Latest news with #EascanAutomation
CTV News
15-05-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Winnipeg company creates robotic Jets fan
The JetsBot waving a flag and towel at Eascan Automation on May 14, 2025. (Scott Andersson/CTV News) Staff members at a local business have combined their love of hockey and building robots into a futuristic way to cheer on the Winnipeg Jets. Eascan Automation has created the JetsBot – a robot that celebrates every time the team scores. 'Basically, it's just a robotic Jets fan,' said Roger Peters, mechanical designer at Eascan. 'So whenever the Jets score, he raises his hands, waves a flag, spins a towel. Everybody has a great time with it.' Peters noted the JetsBot gave the team at Eascan an opportunity to work on a project that wasn't specifically for a client but rather served as a way for them to all come together and celebrate. 'It's just an example of one thing that a robot can do, because they're completely programmable; really, [you can] program it to do whatever task you want them to do,' he said. Peters said the robot took about two days to build, adding that he hopes it will give the Jets a little bit more support as they head into Game 5 on Thursday.
Winnipeg Free Press
15-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
JetsBot brings local hockey cheer amid trade war strife
Humans aren't the only ones cheering on the Winnipeg Jets. JetsBot has the pro hockey team's flag in one arm and a whiteout towel in the other. And when the players score, JetsBot is ready — five flag waves on its right, six seconds of towel waving on its left. Eascan Automation staff programmed the robot to hoist its arms and celebrate the success of the local NHL team. GABRIELLE PICHE / FREE PRESS JetsBot in the Eascan Automation shop. 'Jets are local, we're a local company and sports is a very good way to bring it all together,' said Camila Bellon, Eascan Automation's chief executive. She was also looking for a way to cheer up staff. The firm laid off one-third of its employees earlier this year amid tariff uncertainty; the volume of business cancelled, postponed or paused accounted for upwards of 30 per cent of its annual revenue, Bellon said in March. A group at Eascan decided, with the NHL playoffs top of mind, a JetsBot could be a fun project. Roger Peters got to work. The company's mechanical designer spent two days connecting and programming two robots, fashioned in a way to form arms. The joint bot is fed data during hockey games and should raise its arms in real time when the Jets score a goal. Peters and Bellon aren't yet sure where JetsBot will reside. It has a wingspan roughly 2.5 metres wide and a height around two metres; tiny spaces aren't its forte. For now, it will stay at Eascan's Wall Street headquarters. It might make its way to a pub, Peters joked. (Eascan built a robot bartender, which poured and handed out beers at Torque Brewing, in 2019.) JetsBot has brought some happiness to staff, said Gary Kristiansen, Eascan Automation's sales manager. 'The Jets are a topic every morning,' he added. 'Like everybody else in the city, we have flags at home.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Meanwhile, work is slowly picking up, he and Bellon shared. Kristiansen said Eascan landed a large contract and is in the process of getting another. The company is rehiring one staff member full-time and is calling others back for part-time roles. Canadian firms seem to be scouting other Canadian businesses during their bidding processes, Kristiansen relayed. Bellon took over as chief executive in recent months. 'We don't want to bleed talent, because it's super hard to find qualified people,' she said. 'We have such a good set of skills at Eascan. It's never good to see those skills or those talents going.' Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
27-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Kinew commits $1.5M to tariff-impacted industries, orders Manitoba to buy only Canadian-made steel
The Manitoba government is giving a grant of $1.5 million to the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters to develop a program to support industries impacted by the Trump tariffs. Premier Wab Kinew says he has also ordered the provincial civil service to ensure from now on that Canadian-made steel is used "anytime we build something, anytime we buy something, anytime we acquire a piece of equipment." He made the announcements Thursday at the Gerdau Ameristeel Manitoba mill in Selkirk, just north of Winnipeg, backed by a large Canadian flag and dozens of steel workers in hardhats. "Our government commits to you that your jobs are going to be here, the Selkirk steel mill is going to be here and we're going to have a strong steel sector in Manitoba long after Donald Trump leaves office," Kinew said. "We gotta stand up for our way of life and we have to stand up for the true north strong and free. And that's what today is all about." The U.S. president imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum, among other products, on March 12. Asked whether his declaration that steel jobs won't disappear means there won't be layoffs, Kinew didn't hesitate. "Yeah, that's what I'm saying. We're going to work together," he said, pointing to loans and other financial supports announced in the budget. "If push comes to shove and we get to a tougher situation, I can tell you that the minister of finance has a whole binder full of contingency plans we can activate," he said. However, he says, the first step in helping businesses stay afloat is to support them through the supply chain, which is why he gave the Canadian steel procurement directive. Asked whether that will make things more expensive for the province, Kinew said "if the government of Manitoba has to invest a few more dollars to ensure we're creating and sustaining steel jobs here in our province, then that's what we need to do. "There has, over the years, been a cost to being cheap when we spend your tax dollars. We always want to get good value for money, but along the way, sometimes, that's led to contractors and subcontractors using steel that's brought in from other countries," he said. "Right now, in this moment of a trade war … it's really important that we think through how we build up this country. The trade war is an economic