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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Canada's podcast.
[00:05] SPEAKER_00: Hello, I'm Mario Tonoguszi and this is Calgary's podcast on Canada's podcast network joining me today is Dwayne
[00:12] SPEAKER_00: Hurtzer who is president of Optima Manufacturing in Calgary thanks Dwayne for joining us today.
[00:20] SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much for having me on today Mario.
[00:23] SPEAKER_00: Well, let's just start with an explanation of what Optima is and what do you guys do?
[00:29] SPEAKER_01: Okay, Optima Manufacturing was founded in November 1990.
[00:36] SPEAKER_01: Basically what we do is we provide precision machine components,
[00:40] SPEAKER_01: assemblies and kits for globally diverse startup customers, particularly in the OEM field,
[00:50] SPEAKER_01: which stands for original equipment manufacturers.
[00:54] SPEAKER_01: Industries that we touch on, aerospace, being Alberta, energy of course, and transportation,
[01:03] SPEAKER_01: and process control, telecommunications. So a number of diverse industries.
[01:10] SPEAKER_00: Tell me how it started. How did the genesis and roots of the company come to be?
[01:16] SPEAKER_01: So Optima Manufacturing, there's a group of us, four of us, shareholders, the family,
[01:24] SPEAKER_01: being the main one. My father's actually my training from Germany, Machinist, and they started a
[01:31] SPEAKER_01: company in Calgary in the late 60s called Century Machine and that evolved into providing
[01:38] SPEAKER_01: just machining services and then evolved into an instrumentation valve line, which still exists
[01:45] SPEAKER_01: today and as part of the Emerson group of companies. So sold that in the late 80s and started
[01:54] SPEAKER_01: Optima Manufacturing with two of the key associates from our previous company Century Machine
[01:59] SPEAKER_01: and opened our doors, like you said in November 1990. About 3,600 square feet, we go on to over
[02:06] SPEAKER_01: 50,000 square feet now. Currently about 55 associates. So we've gone through cycles,
[02:14] SPEAKER_01: a lot more people and going up and down along with the economy. We're a service-based company,
[02:21] SPEAKER_01: so we have no product line of our own. So we're at the wins of the marketplace.
[02:26] SPEAKER_00: Tell me a little bit about who your clients are and where are they, like kind of geographically.
[02:34] SPEAKER_01: I dream graphically actually we have being a Canadian-based company. We do probably 97%
[02:41] SPEAKER_01: is export out of the country and that's divided between Europe, US, South America, Asia,
[02:51] SPEAKER_01: and Middle East to some degree as well too. So the customer base as I mentioned, the
[02:58] SPEAKER_01: bourbon in the energy sector, transportation, railway in the US, process control throughout North America.
[03:10] SPEAKER_00: So recently I know that you announced some news, a partnership with a Japanese firm. Can you talk
[03:19] SPEAKER_00: a little bit about that explain what that partnership is about and the significance of it?
[03:24] SPEAKER_01: Sure. So this came about through a contact that I met about five or six years ago in
[03:30] SPEAKER_01: in Best Alberta. At the time he was based in Alberta, Michael Couch, and we were invited to attend
[03:37] SPEAKER_01: a aerospace show in Santiago, Chile called Fide. It's one of the world's largest military aerospace
[03:46] SPEAKER_01: shows, mulley. And there was a contingent about six or seven companies from Alberta. We had our
[03:53] SPEAKER_01: booth there and so that's where I got to know invest Alberta and Michael. So from there we've worked on
[04:05] SPEAKER_01: some aerospace items and it's a very difficult industry to break into. I find it quite political.
[04:12] SPEAKER_01: So it's not like you cater to the energy industry and then switch over and start servicing those
[04:19] SPEAKER_01: customers. So he introduced us to this company, EBK Stake, and they had some different ideas on
[04:26] SPEAKER_01: getting a foothold into the North American market. They currently supply, I believe, in Europe
[04:35] SPEAKER_01: and in Asia, Middle East. And they have been trying to get into the North American market and
[04:42] SPEAKER_01: we're having some limited success. So they were looking for a partner that's in the same realm of
[04:48] SPEAKER_01: industry that they do with the precision machining and Michael Couch from the best
[04:55] SPEAKER_01: Albert was now based in Tokyo. Started discussions between ourselves and another company called
[05:02] SPEAKER_01: Jetro, Japan Export Trade Organization. And these discussions probably started about six months
[05:08] SPEAKER_01: ago. And we discussed different ideas and on how this partnership would look like and came to
[05:15] SPEAKER_01: a number and understanding which was assigned a few weeks ago and we did the press release on that.
[05:21] SPEAKER_01: So very early stages in the relationship but we hope to be mutual benefits for both companies as
[05:30] SPEAKER_01: far as opening up some opportunities for us within the Japanese market. We have a small
[05:36] SPEAKER_01: foothold there right now. But and the other thing it'll leverage their name and whatnot into the
[05:42] SPEAKER_00: North American aerospace semiconductor industry. Right, super. So do I tell me a little bit about
[05:50] SPEAKER_00: being an entrepreneur? What kind of things do you enjoy about entrepreneurship?
