History

 

 

 

The Making of a Dream

“You can’t do business with an empty wagon” – so a wise older businessman advised Maska’s President in 1970, of the importance of stocking a lot of inventory if he wanted to join in the game with the larger players. Thus was taken one of the many decisions made over the decades that has resulted in Maska growing from a small village machine shop, to an ultra-modern manufacturing facility, complete with its own foundry and Distribution Centre.

Maska celebrated its 40th Anniversary, November 6, 2004, and the President, Mr. Yvon Fortier, reminisced about the turbulent past and humble beginnings that led to “realizing dreams that go back a long time, as a result of perseverance and an outstanding work team.”

A general welding and machining company was started in 1950, co-owned by Albert Fortier, father. Maska, as a legal entity and manufacturer of sheaves, came into existence in 1964 when pulley machining equipment was acquired from an existing business in Maskoutaine.

Company Founded 1964: Maska
First Order: $190
Time to produce: 3 days

“In the beginning, we had to go and pick up the raw materials to be machined for the week in the back of the station wagon at a neighbouring foundry.”

The 1st dream, expressed at this time by Maska founder, Mr. Albert Fortier, was – “imagine if one day the backyard was full of castings” (raw materials), meaning pending orders would be synonymous with good business. Today this dream is quite literally true as, despite repeated warehousing expansions, the back lot is still full of surplus castings waiting to be machined.

The 2nd dream of the visionary founder, Albert, was “imagine if one day we had equipment that would automatically turn out parts on its own, with a minimum of supervision!” The installation of Maska’s 5th robotic work cell is an initiative that has successfully allowed Maska to stay competitive in a global market and highlights the value of this foresighted aspiration.

The First Decades (1964 - 1984)

The first volume contract in 1968, was with a company that placed an order for parts that sold for $1.25 ea. and provided an initial momentum for future growth.

Tragedy strikes in 1971 with the premature death of Albert Fortier, only 51 years old. His oldest son, Yvon, unexpectedly inherits the pressure of taking over the family business at the age of 21.

The year 1974 sees the first contract awarded from a world-renowned agricultural company. This development led to introducing automated machining equipment to produce volume parts, expanding facilities, and more importantly, establishing Maska’s own foundry to ensure availability of raw materials.

Operating a foundry in the early years was no easy task and led to many hair-raising adventures. Yvon relates, laughing “in order to start-up the oven, we had to go to a neighbouring foundry about 10 miles away and bring back a container of molten metal (2,500° F) in the back of our truck. Considering that in the winter the roads could be very icy and slippery, it was a dangerous trip that could have had disastrous results!”

1979 – Maska rings in its first $1M in sales.
1981 – Factory expansion

 

 

 

 

 

1983 – 1st CNC machine, tantamount to quantity with quality. Plans are made to penetrate the U.S. market, 1st warehouse in CT.
1984+ – A period of automated operations through continued acquisition of CNC equipment, integration of computerized processes in all aspects of operations, intensive hiring of engineers, technicians & draughtsmen and investing deeply in a R&D department.

The Growing Years (1985-2005)

1985 – Establishing a Distribution Center.
1990 – Another slow economy crisis. Faces head on by investing deeply in inventory, an action that becomes a Maska trademark.
1992-5 – Twelve sales & warehousing locations in USA. Partnership with a large motor manufacturer for distribution in Canada - a winning team! Expansion after expansion in all facilities.
1996 – Exporting to Latin America & Europe.

France receives their 1st Maska shipment

 

 

 

 

 

1998 – 1st robotic cell unit to produce QD bushings – quality perfected!

 

 

 

 

 

2000 – New H.O., all manufacturing & administrative operations under the same roof.
2001 – Increased overseas competition! Continued investment in robotics/automated manufacturing, expanded product line, higher field inventory levels & expanded sales force (18 locations in USA).

Meeting with some of U.S. partners

 

 

 

 

2003 – Manufacturing expands overseas; an initiative that permits manufacturing a quality product at lowest cost, locally or abroad, depending on volume, type, size and lead-time requirements.
2004 – Fourth expansion of D.C. to 70,000 sq. ft. 3rd robotic cell with artificial vision. 21 locations in USA.
2005 – Warehousing operations reorganized and computerized, triple shipping output. 4th & 5th robotic cell. Inventory levels built to an all-time high, periods of 0 back orders!