challenge Canada never asked for, but is ready to fight, Kinew said. "When it comes to patriotism, when it comes to the maple leaf and rallying around the flag, then I think every single Manitoban that I know is willing to step up," he said. "I am not going to let Donald Trump take manufacturing jobs away from Manitoba." However, Kinew balked when asked how the government is helping tariff-affected workers at Eascan Automation. The Winnipeg-based company laid off about a third of its employees as orders for its products dried up due to the trade war. "I'm not going to criticize anyone but Donald Trump," the premiers said when asked whether he was disappointed by the company's decision. There are federal government supports through employment insurance and the work-share program, Kinew said, and repeated the financial packages his government has prepared. As for $1.5-million grant to the CME, it will be used the to help businesses "plan to operate in this new environment," Kinew said. The expertise of CME — Canada's largest trade and industry association — makes it a strong partner to reach manufacturers and equip them with information and support to face the economic uncertainty of the proposed tariffs, according to a government news release that accompanied Thursday's announcement. The program to be offered by CME will include training on tariffs and market diversification, a summit to promote business-to-business connections and financial support for tariff-planning consultations, the release says. Gerdau was established in 1907 in Winnipeg (as Manitoba Rolling Mills) before relocating to the south end of Selkirk in 1913. It continues to be the single-largest employer in the city, which is also home to Karrich Industries and Castle Metals, two other players in the steel industry. More than 70 per cent of the steel produced in the city heads south of the border, Mayor Larry Johannson has previously told CBC News. "They process over 400,000 tons of scrap automobiles, railcars, bridges, and more every year to produce some of the cleanest recycled steel in the world," Johannson said on Thursday.
CBC
26-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Winnipeg automation company lays off 1/3 of staff as trade war leads to 'spending freeze'
Social Sharing A Winnipeg-based robotics company says it's laid off about a third of its employees, as orders for its products dry up amid uncertainty stemming from the Canada-U.S. trade war. Eascan Automation Inc. says between 20 and 23 employees were let go last month, with business recently dropping by about 25 per cent from a peak driven by pent-up demand after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The company, which provides custom-built machines to manufacturers, says its business primarily comes from Manitoba and other parts of Canada, but there's still been a slowdown that began around the time Donald Trump was re-elected U.S. president. Manufacturers doing "any kind of welding or bending or fabricating, a lot of their stuff was going to the States," said Jason Andres, Eascan's general manager. "A lot of companies are saying, 'OK, we don't need a robot this year. We can wait another year.'" Andres said that includes steel and aluminum processors, whose industry was recently hit by a 25 per cent tariff on exports of those metals to the U.S. WATCH | Eascan says it expects to weather trade war despite layoffs: Despite layoffs, Winnipeg automation company says it can weather trade war 11 hours ago Duration 2:01 Winnipeg's Eascan Automation says some customers have paused projects amid uncertainty surrounding Canada-U.S. trade relations, but the automation company is confident it will get some of that business back once the trade situation stabilizes. The general manager said Eascan has recently lost out on $3 million to $4 million in orders he was confident the company would get, after clients decided to pull out. The company is seeing "kind of a complete spending freeze," Andres said. "Even just those little [purchase orders] have kind of been more challenging to get, and I think that's really slowed us down, because sometimes we would use that to fill in the gaps." 'Very few' will escape pain: chamber Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said that by late January, a majority of its members said they were expecting or already feeling the impacts of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods. Nearly half of respondents to a survey at that point said they expected to lose customers, with many also anticipating layoffs or hiring freezes, he said. "The longer this goes on … those freezes will turn into, unfortunately, potential workforce reductions," he said. Remillard said that while front-line exporters may be the first ones "paying the price," all associated industries and businesses that support those companies — like Eascan — will be hurt too, as the impact of the tariffs moves through the economy. "It speaks to the insidious nature of tariffs," Remillard said. "Ultimately, we know there is very few — if any — companies that would ultimately escape this prolonged trade dispute. We will all feel the impact, and that could be as consumers.… We will start to see increased costs on the shelf." 'Mr. T out there' creating problems The Trump administration has sent mixed messages as to what tariffs it will slap on Canadian goods on April 2, when another round of levies on Canadian goods is set to come into effect. That's par for the course for the U.S. president, whose unpredictable approach to trade negotiations has been characterized by threats, reversals and delays. Eascan said it's expecting business to pick up once customers get some clarity. "We're really hoping that it's just a lull and that we'll get back to where we want to be," said sales manager Gary Kristiansen. He added that he's received some calls from potential clients who want to move some projects ahead, but are holding off for the time being.
CBC
25-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Despite layoffs, Winnipeg automation company says it can weather trade war
Winnipeg's Eascan Automation says some customers have paused projects amid uncertainty surrounding Canada-U.S. trade relations, but the automation company is confident it will get some of that business back once the trade situation stabilizes.
