W.S. Tyler: Good products by good people

‘Back to basics’ is a business philosophy that more and more management teams are trying to bring back into their companies. It’s a strategy that many feel must be taken in an effort to refocus on what many company founders based their original business plan.   

Canadian football legend Bernie Falonie, who owned and operated a Hamilton-based equipment dealership and later became the first non American to become President of the North American trade Association of Equipment Distributors (AED) in 1993, preached “Back to Basics” during his tenure as president to convince equipment makers that ‘basic quality and service’ are the keys to success.

Today, more than 20 year later, those three words are being heard again in boardrooms around the world as new generations of managers reflect on what made their companies what they are now.

One company that clearly understands the value of quality and service but has never wandered from those basics is W.S. Tyler of St. Catharines, ON; a place where the company has been manufacturing a broad range of processing technology for the mining industry for almost 100 years.

Since 1930, W.S. Tyler has been a mainstay to the economy of the city and its factory has grown to a sprawling 110,000 square foot manufacturing facility where more than 80 people work at producing customized screening, washing and pelletizing technology for the mining, aggregate and industrial minerals industries, to name a few

From the company’s modest production of screens and vibratory mining machines almost a century ago, to now with new and innovative products being shipped around the world, W.S. Tyler’s location in southern Ontario, only 15km from the United States border and less than a dozen kilometres from the shipping lanes of the Great Lakes and the Welland Canal, is perfectly located to meet its customers’ needs.

In fact, good products and good service are two of the ‘basics’ that President Karen Thompson says have helped keep the company going for so many years and like residential real estate, ‘location’ plays a big part in the company’s success too!

“And let’s not forget the people who make our products. ‘Good products by good people’ could easily be our company’s motto because not only are they skilled, they’re also loyal to the company. We are a fifth-generation company where fathers and sons have, and do, work shoulder to shoulder on the production floor and “family” is one of the ‘basic’ ingredients of doing good business.”

As Thompson says, the company manufactures good products and part of the reason they do is that they work with good and reliable suppliers of raw materials in order to meet customers’ demands for quality and delivery deadlines.

Unlike many manufacturers who rely on raw materials from offshore, W.S. Tyler is proud that it sources all of its wire for woven wire cloth screens from within Canada.

With a large variety of standard industry woven specifications in stock, W.S. Tyler can deliver to its customers in a very short time.  Custom specifications can be woven as required, and with thousands of crimping dies to draw from, it can offer an almost limitless number of options.

“Having a ready supply of raw material less than a day’s truck ride away makes our production very efficient, and helps us maintain our LEAN processes” says Lesley Pentland, W.S. Tyler’s Purchasing Manager.

Again, ‘as needed’ reflects back to the earlier days of ‘basics’ when manufacturers matched materials with orders so as not to spend money on ‘speculation.”

Because W.S. Tyler also provides repair and maintenance services to its customers, it also stocks inventory of OEM parts. 

W.S. Tyler’s vibrating screens are not only manufactured right in St. Catharines, but many of the components that go into the machines are also fabricated right in the city.

It’s been a long journey but today, W.S. Tyler is a leader in designing and manufacturing a full range of screens, washing and pelletizing solutions encompassing the complete screening circle of particle analysis, screen media, vibrating screens and process equipment, as well as complete production analysis.

W.S. Tyler’s success is not only a result of its products, but primarily the relationships it has built with its customers after nearly a century in the mining business.

The company’s product catalogue, called “The Rock Book, is a 238-page resource guide that rivals any step-by-step guide by any manufacturer of any product designed for the mining industry.

President Karen Thompson says “we’re proud of every part of our company and the products we produce.  “The Rock Book” is something we’re especially happy with because of the way it enables our customers to find exactly what they need at a glance in an easy-to-read format.

“Even in this day-and-age of the internet, we still find that our customers appreciate a printed copy of “The Rock Book” because it’s an easy-to-reach-for reference guide not only to the products of W.S. Tyler, but to many screening basics that everyone of our customers requires for their business.

“The Rock Book” is just one more example of how we’re still a “Back to Basics” kind of company.”

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