Automotive News Canada - June 2020 - 8

* JUNE 2020

COVID-19 realization: 'Robots don't get sick'
Rapid adoption of new
technology was already
well under way, and the
pandemic has companies
pushing the accelerator
By DANA FLAVELLE

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

AS THE CORONAVIRUS FORCES
Canadian automakers and suppliers
to key on employee safety, automation will become critical to the longterm survival of those businesses, say
experts.
"They absolutely have no choice but
to escalate their investment in technologies," said Shelley Fellows, chair
of Automate Canada, an
industry association.
Increasingly, technology will become the eyes,
ears and hands of the modern factory as sensors,
data analytics and other
types of remote monitoring track deliveries and performance, and collaborative robots work alongside employees
on tasks that require physical distancing, said Fellows.
"The world where you had people
who were able to walk through the
plant floor and hear the difference,
hear a problem starting to happen
before it actually happens, is no longer."
It's already happening, Fellows
said, citing results of a May 12 survey
Automate Canada conducted along
with the Canadian Association of Mold
Makers, that found 18 of 44 respondents
- 41 per cent - named adoption of
new technologies as one of the top five
positive outcomes of COVID-19.

Auto companies "absolutely have
no choice but to escalate their
investment in technologies,"
said Shelley Fellows of Automate
Canada. F I L E P H O T O

"That's almost half," Fellows said,
noting all the respondents are either in
the mold-making or factory-automation
business with customers
in a variety of industries
from automotive to food.
She said new technologies could be anything
from accounting software,
time tracking platforms to
more robotics on the plant floor.

MANUFACTURING

SPOTLIGHT

TECHNOLOGY WINNERS
But it remains to be seen just how
many businesses in the industry can
afford to invest in automation as they
face higher reopening costs to implement new health and safety protocols
after months of lost sales during the
COVID-19 shutdown.
Companies that were in business
in 2019 might not be operating in 2021,
said Brendan Sweeney, managing
director of the Trillium Network for
Advanced Manufacturing.
"We don't know what the other side
of this pandemic will look like," he
said. If there's a shakeout, the winners
are likely to be the ones that "are the

most productive, the most efficient, the
most highly automated."
Companies are going to need help
with the cost of new technology, he
said. "If this is something we really
want to do, some kind of government
incentive program would be really
important."
Automation was deeply rooted
throughout Canada's auto industry
before the pandemic, a factor that will
facilitate the sector's recovery, said
Linda Hasenfratz, CEO at Linamar
Corp., a global parts supplier based in
Guelph, Ont.
"It is a fact that we are so highly
automated in our facilities today compared to 10 years ago that we've been
able to come back to work safely," she
said.
"People are already well separated
because we had already implemented
the automation, and I think that's true
for a lot of companies."
Factory automation can help
address challenges ranging from skills
shortages to productivity, said Diane
Reko, CEO of Reko International
Group Inc., a factory-automation specialist based in Windsor, Ont.
"The best applications of technology
are where it's dangerous for humans.
Whether it's COVID or chemicals, or
where you can't find people to do it.
That's a good application for automation. Or just something that's so monotonous people can't do it consistently
because you can't focus long enough to
do a good job of it."

COST CONSIDERATIONS
But few businesses have been willing to commit to new capital investments in automation during the pandemic, Reko said.
"Before it was, 'We don't have time
for this, we have to figure out how to

reopen.' Now, it's, 'OK we've reopened.
Let's talk about other alternatives.' My
impression is they will be somewhat
limited in their capital expenditures
given the economy in general."
The pandemic, by itself, won't drive
more automation, said Pat D'Eramo,
CEO of global auto parts supplier Martinrea International Inc., in
Vaughan.
"The only thing that's going to drive
more automation is
cost. Someone might
say because of these
types of things, we
might want to do
more of it. But I
guarantee you that
if the cost model
doesn't match, it's
not going to be done.
Reko:
It has to make sense
"The best
financially."
applications
Kristin Dziczek,
of technology
vice-president
are where it's
industry, labour
dangerous
and economfor humans,
ics at the Center
whether it's
for Automotive
COVID or
chemicals, or
Research in Ann
where you can't Arbor, Mich., said
find people to
the pace of automado it."
tion will quicken as
PHOTO VIA
production resumes.
DIANE REKO
"This is happening anyway and has been happening for decades," Dziczek said in a
recent webinar. "But I think we'll see
an acceleration of automation as we
restore work here. Automakers and
suppliers have been struggling to find
workers anyway. In a post-pandemic
world, robots don't get sick. Robots can
work in close proximity to each other
and continue production." - ANC
- With files from John Irwin

LAMBORGHINI HURACAN EVO RWD SPYDER:

The Huracan was introduced as an all-wheel-drive
supercar, but the company now also sells a rearwheel-drive version called the EVO RWD. A convertible variant is due later this year called the EVO
RWD Spyder. Both cars use the same 602-horsepower
5.2-litre V-10 (the awd models come with 631 horsepower), and the soft-top system adds about 120 kilograms. According to Lamborghini, the roof stows in
about 17 seconds.

2021 TOYOTA VENZA: The automaker is resurrect-

ing the Venza nameplate, this time as a hybrid-only
midsize crossover. The Venza, known as the Harrier in
Japan, will go head-to-head with the likes of the Ford
Edge, Hyundai
Santa Fe and
Chevrolet
Blazer. The
all-wheel-drive
hybrid system
is shared with
the RAV4
utility vehicle
and consists of a 2.5-litre four-cylinder and three electric motors, delivering 219 horsepower. Toyota Safety
Sense is standard and includes lane-keeping assist,
lane-departure alerts and a pre-collision system.
A 12.3-inch touch screen is available.

B y J O H N I RW I N

2021 AUDI A3: This redesigned small sedan is expected to
hit European roadways this summer before reaching North
America in calendar 2021.
The new A3 is taller than
the current model and
gives the driver about
2.5 extra centimetres of
headroom, according to
Audi. A completely overhauled cockpit includes a
10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch touch screen. The exterior is
marked by a new honeycomb grille.

FORD MUSTANG COBRA JET 140O:

The company says its electric-drag-racing
prototype delivers 1,400 horsepower and 1,100
pound-feet of instant torque, clocking in a
quarter-mile time in "the low-eight-second
range." The one-off car is expected to debut at
a drag racing event later in 2020. Ford said the
Cobra Jet 1400 is designed to "demonstrate the
capabilities of an electric powertrain in one of
the most demanding race environments" and
comes on the heels of the debut of the Ford
Mustang Mach-E EV crossover.

2021 TOYOTA SIENNA: The fourth-generation Sienna minivan uses the same Toyota New Global

Architecture-K platform as the Camry sedan and the RAV4 and Highlander utility vehicles. An overhauled
interior is highlighted by a nine-inch infotainment screen paired with a seven-inch display in the instrument panel. A new "Bridge" console divides the front seats. The Sienna is powered by an all-wheel-drive
hybrid system (shared with the Highlander) that
delivers 243 total horsepower. Toyota has
not yet announced pricing or arrival.
- ANC

Automotive News Canada - June 2020

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