50 Years of Ag Manufacturing

Ray Malinowski &

A Unique Perspective on 50 Years of Ag Manufacturing

By Lee Griffi The foundation of Leon Mfg. Company Inc. serving the agricultural sector began in 1937 when Stanley Malinowski opened his repair and blacksmith business in Bankend, Saskatchewan. Serving farm customers was the business and the culture the family grew up in. Stanley sent his son Leon to diesel mechanic and welding school and while working with his father, Leon obtained his diesel mechanic’s certificate and attained his journeyman status as a welder.

Leon took over his dad’s business in 1952. Changes to farming practices meant the services that Leon provided his customers also evolved. It was also the beginning of designing and fabricating new products to offer his farm customers. The LEON Dozer Blade unit, unique in patented features, became extremely popular in the agricultural community. The blade slowly changed the business from a welding and repair shop into a manufacturing operation, where the emphasis was on providing good service to the expanding farmer customer base. In 1967 Leon’s brother, Ray, joined the company to concentrate on administration and sales. The company built a new factory in their current location at Yorkton, Saskatchewan, where more people and services were available. Growth continued, requiring numerous expansions over the years. In 1973 an associate company, RAM Industries, was started with a new building and operations team. Since approximately 2010, a third generation of the Malinowski family (John Malinowski, president of Leon Mfg. Company Inc.; David Malinowski, materials management; Carla Lammers, president of RAM; Linda Turta, CEO) control and manage the companies. Confident that the business growth will continue, both Leon Mfg. Company Inc. and RAM Industries are completing new facility expansions that are expected to conclude in early 2021. Ray Malinowski was interviewed for this story to provide his unique perspective on how the business has changed over the past five decades.

How has your clientele changed over 50 years?

Improvements in communications and transportation have opened virtually all industries to international sales and trade. Ray said this has created a new world of opportunity. “Leon Mfg. Company Inc. and RAM Industries both changed from serving local prairie-based customers to currently serving clients on a worldwide basis. The local market, while important, is now a small minority of business.” He added that “clients are also larger and employing the latest technology in their operations.”

Q

How have your products changed over 50 years?

Many founding and early members of the association started out with one product they took to market. Ray said that just isn’t the case today. “In all companies the product lineup is larger. New products are added regularly to serve new customer needs, and products are often larger to accommodate the larger equipment used. Generally speaking, the base of operations remains the same, but those same products have expanded in diversity and size over the decades.” Leon Mfg. Company Inc. currently does business with 40 countries around the world.

Q

How have your manufacturing processes changed over 50 years?

Each agricultural manufacturer has seen an incredible amount of change in how they build their products. “Today’s manufacturing processes employ the latest technology to increase productivity and reduce cost. Labour, which was the main component fifty years ago, accounts for less and less of our processes while computerized and robotic equipment dominates manufacturing processes,” he said. The amount of education and training to ensure employees have the proper tools to do their jobs is also a big factor. “Individuals operating today’s equipment are better educated in programming computer-assisted machines. Overall output requires maybe up to 60% to 70% fewer people, to get out the same production as was possible 50 years ago.”

Q

Have social media, the internet, and other technology changed the way you do business?

The introduction of the world wide web has drastically changed the way we all do business. It has allowed for essentially the instant relay of information in almost every aspect of business. “Most business today is done with the assistance of today’s connection technology. It could be communication of documents and drawings, advertising, training, and much more,” said Ray. The days of sales and service being conducted one hundred per cent in person are long gone, he added. “Less travel is required for presentations and information exchange with visual communications possible through Zoom meetings, electronic file transfers, and other ways of exchanging information.”

Q

What was your biggest challenge 50 years ago?

It really is difficult to understand just how much the agricultural world has changed over five decades. Ray said the challenges in the 70s were quite different than the ones faced today. “Our issues 50 years ago included logistics, or available transportation, to get products to customers. We also had problems with finding, then getting financial support for operations growth.” He added parallel structure to markets and accessibility of new information was also difficult with the lack of technology, along with the unavailability of trained personnel.

Q

What has been your biggest challenge 50 years later?

One of the most notable challenges in manufacturing and technology in Canada today is the shortage of a trained workforce. “The availability of trained and skilled employees is still an issue,” said Ray. “The shortfall includes the skilled trades shortages faced regularly by other short-line manufacturers, but also seasoned sales and engineering personnel with an understanding of our products, customers and markets is challenging to find.” According to a recent study by the Business Development Bank of Canada, nearly forty per cent of small to medium-sized business are having difficulty hiring skilled workers.

Q

Can you share your memories of AMC conventions from the early days?

“The association events were much different back in the early days of PIMA. Small, and more intimate, there were simply fewer members that created more of a family-like atmosphere with spouses attending,” said Ray. The early conventions were more people-to-people affairs with opportunities to create new relationships. “A lot of emphasis was for business and social events being organized, meaning member-to-member communications were encouraged. In those early years there was no internet or similar technologies, so the exchange of ideas and fostering of relationships was on a person-to-person basis.” He added that the conventions also attracted more owners and chief managers of the businesses who were anxious to meet, learn, and dialogue with other members.

Q

What is ONE thing that AMC has done to help your business prosper?

Long-time members of the association often describe several ways AMC has helped them grow, reaching new international markets, for example. Ray sums it up in one sentence. “AMC became the main vehicle for introducing members to new information and relationships that helped members grow and prosper in their businesses.” And indeed, Leon Mfg. Company Inc. and so many others have done just that.