The Future

“Maska has experienced 40 years of progress on every level possible. If the past reflects the future, if we maintain the beat, and if we continue to closely observe industry trends, then Maska’s prospects are very bright and we can look forward with optimism to the next decades to come.

The biggest challenge that we are now facing is the price war brought on by the invasion of overseas products. Maska will increase its position in the industry through continued efforts to offer competitive pricing, all the while maintaining the same level of quality. We have foreseen and been preparing for this eventuality for many years now.” -- Maska President, July 15, 2005 Coming Projects: o Expanded D.C – again! o Expanded product line o Continued development of Latin American and European markets o Penetration of additional international markets through partnerships

Foundry

“Machining & selling is hard enough, let’s do what we must to have control over obtaining raw materials.” So stated Maska President in 1974, leading to the building of a foundry, a sister

company named “Laforo”, that was to be expanded many times over and supplies parts for several industries other than Maska. The first foundry at the time in the province to function electrically, today

automated production lines have the capacity of molding pieces from 0.5 to 100 pounds,
for a total volume of 140 tons of finished products per day. Gray and ductile iron are used and the proper amounts of different elements are added after chemical tests to produce just the right “recipe” for tensile strength and durability.

Each part produced goes through physical and chemical tests in the laboratory. We are therefore assured that we can deliver a product that will meet every specification of our customers.

 

Manufacturing & Administrative

 

 

 

All Maska employees stretched their legs and sighed deeply in July 2000 when operations were transferred to a new, spacious building. Maska had expanded rapidly over a short period of time and the

arrival of technological methods of production, along with expanding
personnel simply required more space. Lots of it.
Following a tour of the spacious facilities one visiting customer remarked,
“ I don’t understand why Maska is such a well kept secret in the industry!” Housing numerous production work cells, warehousing for large sheaves and castings, roomy office workspace and numerous conference centres to ensure close collaboration between the various departments and business partners, Maska is well implanted and ready for continued expansion with ease and proficiency.

 

 

 

 

 

Distribution Centre

 

 

The Maska department that burns the most calories, our warehousing & shipping personnel are in top shape!

Computerized operations, over 12,000 different parts, more than 20 different destination countries and record shipments of several hundreds of thousands of tons a week, make our D.C. a hub of activity where picking accuracy, tailored packaging and best-way transportation are given the highest priority.

“If we don’t have it, we can’t sell it.” Deep inventory in our homeland in Quebec, along with dozens of warehousing hubs throughout USA, Latin America & Europe, together with inventory adapted to their particular region, puts Maska high on the list for availability. Emergency orders can be shipped in hours around the world and Maska regularly experiences periods of 0 backorders on all standard products.

 

Operations
Your Sheaves Specialist

Having manufactured sheaves and related components for more than forty years means that Maska knows the casting, machining, calibrating, balancing, painting, handling and shipping of these products like the back of our hand. Let our expertise work for you.

We offer over 12,000 different standard parts and endless special custom products.
Let us give you a glimpse of some of the reasons why Maska’s plant operations set us apart from the competition.

Automated work cells

The challenge facing all North American manufacturers is how to remain competitive and conserve local manufacturing operations and jobs despite fierce competition.

The answer is quite simple – greatly improved productivity! How is this achieved? Maska foresaw the value of investing in automated operations from the beginning, but more specifically in 1998, the decision was taken to invest in industrial proto-type robots and increased automated primary & secondary machining operations. Not only can 1 robot perform the work of 3-5 people, they also mean enhanced process control and significantly reduced lead times. This subsequently means reduced human error element and optimized floor space.

This investment of several million dollars over the last few years has allowed Maska to not only be aggressively competitive but also increase our quality standards.

Quality Procedures

CMM Testing o Quality inspections to 1/10,000 of an inch o Tests are performed after an initial set-up to check conformity o Particularly advantageous for products with tight tolerances and special MTOs

 

Automated Paint Line o 320 ft. of chain that moves at 8 ft./min. Parts dry after 20 min. but continue an additional 20 min. to do the entire tour, thus guaranteeing better adhesion before being manipulated. o Can hold a total of 2,322 parts at the same time o Electrostatic paint is charged with + ions, the paint line is grounded negative. As the paint is applied, the electric current ensures improved adhesion and less waste

 

Measuring Instruments o Inspection jigs, gages & templates abound (over a 1000) to perform various quality procedures throughout the production process o All instruments are gauged to precise MPTA standards

MASKA – your North American manufacturer that guarantees quality, JIT delivery, availability and flexibility.

