The inside sales team strives to achieve world class customer service. As the primary contact to our customers they provide quotes and product support, input orders, relay quality concerns and deliver information. Communication and collaboration with all areas of the organization is essential in order to meet or exceed our customers’ reasonable expectations. Our service model is a key competitive advantage.

The core of our Information Technology group is located in Edmonton and is responsible for infrastructure and day to day operations of the corporate, computerized information systems.

The Quality department maintains our ISO 9001:2008 certified Quality Management Systems which encompass both the Edmonton and Selkirk facilities.

The Quality department supports all functions of Black Cat Blades by systematically promoting continuous improvement of our processes with the goal to reduce non-conforming product and improve companywide efficiency while meeting or exceeding our customer’s reasonable expectations.

Territory Managers are responsible for understanding ground engaging tool (GET) market size and establishing distribution networks within their respective regions. Their tasks include product support, promotion, training, customer service, and accounts receivable while communicating opportunities and challenges to the company from the field. We feel it is important and see the value of having our people in the field in front of our customers building relationships.

The Human Resources and payroll functions are somewhat decentralized as each production facility has a local element to both. Most of the recruiting and daily resource management are handled at the local plant level while corporate Human Resource administration is located in Edmonton.

Health and Safety.

Marketing at Black Cat is located in the Head Office in Edmonton and is responsible for the organization and execution of company trade show participation as well as the creation and production of marketing materials including company brochures, promotional items, marketing communications, etc.

The Black Cat Blades CAD department produces drawings of fabricated edges and proprietary cast parts. Utilizing a variety of CAD tools such as SolidWorks 3D drawing program, laser scanning capabilities and rapid prototyping the CAD department also reverse engineers parts, develops graphical illustrations for marketing material as well as supports various manufacturing projects and quality initiatives.

The Continuous Improvement department works with various departments within the company to identify and develop continuous improvement strategies that will drive operational excellence, increase capacity and reduce cost. The team also develops lean implementation strategies, provides leadership, training, resources and implementation assistance to focus internal lean partners on achieving world class manufacturing. They conduct assessments of manufacturing operations to provide focused improvement opportunities, increase production efficiencies, eliminate waste, reduce inventory, reduce lead times, increase quality and overall increase due date performance. Champions support and facilitate continuous flow manufacturing, pull systems, 5S improvement, standardized work, total productive maintenance, set-up reduction and kaizen events.

The pricing department’s primary responsibilities include responding to and directing responses to customer quote requests, updating and maintaining internal and external price lists, establishing and implementing internal price formulas. The scope of the department also includes measuring cost and profitability of products and market segments, understanding market trends and recommending opportunities.

Cash management, financial reporting, and the recording of related transactions are all performed corporately by our Accounting and Finance group located in Edmonton.

A large amount of the second step in the manufacturing process utilizes Computer Numerical Controlled milling and drilling machines for countersink, round hole and bevel cutting. Varying amounts of this equipment are located in all of the manufacturing facilities at Black Cat Blades including Edmonton, Selkirk and Su Zhou.

Heat Treatment is a significant operation in all the Black Cat manufacturing plants. Most of the products made by the company are heat treated to increase the hardness of the steel resulting in longer wear and tougher parts.

Generally the first step in the production at Black Cat Blades is to process the raw steel sheets or bars into the shapes and dimensions required for the finished product. This includes oxy fuel and plasma cutting tables as well as CNC saw cutting for many functions.

The end process is shipping where parts are sorted, arranged and sent to the customer. We ship daily to allow for quicker leadtimes to our customers.

The maintenance department is responsible to ensure that the equipment and buildings are kept in high-quality condition to ensure continuous manufacturing capability. Some of the tasks performed by the maintenance group are Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Preventative Maintenance (PM) events/programs to maximize equipment uptime. They are also responsible for the purchasing of all consumable supplies within production and the fabrication of all types of equipment needed to produce a quality product. This group evaluates the operational condition of all machinery and discovers ways to improve its performance or find suitable replacement machinery.

The maintenance department consists of 14 team members, nine of which are millwrights. With the use of computer software the office team manages the day to day operations by scheduling the work load of each individual based on the requirements of the production shop.

