About the Industry

Many of Canada's major business fields - construction, forestry, mining, marine, and oil and gas - depend on the equipment industry to supply and service the essential tools of the trade. More than 1,000 equipment companies, large and small, provide jobs to about 15,000 people. The industry contributes approximately $4.6 billion to the Canadian economy, and business is growing.

The industry has always kept pace with technological advances, and the recent explosion of computer applications makes that flexibility more important than ever. Today's equipment specialists are likely to be doing sales, inventory, and service by computer, a change that offers rewarding careers for a wider range of people's aptitudes and interests.

The evolving global economy has led equipment customers to make new and more intense demands on suppliers. Equipment is more likely to be leased and kept running longer; service needs to be done on site, efficiently, and without delay. Machines are more complex, so that industry workers must have more knowledge and be prepared for life-long learning.

As it always has, the industry is responding to these challenges with vigour and commitment. It remains key to the success of the Canadian resource sector, and the 21st century holds great promise.