Innovation + productivity = survival!

FilSpec is a Sherbrooke-based company operating in the textile industry, a sector wracked with difficulties in recent years. The enterprise manufactures and sells a wide range of specialty yarns for the industrial and medical sectors for use in the manufacture of protective and performance wear. It also produces specialized yarns with antibacterial, flameproof and cut-proof properties.

But how does a company hold its own in an increasingly globalized market? According to FilSpec directors Ronald Audet and Jean Parenteau, the answer lies in a firm’s ability to continuously reinvent its ways and practices: “It is through gains in productivity, the development of new products and the ability to break into new markets that FilSpec will be in a position to enjoy sustained expansion and profitability. We are not afraid to invest in new technologies and are determined to develop and market innovative, high value-added products.”

Objective: improved production

With Canada Economic Development’s financial support, FilSpec was able to redesign its work areas, modernize its equipment and improve its manufacturing methods. By the end of this 24-month efficiency enhancement project, the company will be in a position to improve the cost-effectiveness of its manufacturing operations while producing better quality yarns. Moreover, this project, which will result in the maintenance of 156 jobs at the Sherbrooke plant, will also enable the firm to develop new products and expand its markets.

FilSpec’s directors have also realized that, in this particularly demanding global environment, there are other factors equally critical to business survival. The company has established quite a reputation over the years for its rapid order turnaround time and exceptional adaptability to customer needs. This approach has led it to shift toward smaller-scale manufacturing and to carve out a niche for itself in market segments still relatively untouched by Asian imports.

Faithful to its motto—“To keep your business spinning!”—, FilSpec has put in place a research and development team that understands the demands of the market, how to develop new high value-added products and the necessity of respecting the environment. Furthermore, the establishment of a workers’ co-operative that now ranks as one of FilSpec’s major shareholders illustrates the interest and commitment employees have in contributing to the company’s continued success.