Workforce

Yves Falardeau Executive Vice President

Yvon Fortier President

Gilles Pelland Human Resources

Jean-François Fortier Distribution Manager

Mario Lacasse Sales & Marketing Director

Stéphane Mercier Chief Engineer

Sales

Canadian-based

Some U.S. Partners

Administration

Engineering & Draftsmen

Employees

Employment

Would you like to work at Maska amidst a dynamic work team dedicated to making the company an international
leader in the PT Industry?

Maska is always interested in receiving
Résumés for review in the following areas:

Production:
            CNC Programmers
            CNC Operators
            Electro-mechanic
            Machinistes
            Day laborer

Office Personnel:
            Administration
            Sales
            Marketing
            Human Resources
            Production Planning
            Computing

Engineering & Research and Development
            Engineer
            Industrial Engineering technician,
            option fabrication or drawing

Current Specific Job Postings:

CNC Machine Operator
Work: Regulate and operate numerically controlled equipment used in the fabrication of cast-iron parts in various sizes and weights.

Qualifications: College diploma as a Mechanical Engineer - fabrication, or a Technical diploma in Machining. Experience with numerically controlled machinery would be an asset.

Apprentice Operator
Work: Various production jobs such as painting, packaging, etc. as needed with appropriate instructions.

Qualifications: High School Diploma
Must know how to read and interpret plans. Experience in a manufacturing environment would be an asset.

CNC Machine Programmer
Work: Responsible for programming of all CNC machinery stations, including 5 robotized work cells.  Must be able to prioritize the programs and the correct functions of the robotized cells as per the production schedule.  Must be able to review and create new programs and work plans.  Also act to technically support the CNC operators.

Qualifications: College diploma in Mechanical Engineering, option computer-based training.  Knowledge of “Code G” machine language.  Knowledge of Okuma controls would be an asset. Familiar with AutoCAD and Inventor programs would also be an asset. Good comprehension of the English language needed.

Draftsman
Work: Responsible for designing, drawing and follow-up of resulting manufacturing of different tooling, inspection gauges as well as fabricating gauges for different machined parts.  Can also be required to draw and design standard products and their components as well as foundry castings models.

Qualifications: College diploma in Mechanical Engineering, option computer mediated communication. Familiar with AutoCAD and Inventor programs would be an asset as well as a good working knowledge of the English language.

Competitive wages, group insurance.

Send your Resume to the attention of:
Marie-Eve Pouliot, HR Coordinator
mpouliot@pouliesmaska.com

Poulies Maska
– for a challenging career!

 

Varia

Industry Links

Associations PTDA MPTA PTRA Publications Machine Design Motion System Design MRO Magazine PT Web sites PowerTransmission.com Powersourcing.com

Useful Links

Adobe Reader – needed to open PDF documents Update to Explorer 6 Conversion – inches, metric, Celsius, Fahrenheit, etc. Dollar exchange Quebec Weather

MERITUM

Awards & Certification		Mercuriades Gala Maska sweeps the evening as winner of the category “Technological Innovation” and also as “Company of the Year”. – Sept. 21, 2004

Maska is awarded the Platinum Club Award as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies “The most prestigious and toughest achievement for any Canadian company” – Toronto Globe & Mail, Dec. 3, 2003 See complete article “2003 Grands Prix Québécois de la qualité” (Quebec’s Quality Grand Prize) « Only 2 companies throughout the province qualified for the “Grande Mention” with a note of more than 500 points and no noted major weaknesses – Maska, Inc. & Petresa Canada, Inc.” Quality Forum magazine, Dec. 2004 The Quality Management System of Maska was awarded International Certification as having been assessed and registered as meeting the requirements of ISO 9001:1994. – Jan. 25, 2000

Community Involvement
Charitable Contributions:
Financial assistance and administrative support is bestowed to a local non-profit organisation for mentally impaired adults (www.archeleprintemps.org) to assist them with internal & retailing operations.

Training Centre
Maska participated significantly in the issue table to launch a community Training Centre to provide skills to meet a labour shortage adversely