Joerg Stieber, President of Ontario Drive and
Gear Limited (ODG) hosted our members on a tour of their impressive Manufacturing Facility
in New Hamburg, Ontario, located just west of Kitchener-Waterloo.
On arrival we were welcomed individually by Mr.
Stieber and his Senior Managers and
directed to the buffet and refreshments
in the company's bright cafeteria. Following the official welcome by Mr. Stieber, and
Dr. Marga Weigel, our President, both pictured here at right, we received an
overview of what we were about to see, on hand of digital slides and videos
presented by Mr. Stieber and his Marketing Executive, Mr.
Bernhard Wagenknecht.
Numbering a good 80 participants, we heard that
the company celebrates its 40th anniversary this year of the production of
gears and specialty transmissions and that the
Argo�, an off-road vehicle with amphibious technology, first came into existence in 1967,
the same year our Association came into being, celebrating its 35th
Anniversary this year. The vehicle has since been expanded into a number of
options for personal
use. By now, ODG has sold over 30,000 of these
off-road vehicles, in the US (50%), in Canada (40%) and internationally (10%) as far as
South Africa, Australia and
Russia.
The Centaur�, a larger vehicle built for commercial applications,
was put into service at the turn of the century. The Argo� boasts
a ground pressure of less than a man's foot and linear propulsion in water
through specially designed tread configuration. The video presented to us
also illustrates, that an outboard motor can be mounted to increase speed in
water.
To general applause, enthusiasm and envy, it was
announced that two of our members had purchased an Argo� each.
Hopefully they will still show up for the monthly meetings .....
Following the presentation, we were split into
several groups, some of whom first visited the manufacturing facilities for
gears and transmissions, others headed to the assembly area for the
amphibious off-road vehicles, the Argo�
and Centaur� in various models,
while
still others could not wait and headed straight for the demonstration area
outside the plant for a first hand experience of vehicle performance.
The over 100,000 square foot plant is divided
into its two major divisions - gears/transmissions and off-road vehicles. One produces a range of gears from the
raw materials, meaning steel rods of various sizes, and the other is a manufacturing facility and
assembly line for off-road vehicles such as the Argo� and a variety of
other models,
equipped with cabin and/or a variety of motor
and accessory options.
The gear
plant, shown above, is operated partially in two shifts, using an
amazing array of equipment, that reduces the massive steel rods into
precision gears. Some gears are mass produced by automated machines. Gears
received a critical eye (above) for quality of finish. We
toured in the evening, while some work was going on, yet noise levels were
surprisingly low. Some of the products were produced for internal use, but
the
majority is sold to outside clients.
The off-road vehicle assembly plant allowed us to see the
progressive development of the vehicle configuration. It appeared rather simple,
until one looked a little deeper into the intricacies
of the details. Here Mr. Stieber led us down the
line (left) highlighting the attention to detail, quality considerations, and various features,
so familiar with them, as if he personally developed them all. As
the machines grew as we walked (the line was not working at this hour), it
became clear that manufacturing and assembly focused on quality and
reliability, since, as was pointed out, they had to survive pretty tough going
in remote locations. The key applications for personal use was explained to
be
hunting and fishing as well as access to cottages, summer or winter.
Commercially, though, in Natural
Resource, Agricultural, Defense and other applications,
use of these machines is in much more rugged conditions than is experienced
in personal use.
No doubt the centre of attraction to us amateur
visitors was the finished product and the
ride up and down the demonstration track. You had the feeling several of our
members
spent
a lot of time going around the track and up and down the dyke-sized
obstacles and mucky puddles more than once. Others were keenly interested in
kicking tires and looking under the hood, where competent staff explained
all you wanted to know about the range of
available motors, electrical and manual back-up starter
systems, accessories like winches and outboards.
I, for one, enjoyed just the thought of owning
one of the machines I saw in production at
the plant, labeled the Argo� Camouflage and could picture myself
in battle gear and camouflage paint going
after ------ who cares, just the joy of riding in off-road wilderness areas,
or deep snow to the cottage, knowing no one else is out there, is
most of the fun.
We departed knowing that the two buyers would
receive a lot of visitors this year.
Thanks to Mr. Joerg Stieber and Management for
the tour, the hospitality and the most enjoyable evening from the GCBPA Executive
and all participating members and partners!!
Herwig Wandschneider
