International car maker and automotive parts companies are successful in Canada and this page highlights their achievements. You can use this section in three ways:
- Success Stories
- Case Studies
Review our list of case studies to learn more about the lessons learned from your colleagues.
- Database Search
Search our foreign investment database on recent investments
Success Stories
German auto parts company Brose opens $80 million plant in London
When a major contract required German auto parts giant Brose to open a new North American manufacturing facility, the company selected Canada´s automotive heartland as the ideal site.
France’s Montupet S.A. invests $15 million to expand its facilities in Quebec
A $15 million expansion is currently underway at Montupet in Rivière-Beaudette, south of Montreal.
Parker Hannifin builds new Motion & Control plant in Milton
Parker Hannifin Canada, a division of Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin Corporation, opened a 137,000 square foot Motion & Control facility in Milton, Ontario.
Stockholm-based Autoliv expands in Tilbury
A pioneer in seat belts and airbags, Stockholm-based Autoliv opened its facility in Tilbury, near Windsor, Ontario in 1999.
Case Studies
Canada : the Fuel Cell Innovator
Canada is home to a 48-company fuel cell consortium led by Ford, which has begun testing five fuel cell vehicles in Vancouver. The Ford Focus vehicles contain hydrogen-powered fuel cells manufactured by Ballard Power Systems, of Burnaby, British Columbia, a pioneer in the fuel cell industry, as well as compressed hydrogen storage banks supplied by Dynetek Industries, of Calgary, Alberta. In October 2003, the Canadian government announced a new investment of US$160 million to develop, demonstrate and commercialize hydrogen technologies and further promote Canadian leadership in the hydrogen economy.
Braintech: Robots With Canadian Eyes
Braintech Inc. of Vancouver has come out of nowhere to convince some very big companies that Vision Guided Robotics is the wave of the future on the assembly line. Ford, General Motors, Delphi and TI Automotive have all signed on as customers over the past few years. The company, specializing in robotic guidance that gives “eyes” to robots, has erased any initial doubts that it can automate difficult assembly line tasks that had been extremely labour intensive.
Braintech´s eVisionFactory™ is the only software platform built specifically for developing and supporting Vision Guided Robotics solutions. Braintech has developed a family of advanced vision technology solutions, including its revolutionary Single Camera 3D vision, which is currently being used at Ford´s new engine plants, replacing laser-guided technology.
Alias: Exciting Movies, Smarter Cars
Alias of Toronto is known for its dazzling special effects in award-winning movies and its contribution to best-selling video games. The majority of the nominees for best visual effects at the Academy Awards in recent years have used Alias software systems. But Alias´s biggest customer is General Motors.
Car designers and sculptors use Alias systems for conceptual modelling, rendering, animation, visualization and surface development. Alias Studio Tools™ is used by every major automotive manufacturer in the world. Company President Doug Walker says, Canada has the right blend of ingredients to support global technology companies. We´ve actually got development facilities in Santa Barbara, Seattle and Toronto. But by far our biggest facility is in Toronto, and the reason is that´s where you get the best people.
AUTO21: Cars on Working Brains
AUTO21 is a national research initiative based on cooperation and collaboration among Canadian thinkers, companies and institutions connected to the automotive industry. Its role: to stimulate Canada´s automotive industry in ways that will make it even smarter, more productive and more profitable. AUTO21 is sustained by the Government of Canada — through the Networks of Centres of Excellence — and more than 120 industry, government and institutional partners, including Canada´s top auto assemblers and technology companies.
It currently supports more than 250 top researchers working at more than 30 academic institutions, government research facilities and private sector research labs across Canada and around the world, studying materials, fuels, emissions, intelligent systems, manufacturing processes, crash worthiness, and a variety of vehicle dynamics issues
Database Search