HISTORY
to Memorable Moments in the History of AMC 1969 – Industrial Development
Officer Bart Drope from the Saskatchewan Department of Industry and Commerce, chaired a meeting that led to the foundation of PIMA.
The 1970s 1970 – PIMA was founded at the end
of February. Manufacturers now had a platform to share their challenges and successes. PIMA’s first annual convention was held in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, with 39 attendees from the prairie provinces.
1972 – The first PIMA newsletter,
Factory Action, was distributed. The association was invited to appoint two representatives to the University of Saskatchewan’s Automation in the Agricultural Industry program.
1973 – Work started on lobbying provincial governments to implement a uniform commercial code, like those in many American states. Work also started to urge fair legislation to all segments of the industry to protect PIMA’s small manufacturers.
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1975 – The 5th annual convention was held in Winnipeg and included information sessions and tours of plants. The PIMA Pulse replaced Factory Action as the association’s newsletter and was published monthly thanks to financial backing from the Morris Rod-Weeder Company. PIMA also hired its first fulltime manager in August, Ivan Thue. 1977 – The annual convention
added its first-ever trade show and the association hired its first full-time secretary.
1979 – The annual convention was
held in Winnipeg. The last several years were exceptionally good ones for prairie farmers and as a result over 400 delegates attended.
The 1980s 1980 – The 10th anniversary convention was held in Regina with 535 people attending a celebratory banquet. 1981 – After five years of campaigning,
a complete overhaul of the excise tax classification system for farm equipment
Implement Success | Winter 2020-2021 | 50th Anniversary Edition
was finalized. A reduction in the levies from the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board was realized for farm machinery manufacturers.
1983 – A group of PIMA members travelled to France to display their products at the Salon International de la Machine Agricole. Several steps were taken to open international markets. 1985 – A video program, sponsored by PIMA and the Federal Department of Regional Industry Expansion, was launched to help 53 PIMA members increase export sales using professional videos of their products. Years of advocacy started to pay off with a reduction in workers’ compensation rates in Alberta. 1987 – A discussion on changing the association’s name was raised but rejected by members. 1989 – A strong advocacy push was initiated to pressure the Canadian and American governments to remove the new U.S. Harmonized Customs System. The American government had
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