On December 14th, 1999, approximately 40 BOA(Calgary) members participated in the tour through the SMED International facility. A truly intelligent building, located in the south-east of Calgary.
Before the tour started, we were entertained by a enormous buffet of top quality foods and drinks. Little did we know that the food intake would be burned off in the next two and half hours.
The members were divided into two groups. The first part of the tour went through the area where Smed's own designed and manufactured products were displayed. Interesting to see was how data and electrical cables are hidden in 2.5 - 3 inches high floor space. Also on display were demountable partitions, which make changes to offices and office spaces easy to accomplish. A slide show provided financial information showing the economical benefits of going with this type of wall structure.
The second part of the tour went through the manufacturing area. We were shown where the "rough" materials enter the building. How they were separated for different processes and finished products.
The tour took us through the metal fabrication area where large computer controlled and operated punches, knocked out the holes of pieces of metal which would end up as desk drawers.
We had a glance at the painting and shipping area. In the shipping area, I counted 20 loading docks of which three were not being used. Knowing that it was 9:00 o'clock in the evening, it shows you, what doing business is like at Smed International. On behalf of all the touring members I would like to thank all Smed staff who gave us an unforgettable tour and in particular Lionel Therrien for the hospitality and organizing this event.

Hugo Sprenger,
Editor of the Oper8or.



First published January 2000