Onward Manufacturing Company Limited, maker of Broil King barbecues, along with Canadian Tooling & Machining Association (CTMA) hosted a plant tour and BBQ, at its Waterloo, Ontario plant. Over 50 attendees were treated to a tour of the 200,000 square/foot facility, which has assembly lines (three), paint lines (two), and a press shop (stamping, CNC and tool and die capabilities).
Ted Witzel
“It was fantastic to see a great turn out of over 50 people show up for this event, we actually had to close down registration for we couldn’t fit any more people in! President Ted Witzel’s passionate presentation of his company’s products and why it is so important to keep the manufacturing of these items here in Canada had 100 per cent attention and focus from all participants,” said Robert Cattle, Executive Director, CTMA.
Upon arrival at the facility, attendees were greeted by a room full of Broil King BBQs and a presentation that preceded the plant tour. It included an overview of the products and market strategy for Broil King by Colin Kirvan, Vice President of Product Management, Onward Manufacturing, as well as an overview of global operations and trade challenges for Broil King from President, Ted Witzel.
Colin Kirvan
“Attendees were divided into groups and toured the 200,000 square foot manufacturing facility which showed us all the different steps and components that are needed to build these high quality products,” said Cattle. “To cap it off, Broil King’s executive chef had prepared a barbeque lunch that included slow roasted brisket, pulled pork and chicken along with vegetables all prepared in their in-house kitchens! This will be hard to top.”
Onward has three facilities, Waterloo, Huntington, Indiana, and Dickson, Texas, which all product Broil King products. The company is family owned and has been in business since 1906. The company designs, manufactures, markets, distributes and services products for over 40 countries.
