Manufacturing in Manitoba

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2020 3 MANUFACTURING IN MANITOBA BY JENNIFER MCFEE A local company is keeping the safety of students top of mind with its line of school bus safety products — and new talent is welcome to come along for the ride. Smartrend Supply Ltd., also known as Smartrend Manufacturing Group (SMG), launched by Kevin Smith in 2004, developed a division of the company called First Light Safety Products. "The premise behind the product line is to make buses more visible, allowing oncoming motorists to see the vehicles from the furthest distance possible," said Smith, who works alongside his wife Cam Quan. "The idea is to limit the amount of dangerous situations, whether that is a fatality or an accident involving a school bus." A team of about 15 engineers, led by Andrew McKay, brings their talents to the table to create the best possible products. "They encompass mechanical and electronic skills, both on the software side and the hardware side. We're working to continuously develop new products as well," Smith said. "The product line we're developing has been exceptionally well received throughout North America. We're gaining a lot of interest and a lot of fabulous feedback — confirmation that there is a need for our products and they do increase the safety for our kids. We are very excited about what the future holds." At the same time, the company also offers electronic manufacturing services (EMS). "We're a manufacturer of printed circuit board assemblies, which includes the designing and the manufacturing of them," Smith said. "That's all done in Winnipeg. We have in-house developmental capabilities that allow us to create the complete electronic assemblies, including the mechanical parts that the electronics are housed within." With a complete testing laboratory for product validation, Smartrend has the ability to build new products from the ground up for a variety of industries including but not limited to transit, coach, automotive and agriculture. "We also have full in-house testing capabilities, including vibration, thermal shock, temperature cycling, lifecycle, water ingress, UV testing and various electronic tests," Smith said. "We've added the capabilities that allow us to do as much internal qualification as possible to products we're developing and to provide a complete solution to customers." To continue on the upward trajectory, Smith would like to welcome more talented people to join them on the journey. "The kind of people that we are continuously looking to add are production staff, technical staff and support staff, whether that's in sales or other business areas such as accounting or administration," he said. "We offer an environment that is very progressive and very employee- focused. We emphasize team collaborative efforts and recognize people's achievements, while also working through challenges together." In addition to creating top-quality products, Smartrend's management team aims to create the best possible work environment for the entire team. "The company stands out by offering an environment that is very hard to come by," Smith said. "We'd like to have people join us because they want the job but they stay with us because they get so much job satisfaction." Overall, Smith aims to develop a fully vertically integrated business, and he gleans inspiration from other local companies that have achieved success. "I am motivated by innovative local manufacturing companies with world-class leadership. We strive to achieve these levels of excellence as an organization," Smith said. "We are looking to attract engineering and production talent into our organization where the successful candidates can create and develop new innovative products in our warehouse and conduct testing in our state- of-the-art team environment — an environment everyone would want to work in." Looking to the future, Smartrend offers fulfilling opportunities for the right candidates. "We have something special here at Smartrend and are looking for like- minded individuals who are inspired by hard work, take pride in what they achieve and want to grow with our incredibly talented team," Smith said. "All the while, they can find comfort in knowing their opinion is not only valued but acknowledged and appreciated." FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SMARTREND SUPPLY LTD. AND ITS CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, VISIT WWW.SMGRP.COM OR EMAIL INFO@SMGRP.COM. AT SMARTREND A TEAM OF ABOUT 15 ENGINEERS, LED BY ANDREW MCKAY, BRINGS THEIR TALENTS TO THE TABLE TO CREATE THE BEST POSSIBLE PRODUCTS. Smartrend Supply Ltd. is producing a product line to enhance school bus safety for our kids. P R OV I D E D BY S M A RT R E N D

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