There’s no stopping Smartrend

Local manufacturer pushing products for safer school bus rides

Advertisement

Advertise with us

For 15 years, Kevin Smith has built Smartrend Manufacturing Group (SMG) to become a reliable source of high-quality, low-cost component manufacturing for some of the largest original equipment manufacturers in the region.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Monthly Digital Subscription

$1 per week for 24 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Monthly Digital Subscription

$4.75/week*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Winnipeg Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

No thanks

*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $0.00 a X percent off the regular rate.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/01/2019 (2435 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For 15 years, Kevin Smith has built Smartrend Manufacturing Group (SMG) to become a reliable source of high-quality, low-cost component manufacturing for some of the largest original equipment manufacturers in the region.

Over the years, he has established a network of contacts and more than 200 production sites in China and a quality-assurance regimen that kept orders coming in. Having produced about 800 different parts — assemblies of all sorts, including metal, electronic and rubber parts — the business allowed Smith and his team of 15 people in Winnipeg and another 15 in China a lot of satisfaction, knowing companies such as New Flyer and Motor Coach Industries and General Electric relied on their capabilities.

But when Smith had the chance to discover a niche opportunity and design a solution to improve school bus safety measures, he was all in.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Smartrend Manufacturing Group owner and CEO Kevin Smith says he and his company ‘jumped on it’ when the opportunity to improve safety features on school buses presented itself.
PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Smartrend Manufacturing Group owner and CEO Kevin Smith says he and his company ‘jumped on it’ when the opportunity to improve safety features on school buses presented itself.

“Our company has been based off manufacturing customer-specific, engineered components in China for the past 15 years. That has been our DNA for 15 years,” he said.

But like any good entrepreneur, that wasn’t enough for Smith.

He has perfected the application of LED technology on vehicles in a way that has not been seen before. A new division of SMG has been formed, called First Light Safety Products, to build some proprietary school bus equipment. The company took on an additional 10,000 square feet of space in a Fort Garry industrial park, just about doubling its size, and is in the process of doubling its Winnipeg workforce.

What is believed to be a game-changer is First Light’s patented LED signage for vehicular use that can make a “school bus” sign visible from five times farther away than is currently the case for the 500,000 school buses on North American roads.

“We have always been making things for other people… what they want. So you are always kind of stuck with what the customer is giving to you,” Smith said. “This time, we have found an opportunity to improve some safety-related features on school buses. We jumped on it and we saw we could make a difference in that industry by making the bus more visible with a couple of different products.”

Smith has slowly but surely been introducing the innovation to school bus owners across Canada and the U.S. since 2017.

This week, the company began its first pilot test projects on buses for the Interlake School Division with two sets of signs on two buses. (All school buses in North America have to have the words “school bus” on the front and back of the buses.)

Pilot projects are scheduled to begin in New York state next month. That location is significant because New York is the only state in the U.S. that requires illuminated signs on their buses and SMG got its First Light products approved by the state department of transportation in lightning speed.

“When we have showed our product at trade shows in the U.S., people loved the product, but they were telling us it would take a couple of years to get approved,” he said. “But (in New York), they liked it so much, it was approved in six weeks.”

SMG did not invent the technology, but it has pioneered its deployment on an automotive application.

With his engineered-parts business going full steam, Smith is able to take his time introducing the school bus equipment. (The company also has a levered “stop” sign using the LED illumination.) He plans to launch pilot projects in as many regions as he can.

“We’re prepared to go state by state, province by province to allow dealers to get familiar with it,” he said. “That’s also a marketing tool. We can show them how well it works and increase demand.”

Smith is able to invest substantially in the new division — including a whole suite of testing capabilities like vibration, durability and water tolerance — because he still has a steady flow of revenue from parts being produced for existing clients. In addition to the production of his own products, the idea is to also leverage the new research and development capabilities to pitch to SMG’s existing clients and expand its production of third-party parts.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca

History

Updated on Thursday, January 31, 2019 5:55 AM CST: Adds photo

Report Error Submit a Tip

Business

LOAD MORE