20
21
canadian industry Online - NOVEMBER 2014
O
n Sep tember 2
, 2014
the
Automotive Parts Manufactur-
ers Association (APMA) announced
the appointment of Flavio Volpe as its
new President. Flavio brought with
him a wealth of international and
transnational private sector develop-
ment experience and high-level indus-
try specific public sector experience
with the Ontario Ministry of Economic
Development, Employment and Infra-
structure and Industry Canada. Fla-
vio's experience pursuing and negoti-
ating Original Equipment
Manufacturer investments in Ontario
brought an exciting new perspective to
the APMA.
Flavio, upon taking over his new
role, had this to say: "I look forward to
championing the globally tested and
innovative competitiveness of the Ca-
nadian automotive supply chain. The
APMAwill be a strong voice at the
table, working with our private and
public partners to build on our indus-
try's 100 year legacy in Canada."
With Flavio’s leadership, APMA
has a few key objectives for the im-
mediate future and strategies to reach
those objectives:
·
The Objective:
To showcase the
technological innovations and capa-
bilities of Canadian manufacturers
and suppliers to the global automotive
industry.
Achievement Strategy:
Continue
to develop and display APMA’s Con-
nected Vehicle Technology Demonstra-
tor, a Lexus RX350 generously donated
by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Can-
ada for this initiative. The Technology
Demonstrator vehicle was unveiled at
APMA’s 2014 Annual Conference &
Exhibition in Windsor, Ontario featur-
ing the seamlessly integrated technolo-
gies of thirteen different companies.
Ray Tanguay, Chairman of Toyota
Canada Inc., was on hand to help un-
veil the Demonstrator Vehicle. He
then delivered a keynote presentation
at the event’s highlight dinner.
APMA has embraced Canadian
Connected Vehicle technology com-
panies, forming a Connected Vehicle
Working Group committee to regularly
meet and discuss current and relevant
activities in this sector as well as creat-
ing a brand new membership category
for this unique group of companies.
APMA remains devoted to the project
and to showcasing the incredible tech-
nologies that Canada has to offer to the
rest of the world.
·
The Objective:
To continue to
create opportunities for members of
the Canadian automotive industry to
meet, collaborate, network, and share
best practices.
Achievement Strategy:
Host
relevant events annually to provide
a platform for industry members to
meet in this regard. APMA currently
hosts three annual conferences: Wind-
sor Regional Conference in February,
Annual Conference & Exhibition in
June, and Annual Automotive Out-
look Conference in December. APMA
intends to add a fourth annual event
to the calendar in 2015, taking place
in the Niagara region. In addition to
these events, APMA also partners with
like-minded organizations on certain
key initiatives and hosts several one-
off events throughout the year based
on industry demand and relevance.
APMA is always striving to bring more
such opportunities to its members and
APMA
