Kickstart: Taking stock of toolmakers in Canada

Happy Canada Day!

Obviously, it's a very different celebration this year, just as it'll be very different on the south side of the border (or north side of the border, if you're in downtown Detroit) for the July 4 holiday weekend this year.

I thought this would be a good time to circle back around to how COVID-19 is continuing to impact mold makers and automation companies in Canada according to regular surveys conducted by the Canadian Association of Mold Makers and Automate Canada.

The groups started surveying members weekly starting just as the coronavirus crisis hit the region. It is now doing the surveys once a month. According to the most recent survey — the ninth, released in early June — employers said they had 127 workers on temporary layoff. That's a big improvement from the third weekly survey when 2,661 workers were laid off.

In addition, about half of the companies are hiring, with 31 workers added between all of the firms.

And while 15 percent of participants said they had at least one customer notifying them they are in "serious financial distress," there are improvements on the horizon, CAMM said.

"The pendulum is swinging for manufacturing. Earlier this year, we saw greater numbers of programs being canceled or delayed. Now, the number of new [requests for quotes] is higher than the number of programs being canceled," the association said in a news release.

You can find more data here.

Expect to find more changes the next time you head out on business (or vacation) and want to check into your hotel. There will be, obviously, increased cleaning of common surfaces and rooms, along with clear plastic protective barriers between you and the front desk workers.

But as Vijay Dandapani, CEO of the Hotel Association of New York, tells our sister publication Crain's New York Business, you may not have to interact with the front desk at all as hotels increasingly rely on smartphones and apps.

And key cards? Those sturdy pieces of plastic are on their way out, too, being replaced by the smartphone as well. The key card replacements started before the pandemic but now are ramping up faster.

"Big brands have apps where you can check in ahead of time," Dandapani said. "You can also pick your room ahead of time, so you will bypass the front desk and go straight to the room. The few hotels that are already open are doing hand sanitizer stations and temperature checks and providing personal protective equipment."

With all the work needed to reopen safely or support workers who cannot come back to the office just yet, take a minute to remember why it was that everything had to shut down in the first place.

Vince Bond Jr. at our sister paper Automotive News has profiles of some of the more than two dozen members of the United Auto Workers who died as a result of COVID-19. They include a worker who used to bring in homemade cakes and a shop steward who greeted coworkers at the start of every shift.

"You miss them," said one former coworker. "You knew they were there."