Motor Coach Industries keynote draws crowd for MMP Expo Winnipeg

Metalworking Manufacturing & Production Expo and Design Engineering Expo Winnipeg took place on March 30, 2016 at the Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre. It was a busy day on the tradeshow floor with more than 90 exhibitors sharing their industry insights with attendees.

The opening keynote speaker was Jim Macdonald, executive director, engineering and quality at Motor Coach Industries (MCI). Attendees were keen to get Macdonald’s perspective on the recent purchase of MCI by New Flyer Industries, as well as his insights into quality management at a busy coach-building business.

Macdonald pointed out that MCI has a permanent home with New Flyer. Both companies have a Winnipeg heritage, and together, the companies are a family of nearly 5,000 team members supporting customers operating over 42,000 transit buses and 28,000 motor coaches in the U.S. and Canada.

New Flyer’s low-floor transit buses fit with MCI public commuter and private sector leadership positions, and both New Flyer and MCI have a philosophy based on reliability of product, service and support.

Macdonald said that the two companies were still in the process of getting to know each other, but that with the large amount of technical expertise under both of their roofs, there will likely be some synergies for the two in the future.

What Macdonald impressed upon the audience about the purchase particularly was the similar goals of the two organizations – “we want to build a reliable product... we want to provide the lowest cost of ownership [to our customers],” he said. “That means we will provide [our customers] with a highly reliable product that has a long lifetime.” Both companies strive to do this through continuous improvement processes throughout their operations.

Macdonald also noted the goal to be the world’s leading bus and coach companies. To reach this goal, the company invests in innovation and it’s committed to providing a great place to work. MCI wants to become the employer of choice for engineers.

Attendees at the Rapdi3D booth.

“We have to build the case to engineers in the field and new graduates that we are an employer of choice, and we will be working very hard over the next few years to make that happen, including being connected with the educational institutions in Winnipeg,” he said.

Macdonald described the challenges of integrating systems in such a way to fit effectively in a motor coach while also leaving plenty of room for customers to travel in comfort. He described modern motor coaches as, in some ways, “a rolling computer,” so the need for electrical engineers is great.

He also noted that the manufacturing process similarly requires know-how – the application of robotics, automation and fixture design that makes production increasingly more efficient on the shop floor.

Future trends were also highlighted in the keynote.

“Go look at your car,” Macdonald said. “Any new things turning up on your car will turn up on motor coaches. Lane departure, stability control, updated braking systems and lightweighting are all going to be big in the next few years. Joining methodologies will also be examined.”

Macdonald also noted that we are likely to see more automation on the shop floor at MCI. “This doesn’t mean there will be no welders on the line, it just means we are going to be specific and targeted in terms of what we are considering for automation.”

Macdonald went on to share with attendees MCI’s manufacturing excellence program that has transformed the company over the past five years. Read more about it in a future issue of Canadian Fabricating & Welding.

The Metalworking Manufacturing & Production Expo Coquitlam takes place May 3, and MMP Halifax takes place June 7th. MMP will be back in Winnipeg next spring. For more information visit www.mmpshow.com.

Slide Show | 5 Images