2009-03-03 ] |
Unum Sumus. We are one.
Tristan, the Quebec-based clothing manufacturer, has adopted this motto to mirror its philosophy. One of the ways Tristan maintains this philosophy is through its dedication to manufacturing a portion of its products in Canada.
This summer, the company expanded its operations in the Sherbrooke region with a new suit jacket manufacturing plant. The $2.8-million expansion created 15 new full-time jobs and includes $1.6 million in state-of-the-art equipment, which will allow the plant to double its current production capacity to 140,000 suit jackets per year.
Thanks to this investment, it now takes only three weeks to create clothing from start to finish, from design concept to storefront window. “Fabric comes in one door and exits as a finished garment by the other. Sounds logical, but that’s not how it is [usually] done in the industry,” says company president Gilles Fortin.
Local jobs help economy
Although China produces a portion of the company’s products, the local plant saves Tristan time, plus transportation costs and carbon dioxide emissions. The local manufacturing plant also allows the Canadian clothing company to embody its belief in social responsibility by keeping jobs close to home.
Through this investment, Fortin says the company can remain competitive in the global marketplace, while still stimulating the Canadian economy by adding local jobs.
“By investing massively in equipment and technology to improve productivity, we can compete on price, even with China,” says Fortin.
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