Our annual two week summer shutdown is fast approaching, and as always at this time of year, we have been fielding a number of questions about what summer shutdown is, and why we have it.

Traditionally, we have always been closed the last two weeks of July, as this is when many of our suppliers shut down as well. While we do most of our manufacturing in house, we do use suppliers for things like chrome plating, painting, and plastics production. Without access to our suppliers, we are unable to bring in finished parts to fulfill orders.

Many of the suppliers we deal with are, like us, small Canadian businesses, and they have found that managing the available workforce is much simpler if all employees take holidays at the same time of year. This allows the facilities to run at full production capacity throughout the rest of the year, and is much more efficient than having one department closed at a time, for weeks on end.

The last two weeks in July are often the hottest of the year in Ontario and when you are working with high temperature processes like casting, chrome plating and powder coating, it can be difficult to keep the plant temperature at a safe level. By choosing these two weeks to close down, we protect the health of our employees, minimize our production costs (helping us offer the lowest prices on our products) and also allow everyone to enjoy what is usually the nicest weather of the year while on holidays.

We will be closed from July 17th until August 4th. Wishing everyone a safe and happy summer!