Tariffs. That’s what’s on everyone’s mind as we listen to the remarks of Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara outside the new factory in Tecumseh, Ontario.
McNamara is speaking to a gathering of business leaders, government officials, and members of the press, as Convoy Technologies celebrates the Grand Opening of the new factory. He talks about the size of the investment in the new facilities ($17 million), and the number of jobs that will be available to workers from the region.
But it’s tariffs all of us in the audience are thinking about.
When the mayor introduces Ron Harker, the president of Convoy Technologies, to the podium, we’re reminded of what’s at stake. For all the commercial fleets and vehicle telematics companies who rely on specialized cameras and monitors for their daily operations, there’s no avoiding the question—how bad is this going to get?
In other words, how much are the tariffs going to drive up the cost of doing business?
As Harker explains:
"The launch of our new camera assembly facility marks a pivotal moment in our journey to deliver cutting-edge vehicle camera technology to the commercial fleet, construction, agriculture, and powersports industries. This factory represents more than just the next step in the evolution of Convoy Technologies—it will be a hub of innovation, skilled craftsmanship, and local opportunity for years to come. We’re proud to open our doors and begin producing the next generation of cameras right here in Tecumseh, Ontario."
What makes the location of this factory so important is that the overwhelming majority of vehicle cameras are currently manufactured in China—and thus come with a hefty added cost owing to the tariffs imposed earlier this year.
By manufacturing the cameras in Canada and shipping them to a distribution warehouse in the US, Convoy will be sidestepping most of this additional cost.
But it wasn’t tariffs that were on everyone’s minds when Harker first realized Convoy Technologies could better serve the commercial transportation, agriculture, and power sports industries. It was covid. The idea for a factory closer to home was originally about having more control over the supply chain. That would allow the company to avoid the type of delays everyone was then experiencing as goods from China sat on ships off the coast, going nowhere for months.
Lower costs, shorter lead times, more reliable deliveries—in hindsight it seems like a perfect investment opportunity.
But there’s a lot more that goes into building and operating a factory than deciding on a location. To realize the benefits of production facilities closer to home, the first step is to ensure that the quality of the products meets or exceeds the standards set by the suppliers overseas.
So the Convoy team has organized the new factory around modular production cells with a series of test stations. The focus is not only on efficiently arranging the parts in the assembly environment and setting up an optimized sequence of production stages. It’s on hiring the best people and providing them with the best available training. The goal is to apply long-established best practices while at the same time empowering workers to innovate.
The new factory’s General Manager Doug Matton has been the driving force behind the operations to date, and he has had a front row seat on how the people he’s hired have taken ownership of the facility’s development and operation. That’s why he had nothing but praise for his team as he guided the tours:
"As a lifelong resident of Windsor and Essex County, helping to lead the transformation of the facility and start up Convoy’s North American Camera Assembly Operation has been a privilege. I am very proud of the Convoy Technologies Canada team and what they have accomplished over the last year. I am looking forward to working with the entire Convoy team to achieve the business objectives and helping Convoy Technologies Canada become a leader in the community!"
No one participating in the day’s celebration can predict whether the current trade environment will remain in place for long. But we all know that by bringing production closer to home, Convoy Technologies is gaining more control of the supply chain, which will in turn allow them to provide more reliable services to their customers. And it will result in savings they can pass on to those customers as well.
But the part few of us had considered is that by turning production over to some of the region’s most qualified engineers and technicians, Convoy Technologies will also be opening up opportunities for innovation in a way that wasn’t possible before: new designs, new product lines, more efficient processes.
We’re only getting started. We hope you’ll join us as we discover all the possibilities over the horizon.
