Our New Brand
Over time, our brand will set us apart and provide a point of difference that no competitors can match.
We are changing more than just our name and logo. For more than 35 years, we have built a strong reputation of delivering quality service to our members. After extensive consultation with our members, we have adjusted how we do business to better reflect the needs of our members. Our members told us we needed a more modern approach to ensure we consistently deliver value to them, and we’ve done that.
This brand guide contains important information that you will need to know when using corporate or promotional applications for MSTA CANADA.
MSTA CANADA – Brand Launch Speech Toronto Stock Exchange September 14, 2017 Ryan McEachern – Managing Director – MSTA Canada
Thank you, Shaun
Today marks an important day for our organization, our members and the sector we represent.
The past year has not only marked the recovery of the minerals industry but it has provided us with an amazing opportunity to reflect on our role and purpose within this amazing sector.
I want to first start by thanking our hosts here, our friends at the TMX. In particularly I want to thank Orlee Wertheim for her support, not just of us here today, but the sector as a whole.
So, where are we… and why are we here?
The where, is critical in understanding the context and significance.
We are standing in the very heart of the mining world. Without a doubt – Toronto is the single greatest ‘mining town’ in the world.
And this place, the Toronto Stock Exchange is the heart by which the life blood of our industry flows.
The capital raised and traded here represents the world’s equity markets in a way that can sometimes be difficult to fathom. The July data alone shows more than 133B$ in value was traded, with more than 828 financings with 34 new listings on the TSX and TSX Venture exchange.
One cannot understate the significant value that the mining sector brings to Canada and just how fundamentally important it is to our national economy.
It creates jobs and above average incomes. The mining industry is employs 590,000 people in urban and remote regions in the country and our industry is also the largest private sector employer of Indigenous people totaling approximately 11,000 jobs. It creates wealth and it creates opportunities here at home and around the world.
Mining creates products the world needs and Canadian miners create the high standards of practice that lead the world and it is why I’m very proud of to be a member of this sector.
As for the why we are here… this is equally important to us today. Underpinning the mining industry is a relatively hidden sector.
The Mining Supply and Services sector – the one that our organization represents – doesn’t’ typically have the same high profile as the mining clients we serve. In fact, there is no statistical code that captures our sector’s value.
Our corporate members are located across the country and supply the entire mining industry value chain from mineral exploration, resource development, mine design and construction, mine operations and refining to reclamation and closure.
Most of these companies are also small to medium sized enterprises or SMEs. Estimates suggest that there are roughly 3,700 companies across Canada that consider themselves as mining suppliers.
As the mining industry evolves, it will be the mining supply and services sector that will commercialize and bring these new innovative solutions to the market. It is why this sector is a lynch pin to the mining ecosystem.
And as this portion of the economy has consistently demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to innovation, so too must we as an association be reflective of our members’ needs of today and anticipate for tomorrow.
That is why, our organization undertook a process to carefully evaluate our role and our value to members. We wanted to ensure that our operational mandate was aligned and consistent with our members.
We are all very proud of the legacy of our organization and its 35 plus years of supporting the mining supply and services sector, but as the industry has evolved, we also must we be reflective of current and future needs.
After considerable outreach to members and stakeholders, looking at best practices and research, I am very proud to announce that after nearly four decades of service to the mining community, the Canadian Association of Mining Equipment and Services for Export has been rebranded and will be known as the Mining Suppliers Trade Association CANADA or MSTA Canada –
But I think it is important for you to know that we are changing more than just our name and logo. We are adjusting how we do business to better reflect the needs of our members.
Our members told us we needed a more modern approach to ensure we consistently deliver value to them, and we are doing that.
We will be focusing more on building out networking opportunities for members to connect with the mining industry.
We will be creating a more robust education program.
And we will be delivering an advocacy strategy to ensure the voices of our sector are heard in Ottawa, across the country and around the world.
More than ever before, our organization, MSTA Canada will be laser focused on helping our members grow their businesses and deliver meaningful and measurable value, both in Canada and internationally.
We are excited with the launch of a new name, a new website and a new energy to better represent and serve the mining supply and services sector and more importantly our members.
This journey has not been without a number of supporters, and I want to conclude by thanking a few of them.
First, our members, for believing in this association and what we have to offer them. We exist to serve them, and it is a great privilege to be able to unveil this renewed organization for them.
Next, I want to truly thank my Board of Directors (past and present) – some of whom are here today – and without their encouragement and support we may not have ended up in quite as an exciting place as we have today.
I also want to thank the association’s dedicated team – Linda, Dolores, Spencer, Ken and Stacey each of you have helped this dream become a reality in your own way and I want to thank you for that.
I want to thank the team at Circus Communications for their graphic design work on this project and brand leadership.
I also want to thank the digital team at Flywheel Strategic for designing and delivering our outstanding new website.
Lastly, I want to thank the team at HOWE&WYE – who led our engagement and brand research and have provided me with strategic counsel and communications support throughout this process.
Ladies and gentlemen – thank you for being here and supporting the launch MSTA Canada – let’s close the bell!