[05:59] SPEAKER_01: For myself, I love the from the machining end and the kidding the process. I love the processes
[06:07] SPEAKER_01: and we're always under constant pressure of my customers on reducing lead times and getting
[06:15] SPEAKER_01: costs down so that always comes with improving how you make things and wave-over machining parts.
[06:25] SPEAKER_01: Of course the people aspect is the key thing in our industry. A lot of times people say
[06:31] SPEAKER_01: see the equipment and they come in and tour the facility and they say wow this is so automated.
[06:37] SPEAKER_01: You know anybody can really go out with capital wind them and procure the equipment. It's how you
[06:42] SPEAKER_01: utilize it and that's where our people come in. So we're used to them. People are best resource.
[06:50] SPEAKER_00: What has been the biggest challenge you faced in the last few years or even just since of
[06:58] SPEAKER_01: becoming an entrepreneur? Probably the biggest thing just the cycles of the markets. We'll try to
[07:05] SPEAKER_01: get into different industries. So you hope that one industry is up the other ones down and
[07:09] SPEAKER_01: that would offset one another. But with the global economic cycles you go back to the financial
[07:14] SPEAKER_01: crisis of 2008. It seems to have affected all industries on those areas. So it's always a
[07:22] SPEAKER_01: challenge with staffing and you want to we're not we don't like to reduce head out at all. It's not
[07:28] SPEAKER_01: our style but sometimes we've had to make difficult difficult decisions.
[07:33] SPEAKER_01: Last few years we've stayed quite steady with our crew and did a lot of cross-training.
[07:42] SPEAKER_01: So that's how we've adapted to some of those challenges and then right now we're on a look
[07:48] SPEAKER_01: about upturn and exploring new markets within a Bikki Seiki deal.
[07:54] SPEAKER_00: Being an Alberta-based company specifically Calgary, what do you think some of the advantages
[08:02] SPEAKER_00: are of being based here for or for any business? I think definitely the lower cost of business
[08:10] SPEAKER_01: with taxes, land, etc. I believe that we have a good talent pool of people. We do a lot of
[08:21] SPEAKER_01: house training as well too but there's always a very good pool of people and we do a lot of
[08:28] SPEAKER_01: just through referral, through our existing associate base that we're able to bring in people.
[08:35] SPEAKER_01: Logistically it's well suited globally. A lot of times Canada is not on the embargo country
[08:43] SPEAKER_00: so we're able to sell that way and yeah so it's quite happy to be here. What about the flip side of
[08:53] SPEAKER_00: that? What are some of the challenges or top things about being a business based in Calgary,
[09:01] SPEAKER_01: based in Alberta? Yes, over the past couple of years one of the things that we've seen is a lot
[09:07] SPEAKER_01: of consolidation on our raw material and the suppliers and actually closing up facilities and
[09:14] SPEAKER_01: distribution centers and Edmonton, Miskiew and lot of consolidating in the US, the Houston area,
[09:21] SPEAKER_01: Oklahoma and what that effectively does to us it adds on one to two weeks on our lead time on our
[09:27] SPEAKER_01: products and that's one of the competitive advantages that we typically have. A lot of times in our
[09:36] SPEAKER_01: town hall meetings internally here I'll tell the associates that our competitors not really
[09:42] SPEAKER_01: necessarily the person down in the foothills in Calgary or next door to us it's Pune or Shanghai
[09:49] SPEAKER_01: and that's our competitor base right now and so we've got to be lean and mean against those kind
[09:54] SPEAKER_00: of countries that we're competing against. When you look at entrepreneurship and through your
[10:02] SPEAKER_00: experience in it, what advice would you give people if you know so yeah so you had a kid who
[10:14] SPEAKER_00: who said hey pops I wanted to be an entrepreneur, what would you tell them? What is your best advice for
[10:21] SPEAKER_01: them? I think you have to have passion for the industry that you're dealing in. You have to
[10:30] SPEAKER_01: like people, you have to be able to be of the converse with people and challenge them and
[10:37] SPEAKER_01: respect them and help them to grow in your workplace. That's probably one of the key things.
