ATS Announces Reorganization of North American ASG Operations and Appointment of Regional President
CAMBRIDGE, ON, Aug. 21 /CNW/ - ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. today
announced the launch of a significant reorganization of its Automation Systems
Group (ASG) as part of the continuing implementation of its strategic plan and
improvement initiatives.
In announcing the reorganization, Ron Jutras, ATS President and CEO said:
"This is an important and positive step forward in our overall plans for ATS.
North America is our largest market for automation and home to our biggest and
most technically advanced operations. We want the best, most efficient
organizational structure, management processes and talent in place to optimize
the value of our leadership in this market. By reorganizing and improving our
organizational structure for ASG in North America, we expect to add further
support to our goals of delivering dramatically improved financial performance
for shareholders and higher customer satisfaction while providing new and
meaningful motivation to our valued employees."
The reorganization is also designed to achieve:
- a much higher level of coordination among ASG's regional facilities
- better resource utilization
- clearer lines of responsibility and authority throughout the
organization
- greater management depth to help manage "the inherent complexity of
our technology rich, project-based international business."
"Furthermore," Mr. Jutras added, "establishing stronger, more effective
leadership for North America will enable my executive team to devote more
focused attention to our Company-wide goals of better performance, rapid
execution of both our global business strategy and improvement initiatives and
efficient translation of strategic opportunities into profitable business."
"Because it represents a very significant transformation for ASG in North
America," Mr. Jutras said "we expect it will take approximately 18 months
before we see the full benefits of our new structure. However, we expect to
gain tangible advantages throughout the implementation process. The
appointment of Jim Sheldon is an important first step in our implementation
plan and ensures that this important initiative will get the full attention it
deserves so we can move forward aggressively and efficiently."
Appointment of President of ASG North America
Jim Sheldon has been appointed to the new role of President, ASG North
America. Mr. Sheldon (formerly Vice President of Automation Systems Operations
Western USA) will report to Mike Cybulski, Executive Vice President of
Operations, ASG.
"Jim is the ideal executive to lead this wide-ranging organizational
reformation program," said Mr. Cybulski. "Over the past three years, he has
driven a very successful turnaround of our US West Coast ASG operations and
has been an active participant in the implementation of our new strategy
roadmap and balanced scorecard systems. He has excellent leadership skills, a
thorough understanding of the automation systems industry, and is a proven
team builder who knows how to implement a growth and improvement program.
Jim's appointment as President, ASG North America, achieves our goal of
bringing the previous ASG Eastern North America and US Western USA operations
together with a common, unified mandate and strong regional leadership. I look
forward to working with Jim in the coming months and to furthering my global
mandates, including further development of our regional ASG businesses in both
Asia and Europe."
Mr. Sheldon joined ATS in late 2003 with 25 years of manufacturing
experience. He is a business management major, a Certified Engineering
Technologist, a senior member of the Society of Engineers and began his career
as a Toolmaker at Parker Hannifin Corporation, a vertically integrated
aerospace manufacturer. Prior to joining ATS, he was President of the DTE
Division of Detroit Tool Industries Inc., a designer and manufacturer of
automated assembly, metal forming and packaging systems.
Said Mr. Sheldon: "ATS has a formidable market presence, broad
capabilities, and tremendous assets in North America, including over 1,900
dedicated ASG employees. By implementing this new structure, we will ensure
our team has the clear direction and focus it needs to achieve our vision, our
financial objectives and customer commitments in an efficient manner. I'm very
excited with our new mandate and I look forward to building out my management
team and adding support to our aggressive cost saving and margin improvement
activities in the weeks ahead."
Future Appointments
As part of this North America-wide initiative, Mr. Jutras indicated that
he expects to see new ASG executive responsibilities assigned in sales,
engineering, manufacturing and project management in the next four months "to
significantly improve our management capability and execution in these
critical disciplines."
"We've designed this new and very comprehensive organizational structure
- using established best practice organizational design disciplines -
specifically to address our needs for both today and the future. It will
replace a management structure that built up quickly as our company grew very
rapidly from a small organization to a significantly larger one with
independently managed, satellite operations. I'm excited by the potential
benefits these changes will bring to our Company and its performance in the
months ahead."
