It’s been 55 years and counting for Prodomax in Barrie. Now with more than 200 employees, Prodomax designs and builds advanced manufacturing systems for companies around the world. “We deal a lot in the automotive industry. We are North American based with heavy installments in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico,” says Michael Macdonald, Prodomax CEO. With a close connection to the auto industry, Prodomax has felt the effects of the tariff war with the United States. Like many local manufacturing companies, Prodomax has been forced to find new and different ways of pushing forward. “The geopolitical situation with tariffs has created some challenges, and really what that has done is delayed capital expenditure. So, we’ve seen a bit of a slower first half in 2026. Conversely, the second has been very, very strong and we are trending in a good direction,” says MacDonald. On Thursday, several local manufacturers gathered at Prodomax’s headquarters in the city to discuss industry productivity, innovation and workplace challenges. Common issues right now are inconsistency and fewer orders. “We are trying to diversify; we are looking at new markets and in what way we can incorporate our product in other spaces. Things like AI data centres or agriculture or aerospace and defence manufacturing,” says Bahvik Hingu with SBS Drivetec in Barrie. “We will always be involved in the automotive industry; it’s in our DNA. You know it’s our 55-year history of serving the automotive industry. It’s what drives out business; it’s what helps fund us so we will never move away from it, but we do want to reduce our reliance on it and look to non-automotive industries.” “So whatever is adjacent that we can move our skill set to, we are actively exploring,” says MacDonald. Prodomax says Barrie is the perfect spot for its operations because of its location in Toronto, Highway 400 and the ever-increasing qualified employment pool.