Metallurgy has a comprehensive in house facility that analyzes and test materials. The laboratory is fully equipped with advanced tools for testing steels, conducting failure analysis and research and development to support R&D, Production, Quality, Product Development and the Sales and Marketing teams. The testing facility includes state of the art technology such as; Spark Spectrometer, hardness testers such as Brinell, Rockwell and Micro-Vickers machines, Charpy V-Notch toughness tester with low temperature test capability, muffle furnace, ASTM G65 Rubber Wheel Abrasive Wear Testing machine, Optical Microscope and Stereoscope with image analysis facility, Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI) and Liquid Penetrant Inspection (LPI), sample preparation units, etc.

Our warehouse handles the storage and distribution of all our cast products. The Warehouse is able to react very quickly to customer demands by us warehousing products commonly used in the industry.

Health and safety – our health and safety program strives to provide a safe work place for all employees at BCB. We are committed to this by providing safe work procedures and practices.

I chose Black Cat Blades as my employer because I knew some people who were working in the Metallurgy Lab and I was always impressed at how highly they spoke of the company. They made it sound like an exciting place where an employee was treated more than a commodity.

I am happy to say that in the few months I have been here that I completely agree and would highly recommend anyone to consider Black Cat as a potential employer. We are a growing multi-national company with huge opportunities available for anyone joining.

I enjoy working where the atmosphere and people are second to none.

I’ve been at Black Cat Blades for just over 9 years now and this company has become like a family to me. I have a great career here and my work grows and changes on a regular basis, keeping things interesting.

Working at Black Cat has proven to be a great experience and it’s nice to be with a company that shows so much interest in keeping its employees well informed and involved. The support you receive from everyone is really unmatched to anywhere else I’ve been. The company has grown tremendously over the last few years and I look forward to continue being part of that.

I was just a young guy looking for a job, but I decided very early to make Black Cat my home and build my career. I heard there were opportunities for internal advancement and that it was company that if you gave it your all you could work your way up. I did just that by firstly starting off as a production operator and now 6 years later I’m a Foreman.

It's so easy coming to work to a great group of people that are willing to take the time for you and get to know you as a person not just an operator.

I originally heard about an opening with Black Cat Blades from a friend and was hired in October, 2008. I like the working environment here as everyone is friendly and willing to lend a hand when you ask for help. We also have great employee programs like fitness and education assistance. The company also allows us time to participate in Corporate Challenge events yearly, which gives every employee (from the office to the shop) the opportunity to get to know each other.

The company also values and encourages employees to share their ideas. This makes you feel more a part of the company and show how great the ownership is. And last, but not least, my direct manager gives us great flexibility when there is a conflict between work and life. We are able to do what we need to do as long as our job gets done properly.

I have been employed with Black Cat Blades since September of 2005. I’m proud to be a part of a family company, one that provides safety and security to those who are forward thinking employees.

They provide opportunities for employees to share continuous improvement ideas and I have gained respect throughout the company for being a part of this initiative.

I started with Black Cat after graduating from the University of Alberta and I had two main criteria when looking for the right job: I wanted to work for a Canadian company with an international impact and I wanted to be able to see and feel my contributions towards the company.

At Black Cat, I feel like an integral part of a company that values me as a person, not just an employee. Every day I use the skills that I learned in school to further the goals of the company and maintain our competitiveness.

BCB gives me the venue to further develop my professional skill set in a challenging and dynamic environment.

During my ten years as a member of the Blackcat team I have had the opportunity to grow and expand as a person and as a leader.

I began my career at Blackcat Blades as a CNC operator and soon earned my CNC operator certification and in turn became a leadhand. Through my dedication to learn more about manufacturing, I attended NAIT and achieved my journeyman machinist certification. Soon my leadership skills were utilized when I was promoted to afternoon shop supervisor. In my current position, I facilitate all “Lean” practices of manufacturing as the Continuous Improvement Coordinator.

Through dedication, training and leadership I have had and continue to have a rewarding experience working at Blackcat. It is a pleasure to be a part of the Blackcat family!

I was hired at Black Cat in December 2010, I had a friend who spoke highly of the company and had been here for a number of years. I enjoy working with my hands, so this opportunity seemed like a good fit. Every day I am taking on new challenges and increase my skill level with every machine that I learn.

Everyone, from the production operators, the lead hands, to the foreman have been very helpful to ensure I get the proper training and are willing to share their knowledge. The company offers a number of programs and courses within Black Cat that provide room for growth and opportunity. We are always updated with events, improvement ideas and continuous safety tips and procedures. I encourage anyone looking to join a great team and growing company to consider Black Cat.