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File photo/The Ottawa Herald
Mac Fasteners is a company committed to its employees. Company officers have done their best to keep the company’s growth steady to protect workers, Brian MacDonald, vice president of operations, said.
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Mac Fasteners tries to stay family-oriented
Company aims to keep employees happy, healthy
By JULIE HEDRICK, Herald Staff Writer
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Workers at Mac Fasteners are dedicated. The warehouse where they make fasteners for airline equipment is occupied almost 24 hours of any given day.
Some employees can even work 14 hour days if they want.
To some observers, that may seem like a stretch, but maybe it’s because the owners of Mac Fasteners care about their employees, Brian MacDonald, vice president of operations, said.
“They’re our life-blood in terms of what we do,” MacDonald said.
Mac Fasteners tries to maintain a family oriented business while striving to protect its workers, MacDonald said. The company hopes to ensure that its employees are healthy and happy with their jobs, he said.
“We want to make sure that our people here are well taken care of,” MacDonald said.
MacDonald said his father, Robert, started the company in Ottawa in 1989 and remains extremely loyal to the community and will not easily forget the town that gave him his opportunity.
“We will always look fondly upon this city and we will always do what we can to contribute to its well being,” MacDonald said.
When the company started 18 years ago, it was making less than $1 million per year. Now, the company brings in almost $10 million every year, MacDonald said.
Last year, the business brought in 27 percent more revenue than it did in 2006, which is consistent with the robust growth of the company in the last five years, he said.
The MacDonalds have done their best to keep the company’s growth steady protect workers, he said. They have never had to reduce employment because there wasn’t enough work.
“It is very important for us to make sure the environment we’re in and the industry that we’re in can sustain our growth,” MacDonald said.
Currently, the aerospace industry is strong, and customers like Boeing and Airbus are placing a large number of orders.
Apart from continuing growth, MacDonald said the company hopes to continue diversifying its products and also hopes to be more aggressive in the production of A286, a stainless steel, corrosion resistant and more reliable material, which could increase revenue.
This material accounted for 12 percent of last year’s total revenue, yet only 6 percent of production. In 2006, the same products accounted for 3 percent of total revenue, MacDonald said.
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