MacMor celebrates business achievement award

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This article was published 17/11/2010 (5673 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The planning that has come to shape MacMor Industries is as strong as the wires, chains and rigging equipment made and sold at its Sherwin Road warehouse.

The 85-year-old business, which is located in the St. James Industrial Park, was awarded a long-term achievement award by the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce at a Nov. 3 ceremony.

“We were just honoured to get nominated, but to actually win was an even bigger honour,” said Arthur Roy, the company’s director of sales.

“We were nominated against stiff competition and other longstanding companies that have been supporting the communities. It’s kind of nice.”

Roy didn’t have much time to prepare for the awards ceremony. In fact, he hadn’t even prepared an acceptance speech prior to receiving the award.

MacMor has gained a reputation as a one-stop shop for the heavy equipment industry, a fact Roy is particularly proud of.

“People know us as a safety company, others as a rigging house for things like cranes or what you’d use for overhead lifting, even those straps you see wrapped around trucks, we make those,” he said.

“We’re a one-stop shop for most of the industry, which helps up go into one account and gobble up everything they need.

“It’s been a growing success to the point where we now manage people inventories,” he added. “Companies don’t even have to send us a purchase order. We do it all for them and say ‘We refilled your cabinets, here’s your invoice,’ so they only have to focus on their core own business rather than the things they need to run their business.”

The company has grown steadily since being formed in Winnipeg in the early 1920s by two engineers, who produced technical drawings and plans for electrical and structural projects. With offices in Edmonton and Saskatoon and plans for future expansion in the west, the company is expected to generate $22 million in sales this year.

“I think it shows the awards are pretty comprehensive in selecting high profile companies that have been in the area for many years and are sustainable,” said Manitoba Chamber of Commerce president Graham Starmer.

“Also interesting is that it’s a third generation business. That’s not unique in Manitoba, but in the manufacturing sector, it is. A lot of businesses change hands frequently, and MacMor seems like a stable company that’s looking in the future to remain in the family and their way.”

Roy, whose family purchased the company in 1988, credits his employees with helping make the business a growing concern.

“We pride ourselves on keeping our staff, we have a lot of long-term people,” he said. “This is a family-run company so we treat our staff like they’re our family and I think that keeps us going.

“They care about what they do, and I think the customer sees that in the end.”

matt.preprost@canstarnews.com