About ATS
ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. (www.atsautomation.com) is the
industry's leading designer and producer of turn-key automated manufacturing
and test systems, which are used primarily by multinational corporations
operating in a variety of industries including: healthcare,
computer/electronics, automotive, and consumer products. ATS is also an
emerging leader in the rapidly growing market for solar energy cells and
modules. The Company also makes precision components and subassemblies using
its own custom-built manufacturing systems, process knowledge and automation
technology. ATS employs approximately 3,900 people at 26 manufacturing
facilities in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The
Company's shares are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol
ATA.
Note to Readers
This press release contains certain statements that constitute
forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws
("forward-looking statements"). Such forward-looking statements involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of ATS, or developments in ATS's business
or in its industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results,
performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include all disclosure
regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that is based
on assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action.
Forward-looking statements may also include, without limitation, any statement
relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. ATS cautions you not
to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date they are made. Forward-looking statements relate to, among
other things: a significant reorganization of ASG; continuing implementation
of ATS's strategic plan and improvement initiatives; belief that the
reorganization of ASG represents a positive step forward for ATS; optimizing
value of ATS's leadership in the North American market; the stated goals of
the reorganization, namely, the dramatic improvement of financial performance
for shareholders, higher customer satisfaction, the provision of meaningful
motivation to employees, a higher level of co-ordination among ASG's regional
facilities, better resource utilization, clearer lines of responsibility and
authority, and greater management depth to help manage aspects of the ASG
business; expectation that the reorganization of ASG will support the stated
goals of ATS; anticipated advantages and benefits to be gained as a result of
the reorganization of ASG, including, the expectation that the ATS team will
have clearer focus and direction, and the anticipated timing of the
realization of such advantages and benefits; appointment of a new President,
ASG North America; expectation that the new management and organizational
structure will enable ATS's executive team to devote more attention to certain
specified ATS-wide goals, including further development of ATS's regional
businesses in Asia and Europe; expectation that further new ASG executive
responsibilities will be assigned and the anticipated timing of such
appointments; expectation that such appointments will improve ATS's management
capability and execution in certain disciplines and support ATS's aggressive
cost saving and margin improvement activities; and the ability of new
organizational design to meet future needs. The risks and uncertainties that
may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: general market
conditions, including the potential for customers in North America to reduce
their capital expenditure budgets for automation, in whole or in part, for
business, political, economic or other reasons, which limit or eliminate
anticipated advantages and benefits of the ASG reorganization and changes to
ASG's organizational structure; the performance of the Canadian dollar; that
unforeseen delays or other problems with the implementation of the
reorganization of ASG and related changes to its organizational structure
result in a failure of the measures to bring about the achievement of stated
goals and the enjoyment of anticipated advantages and benefits; that the
anticipated benefits of having ATS's executive team devote more attention to
specified ATS-wide goals do not come to fruition for reasons unrelated to the
reorganization of ASG, including poor market performance in Asia and/or
Europe; that unanticipated personnel changes reduce or eliminate anticipated
advantages and benefits of the appointment of a new President, ASG North
America and other ASG executive positions in the short or long term; that
unanticipated problems delay the appointment of new ASG executives and the ASG
reorganization is negatively impacted as a result; competition within the
market for the human resources that ATS has targeted as part of the ASG
reorganization; that the new organizational design does not result in the
achievement of stated goals, including, cost savings and margin improvements,
for unforeseen reasons; that circumstances and events at ATS, generally,
result in the ASG reorganization receiving less attention than anticipated;
unforeseen problems with the implementation of ATS's strategic plan and
improvement strategies or failure of these initiatives to bring about improved
performance and profitability at ATS; and other risks detailed from time to
time in ATS' filings with Canadian provincial securities regulators, including
the Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 and the
Annual Report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006. Forward-looking
statements are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections,
beliefs and opinions, and ATS does not undertake any obligation to update
forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans,
estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change.
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For further information: Carl Galloway, Vice President and Treasurer, Gerry Beard, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, (519) 653-6500