CWA News
The voice of the welding industry in Canada
February 2007
ALBERTA’S OIL SANDS OPPORTUNITY
There are billions of dollars in opportunities available to industrial suppliers both in Alberta and across Canada. A National Buyer/Seller Forum will be held from March 13 to 15, 2007, at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton. The flyer for this event can be seen on the CWA website’s homepage below the Alberta Oil Sands Manufacturing Opportunity title.
CWA AND THE CANADIAN WELDING BUREAU
As we have discussed in the past, CWA’s board of directors has been working on various strategies for the future of the association. One of the options is to form a closer relationship with the Canadian Welding Bureau, as either some form of informal partnership or a merger.
If you have any suggestions or comments on this matter, please submit the information to CWA’s national office and we will forward it to the committee.
SOCIETY OF MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS BUYS REED EXHIBITIONS
On January 19, Reed Exhibitions announced that its Industrial Group of Trade Shows had been acquired by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. This will affect our supplier members who exhibit in the Western Manufacturing Technology Show, Weld Expo Canada and other manufacturing technology trade shows across Canada. The complete press release (pdf) has been posted on the CWA website.
CANADIAN WELDING ASSOCIATION JOURNAL
You will receive your copy of the Winter 2007 issue of the Journal later this month. We need articles for upcoming issues and themes – Spring 2007 (pressure vessels), Summer 2007 (automation) and Fall 2007 (railroad repair and manufacture). Any ideas or suggestions?
INTERNATIONAL RSI AWARENESS DAY
The Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) will hold a free webcast on Wednesday, February 28, 2007. It’s open to everyone regardless of geographic location. CWA assisted OHCOW when it tried to get funding for a study related to repetitive stress injuries (RSI) from some types of welding helmets. This webcast will offer some strategies for reducing workplace injuries resulting from RSIs. Look for the International RSI Awareness Day title on CWA’s homepage, view the program flyer and speaker list, and register online.
NOVA SCOTIA CHAPTER
Nova Scotia chapter welcomed nine new student members in January. Well done!
TREGASKISS WELDING PRODUCTS
Tregakiss Welding Products was a winner in Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies program in 2005 and requalified in 2006 to maintain its status as a Best Managed company. This national award is sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC Commercial Banking, National Post, and Queen’s School of Business.
“Why was Tregaskiss named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies? Passion for change, innovation in applying leading business practices, and an ability to motivate employees were among the many characteristics that distinguished Tregaskiss Welding Products,” explained John Hughes, Partner, Private Company Services group with Deloitte, a national sponsor of the Best Managed program.
CWA’S WEBSITE
If you have ever wondered about the value of CWA having a website, here are a few numbers:
Total Visitors Unique Visitors A lot of welding professionals visit our website and view our message. The most popular pages for 2006 were theCanadian Welding Association Journal (29,500), our human resources pages (19,600) and our supplier members’ press releases (17,500).