For precast concrete product specialist Munro Ltd., company tours aren’t simply a public relations exercise — they represent a critical part of the company’s marketing strategy, designed to forge connections with the construction community.
Munro’s 500,000-square-foot indoor manufacturing facility is located in Utopia, Ont., about 15 kilometres west of Barrie. One of its largest current projects is a $78-million contract supplying the 14,785 tunnel rings and 88,500 tunnel lining segments to client Metrolinx for the Eglinton Scarborough Crosstown LRT (ECLRT). Munro is also supplying precast concrete double ties for the TTC’s Spadina line subway extension.
"In many infrastructure projects, the manufacturer has no direct voice because we’re suppliers to installation contractors," says Theresa Erskine, director of marketing for Munro. "A plant tour makes it possible for manufacturers such as ourselves to interact directly with specifiers, contractors, consulting engineers and elected officials who may be unaware of the size and complexity of the products we manufacture."
While Munro has always offered tours on an informal basis, it began to step up its tour program in 2010 with consistent promotion and a steady round of invitations to clients, potential clients and professional contacts. Members of the Tunnelling Association of Canada, for example have been keen to see the ECLRT production line which has been cranking out tunnel segments for the past year and a half.
"The ECLRT contract is unusual in that the contract is with Metrolinx directly," says Erskine. "Typically, these segments would be cast by a tunneling contractor who would set up a temporary operation to build them, or who would form a relationship with a provider. It’s the first time a job like this has been produced inside a manufacturing facility."
For this contract, Munro built a 100,000-square-foot addition to its facility and purchased two dedicated concrete mixers to work with its computer-controlled batching system. The entire manufacturing process is integrated, to ensure the company can meet the accelerated production schedule for the tunnel segments. Munro handles all aspects of production, from inspection of raw materials to the manufacture and welding of rebar cages, casting of segments, curing, storage and delivery.
Erskine says that tour participants are most often impressed by the size of the concrete products created in an indoor manufacturing facility.
"They may specify cast-in-pace on the job site, simply because they’re unaware that we can manufacture products as large as this," she says. "Watching a crane lift an 80-tonne concrete bridge girder puts the scope of work we’re capable of into perspective."
Erskine notes that younger constructions professionals, on the other hand, expect to see an "old school" industry associated with media reports of crumbling concrete infrastructure and are surprised by the precision of the sophisticated, computer-controlled environment.
"We can provide any number of descriptions, diagrams and photos about how are products are manufactured," says Erskine. "But even the most detailed and lucid explanations are no substitute for seeing products actually being manufactured."
Munro has put a professional edge on its tours by investing in a Sennheiser 2020 Digital Tourguide system, featuring a voice transmitter and headsets worn by the tour participants.
"Usually questions arise just as someone is standing next to a piece of equipment that’s operating," says Erskine. "But just as important as hearing what we say, one of the big benefits of the tours for us is being able to listen to what the construction community says and to learn what’s important to them."
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