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FYI

Microforum Vinyl LP Plant Adds PPE Assembly

The Toronto vinyl pressing plant has retooled some of its equipment to produce PVC personal protection equipment to assist in the fight against the coronavirus.

Microforum Vinyl LP Plant Adds PPE Assembly

By Kerry Doole

Three years ago, FYI profiled Microforum Vinyl, a Toronto-based company that had just entered the vinyl pressing business. Like so many firms these days, the current covid-19 pandemic is affecting its operation, but Microforum is responding in a very positive fashion by re-tooling some of its machinery to make PVC PPE (personal protection equipment) face shields for medical and other essential businesses.


Company VP Noble Musa explained the situation to FYI, noting that "we have been impacted hugely in our day to day operations by the pandemic. We know our customers in the music industry have been hugely impacted too, since a lot of the vinyl we press is for artists and bands for their tours, gigs, festivals…and to boot, with the bricks & mortar record stores shut too, like so many others we have to wait until the fog lifts."

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"As news of shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) began to surface, governments at all levels sent out a plea for local manufacturers to help out. Our team decided that we could help by re-tooling parts of our operations to help meet much-needed demand. Our designers immediately started designing PPE. In a matter of weeks, we began manufacturing our first PPE product, the Microforum Face Shield.

"Microforum sent its Face Shield plans to Health Canada for expedited approval through the Interim Order process and received a Class 1 device license for the Microforum Face Shield. We are now starting to fill orders for those that require them. So alongside the PVC vinyl records we normally make, we are now making PVC PPE Face shields."

Musa adds, "at Microforum, as with many other businesses, the pandemic has changed the way our company operates. The staff that can work remotely have shifted to working from home, visitor limitations have been put in place, additional sanitation stations have been set up through our 60,000 square foot facility, and our staff has been supplied with Personal Protective Equipment.

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Microforum is now accepting small and large orders. More info here 

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Executive of the Week: Justin West of Secret City Records on the Secrets of Independent Music Success​
FYI

Executive of the Week: Justin West of Secret City Records on the Secrets of Independent Music Success​

The man behind one of Canada's most successful indie labels talks about the late-blooming success of French-language streaming record-holder Patrick Watson, why he builds long-term relationships with artists, and why it's important for the indie sector to work together.

Justin West is a leader and advocate in Canada’s independent music scene, but he didn’t plan it out that way. When he started his record label Secret City Records in Montreal in the mid-2000s, it was out of necessity. He had met an artist he loved and wanted to build a career with, and the label was a means to do it. That artist was Patrick Watson, and 20 years later he — and Secret City — are more successful than ever.

West — a multiple time Billboard Canada Power Player – leads one of the biggest indie labels in Canada while also advocating for the sector on multiple boards both locally and internationally. When we speak to him for this Executive of the Week interview, he’s just returned from Banff for the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture, and is a central figure in discussions around the Online Streaming Act and collective negotiations with online streaming platforms.

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