Teknion Corporation,
Toronto, Ontario

www.teknion.com

Teknion Corporation designs, manufactures and markets office systems and related office furniture products that support the complex integration of people and technology. In honour of its success in international markets and its contribution to the Canadian economy, as well as its history of taking strong design and innovative products around the world, Teknion was presented with the 2001 Exporter of the Year award—Canada's highest exporting award. Selling to more than 50 countries, the Toronto-based company has a growing market presence in North America, South and Central America, the Caribbean, the Pacific Rim, Asia and Europe.

Since winning its first Latin American contract in 1994 with Hoechst Chemicals of Venezuela, Teknion has installed thousands of workstations throughout the region for multinational and locally based clients. In Chile, Teknion has completed projects for Finning, IBM and Citibank, making it one of the country's top furniture business leaders. Elsewhere in the Andean region, key clients include Cemex in Colombia; Banco Sudamericano, Reuters and Cisco in Peru; and Abbott Laboratories, Citibank and Procter & Gamble in Venezuela. Recently, Teknion expanded to Brazil and opened a new office in São Paulo. "There is no doubt that Latin America is a challenging marketplace, but like our product, we are a very flexible company and committed to expanding our operations there," says Arnie Rusinek, Teknion's Vice-President for International Operations.

Established in 1983, Teknion today employs more than 3,200 people worldwide with approximately 3 million square feet of facilities, including manufacturing plants, showrooms, corporate headquarters and sales offices.