Japan Investment Mission Day 4 – Nagoya
Following another ride on the bullet train we arrived in Nagoya. The city is part of the Chubu Region of Japan, which is in the heart of the nation. Similar to Osaka, Nagoya has many innovative advanced manufacturing companies, many of which are in the aerospace sector.
Our first meeting of the day was with Fujitrans, a global logistics and freight company specializing in moving heavy and at times, awkward freight loads. They are responsible for shipping the wings of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) 787 wing between its production and assembly facilities. Fujitrans also ships rockets, satellites, and has a veritable fleet of cargo ships that move mainly automotive freight (completed automobiles) through ports in Japan. We’re pleased that Fujitrans has a location in Mississauga as part of its global network. As Mississauga’s aerospace cluster continues to grow, it is our hope that Fujitrans will do so as well, providing logistic support for this sector, among others. I was pleased to meet with Fujitrans president, Mr. Tatsuo Keii and the entire leadership team to discuss their future plans.
Our evening featured a reception hosted by Mr. Matt Fraser, Canada’s Consul General in Nagoya. The reception was held in Matt’s home, which is constructed completely of Canadian materials and built to reflect Canadian design. It truly stands out in a neighbourhood of Japanese homes!
The reception attracted more than 35 businesses from the Nagoya area, many of which have a presence in Mississauga and most of which were familiar with Mississauga. I was pleased to welcome the attendees and tell them more about the benefits of investing in Mississauga. As in Osaka, our visit is attracting positive attention. There is a “buzz” about Mississauga. Of note, both MHI and Tohmei Industries were present at the reception, two aerospace companies we will be visiting tomorrow.
Found on the shelf in the Consul General’s home. A nice touch!
With members of MHI Canadian Leadership Team
Many of the meetings we have taken while in Japan have been with companies working in the aerospace sector. This is not be accident, but part of our targeted strategy to grow our local aerospace cluster. I have discussed this briefly in previous posts, but it is I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the aerospace industry in Mississauga. At present, over 24,000 people are employed at 220 companies. Our aerospace manufacturing sub-sector is the largest of all major Canadian centres by total employment and number of businesses. Combine this with the lowest aircraft cost structure among the G7 countries, our comparatively low business costs, and our access to highly educated and talented workers, and Mississauga becomes a very attractive destination for aerospace companies to locate.
To demonstrate this point further, here is a list of just some of the leading aerospace companies that call Mississauga home:
2 Source Manufacturing Ltd. • Aviall Canada Ltd. • Avion Technologies Inc. • Bohler Uddeholm Ltd. • B & R Machine Co. Limited • Bohler Uddeholm Ltd. • CHEP Aerospace Solutions • Curtiss-Wright Controls – Indal Technologies Inc. • Cyclone Manufacturing Inc. • Exactatherm Ltd. • Field Aviation Company Inc. • Honeywell* • Hope Aero Propeller & Components Inc. • Koss Aerospace • L-3 Communications, CMRO • Lakefront Mfg. Inc. • Luxell Technologies • Magellan Aerospace Corp. • Maxwell Aero Maintenance LtdMicrosat Systems Canada Inc. • Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Canada Aerospace Inc.* • N A V Canada • N T N Bearing Corporation of Canada • P P G Aerospace • Panasonic Avionics • Pratt & Whitney Canada Inc. • Q 1 Aviation Ltd. • Rolled Alloys Canada Inc. • S-3 Industries ltd. • Samuel Son & Co. Ltd. • SimEx Inc. • Sumitomo Precision Products Canada Aircraft Inc. • Trinity Aerospace • Vantage Precision • Venture Aviation • Wright Instruments Ltd.
(See http://winthehumanrace.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/AerospaceProfile.pdf)
The Canadian aerospace industry contributes $29 billion to Canada’s GDP and employs 180,000 people. Mississauga’s aerospace cluster in contributing significantly to the overall Canadian totals and it is our intent to ensure our contribution continues to rise.
Some perspective on the scale and scope of the aerospace industry is helpful. The Boeing 787 for instance, has roughly 367,000 individual parts, from the airframe to the engines, to the avionics and internal accommodations. Each part requires precision design and engineering, as well as manufacturing. More importantly for our purposes, each part requires its own supply chain to manufacture, and in turn, each component is part of a larger supply chain that assists in the manufacture of the entire aircraft. This means that as Mississauga attracts more aerospace companies, there is a great potential to attract many more companies that feed into each supply chain, thereby creating more jobs and growing our aerospace cluster. This is why it is so critical to meet with the companies already in Mississauga to assist them in growing their operations, as well as meet new companies with the potential to be part of the global supply chain.
These two diagrams provide a visual representation of the supply chain and the incredible number of parts that come together to build an aircraft. It is a massive undertaking, to say the least.
*Source: Canadian Aerospace Review
I am looking forward to a full day of meetings tomorrow, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Global, Tohmei Industries and Denso.
*Source: Canadian Aerospace Review