[10:45] SPEAKER_01: Another one is an environment for ourselves. I place a lot of value on the environment and when I
[10:51] SPEAKER_01: speak of that the environment of the workplace and the culture and as you can see the building behind us
[10:58] SPEAKER_01: that I always say that for better or worse you spend more of your waking day at your workplace so
[11:04] SPEAKER_01: why not make it an enjoyable as enjoyable of an experience that you can. That's so true which
[11:11] SPEAKER_00: leads me into another topic area of this work life balance you know it's it's kind of a buzz
[11:18] SPEAKER_00: phrase over the last few years more and more people talking about it. How would you describe
[11:24] SPEAKER_01: what your work life balance is? For optimal here of course our work from home was pretty much
[11:31] SPEAKER_01: a non-existence except for some some staff just due to the nature of our industry that time
[11:37] SPEAKER_01: and it was proud to say that we had no major incidents over the past few years with any COVID
[11:44] SPEAKER_01: outbreaks and we didn't really miss a day of work as far as the operations go for personally myself
[11:54] SPEAKER_01: with very strong team of people here that that really provide a lot of support for the operations and
[12:02] SPEAKER_01: then so not myself always getting involved in every aspect of it's focusing more on probably business
[12:10] SPEAKER_01: development and relationships so that's that's a key thing that allows me to do other things I sit on
[12:17] SPEAKER_01: board of the Grand Theater in Calgary. Oh yeah and then I enjoy outdoor skiing a lot and things
[12:25] SPEAKER_01: like that. What is what's your connection to the theater? I have been board chair previously
[12:32] SPEAKER_01: and for about 10 years and originally got involved but a few years ago through an invitation
[12:40] SPEAKER_01: to our local architect Jeremy Sturgis. Yeah and I said oh why don't you see if you enjoy sitting
[12:47] SPEAKER_01: on this board and you know I was out here in the northeast and are my manufacturing plants so
[12:51] SPEAKER_01: in downtown I explored the theater world and it's very rewarding. Now jogging my memory and try
[12:57] SPEAKER_00: to remember but that's that's the theater that's across the street from what used to be the
[13:03] SPEAKER_00: Calgary Herald building but his Brookfield place that's correct yeah. Yeah I've been in there and
[13:10] SPEAKER_00: actually knew your CEO I think former CEO Tony McGrath. Yeah gave me a pardon a pun gave me a
[13:18] SPEAKER_00: grand tour one day before that it's such a beautiful site there it's quite nice yeah. Yeah a lot of
[13:26] SPEAKER_00: history behind that as far as Calgary goes. Yeah you bet is it top for you know being you know they
[13:33] SPEAKER_00: head of a company to find that time to do other things that's beyond the workplace.
[13:41] SPEAKER_01: No not really. I would go back to the aspect about building a good team of people and
[13:48] SPEAKER_01: and having the operations go as smooth as as possible you can. Yeah you know as we explore
[13:56] SPEAKER_01: different opportunities like this Hibiki Seiki and it involves travel and time away from the
[14:03] SPEAKER_01: workplace to develop and nurture those relationships so so that would probably be
[14:08] SPEAKER_00: keep going on that area. Yeah and as a manager how important is it to kind of step back and let
[14:17] SPEAKER_00: let people do the work that they're hired to do right and you know I've worked in workplaces where
[14:25] SPEAKER_00: where you know the boss is like right there right and you know what's your philosophy on that?
[14:33] SPEAKER_01: I'd say it's evolved through you know getting doing coaching and talking to people and what not be
[14:41] SPEAKER_01: and you know I go through the round the whole executive team a number of years ago through a number
[14:46] SPEAKER_01: of executive coaching tests and whatnot and then you know I think my results were that
[14:52] SPEAKER_01: too detailed oriented and things like that so yeah I used to have my hands and every little thing
[14:58] SPEAKER_01: walking around and why is this why is that and so it's like it's a slow learning process and
[15:04] SPEAKER_01: and you just learn eventually it's it's difficult to back off because you know I have a
[15:12] SPEAKER_01: strong you know passion for the operations the aesthetics and
[15:17] SPEAKER_01: from my father's teachings about the housekeeping that you know when you see things that are not in
[15:24] SPEAKER_00: place it's it's difficult to step back and not say anything. Yeah yeah that's true that's so true
[15:32] SPEAKER_00: last question I had for you as you look forward you know in terms of the vision for the company
[15:40] SPEAKER_00: where do you see the company going in the next few years? Yeah so I hope this
[15:47] SPEAKER_01: relationship with Hibiki Sekis is going to open us up into different markets that we're currently not
[15:51] SPEAKER_01: as strong in and I see continued growth in those perhaps you know strategizing looking ahead going into
[16:01] SPEAKER_01: dividing the operations into different divisions in order to satisfy the different markets and that's
[16:07] SPEAKER_01: probably the best way to move into these different areas is the the different markets do have
[16:14] SPEAKER_01: different set of specifications and protocols so we have to adhere to.
[16:18] SPEAKER_00: Okay super well thanks a lot Dwayne for joining us today. Well thank you again for having me
[16:24] SPEAKER_00: and it's very nice meeting you. All right that was Dwayne Hurtzer who is president of optimum
[16:30] SPEAKER_00: manufacturing based in Calgary on Mario Tonoguzi. This has been Calgary's podcast on Canada's
[16:36] SPEAKER_00: podcast network. Thanks for joining us today.
