Thirty years ago, no one saw what would be happening to the process automation industry not only in Canada, but around the world.
Despite COVID-19 putting the world economy on hold, Endress+Hauser Canada is marking 30 years in business in Canada, having opened offices on May 1, 1990 in Burlington, Ont., and two months later in Montreal, Que.
“It’s been a memorable three decades, full of extraordinary achievements that have also put us in a position to do extraordinary things in the future,” says Anthony Varga, CEO and general manager, Endress+Hauser Canada. “We have an incredible portfolio of best-in-class products and solutions, capable of keeping our customers on the cutting edge for many years to come. Our ability to support our customers throughout a project timeline or product life cycle is second to none and we believe we are quite unique in that respect.”
Since 1990, offices have been added in Calgary and Edmonton, Alta. – the latter now part of a 20,000 sq ft Customer Support Centre that opened in 2017; and a new 47,000 sq ft Customer Experience Centre in Burlington, designed to achieve LEED Gold certification will commence construction as soon as able.
These two state-of-the-art facilities in Edmonton and Burlington, both of which include a world class Process Training Unit (PTU), are meant as examples of technology in motion where the company showcases the best in class technologies in the process automation world and provides customers with hands-on experiences and training to get the maximum benefit from their instrumentation investments.
In many ways, the growth and development of Endress+Hauser Canada reflects the story of its parent company. The Endress+Hauser Group began in Germany in 1953 as a partnership of Swiss engineer Georg H. Endress and German banker Ludwig Hauser, with the company headquarters located in Reinach, Switzerland.
“Sixty-seven years later, Endress+Hauser is still a family-owned company, combining the technical knowhow and long-term business vision of the founders, as reflected in a belief that sustainable business relationships are built on listening to our customers so we understand their challenges and needs,” says Varga.
Besides a PTU, the Burlington facility will house a calibration laboratory, an expanded workshop and a large training centre. The PTU concept, featured in Endress+Hauser facilities globally, is essentially a pilot plant with a wide range of Endress+Hauser instrumentation installed.
Customers can try out products before purchasing them or familiarize themselves with how they work before installing them in their operations. Endress+Hauser utilizes partnerships with best in class companies such as Rockwell Automation and Samson Controls to create a completely hands on and integrated technology demonstration platform that is unmatched.
Thirty years ago, it would have been hard to imagine such a facility in Canada. Endress+Hauser opened its doors with 13 employees. Today, it has more than 140.
The original focus on Ontario and Quebec and on water and wastewater, food and beverage, and mining customers has been broadened to cover all parts of the country and all industries including the oil and gas and petrochemical sectors of Western Canada. The company’s technical support capability has expanded accordingly. Technical representatives are located at strategic locations in the country, even in some cases assigned full time to a customer’s facility. The company’s service capacity is being augmented by a newly formed national network of authorized service partners – companies with a strong presence in their respective regions. Their technicians, trained and certified by Endress+Hauser, assure customers of timely service and advice wherever it is needed. They are familiar with company products and supported in turn by Endress+Hauser Canada’s technical staff.
The Edmonton and Burlington customer centres – a cumulative investment of almost $40 million – demonstrate the strong support Endress+Hauser Canada receives from its parent company.
“We’re ready for the next chapter of our story,” says Varga. “We’re raising expectations for ourselves: to not only be a leader for the Canadian process automation sector, but to operate sustainably and to raise the bar for corporate and community citizenship.”
