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Bunzl’s Canadian National Sales Conference, 2023
Whistler, British Columbia – May 5, 2023 – In the last week of April 2023, Bunzl Canada held its first Canadian National Sales Conference in beautiful Whistler, B.C. Over 250 Bunzl team members and 50 industry-leading vendors gathered at The Westin Resort & Spa – Whistler for an opportunity to focus on category growth and go-to-market alignment, attend valuable meetings and spend unprecedented quality time meeting other professionals.
Our teams across all five segments – Cleaning & Hygiene, Safety, Industrial, Grocery, Retail & Processor, and R3 Redistribution Canada – learned what it takes to be “ALL IN” – the theme of the multi-day event. Embodying “ALL-IN” revolves around common goals with team members and vendors, and our vision to provide customers with product innovations, expert knowledge and all the tools they need to make their business more efficient.
To get everyone into the swing of the ALL-IN attitude, Bunzl Canada President, John Howlett kicked off the National Sales Conference with a Welcome Ceremony to energize Bunzl Canada staff. Later in the evening, Bunzl employees joined vendors for a networking and social dinner, which provided a chance to exchange ideas, gain insights and connect with colleagues and partners.
The Sales Conference really kicked off on April 25, traditional Squamish welcome to Whistler. The welcome was led by Kyle Lawrence, a Key Account Manager with Bunzl Industrial and member of Squamish Nation, who used the moment to educate Bunzl Canada guests about the history of traditional Squamish and Lil’wat territories on which Whistler sits. Joined by Nory Woolnough, a Regional HR Manager and member of Curve Lake Nation in Ontario, Lawrence explained how Whistler is the final resting place of Thunderbird, the great protector who taught Squamish and Lil’wat nations to work together – a lesson that mirrored the ALL-IN theme.
Once formally welcomed, the Canadian National Sales Conference began in earnest with a special address from Bunzl North America CEO Jim McCool, who highlighted the success and strategies shared by Bunzl Canada and its North American colleagues.
McCool was followed by John Howlett, who mapped out Bunzl Canada’s strategic vision through 2026, and highlighted how data analytics, e-commerce and category management will be critical in supporting customers and achieving Bunzl Canada’s goals.
Jeff Zettler, Vice President of Category Management and Margo Hunnisett, Vice President of Marketing & Communications elaborated on these points of focus, energizing the Bunzl Canada team and reinforcing the importance of collaborative efforts.
The General Session culminated in a Keynote Address from Jeremiah Brown, “The Four-Year Olympian.” Brown inspired the Bunzl Canada team by describing his dream to win an Olympic medal and how he became a member of the Canadian men’s eight rowing team at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Brown used his personal story and humour to encourage Bunzl Canada staff to find the courage to reach their goals and overcome the psychological traps and emotional pitfalls that lie hidden along the way.
Check out the highlight reel from the event:
Later in the day, Bunzl Sales teams gathered for focused breakout sessions where customer success stories were shared and sales professionals from across the country could further align on best-in-class solutions that respond to customer challenges and prioritize sustainability.
Day 1 culminated in the Northern Lights Achievement Awards Gala Dinner where John Howlett and Jim McCool, CEO of Bunzl North America, presented both vendors and Bunzl salespeople with awards and recognitions. All attendees celebrated the achievements of their peers, colleagues, and friends.
Several recently retired former employees who made significant contributions to the success of Bunzl Canada were honoured during the event, including Dave Huck (Vice President, Bunzl Safety), Doug Phillips (Director, Category Management, Bunzl Canada), Brian Fox (General Manager, Bunzl Canada and R3 Redistribution) and Sue Creelman (Director, Purchasing Logistics, Bunzl Canada).
Some of the other notable honours handed out during the gala included Sunset Paper (Jean Jobin) being named Bunzl Canada’s Vendor of the Year, Chris Martin (Bunzl Industrial) winning the award for Sales Manager of the Year and Corene Willoughby claiming the Top Gun Award as Bunzl Canada’s top sales professional of 2022.
Following a night of celebrating success, it was time to explore the Vendor Showcase, which provided a unique opportunity for Bunzl’s salespeople to meet with vendors to discuss strategy, innovations, create new business relationships and learn from industry experts.
The conference ended on a high note with an all-attendee dinner, leaving everyone feeling motivated to put their newfound knowledge and connections into action. We want to thank everyone for participating in the first ever Canadian National Sales Conference and exhibiting why Bunzl Canada continues to stay at the forefront of creative solutions and innovations.
Check out images from the event:
Bunzl Canada powers year-round community food production in Edmonton
Edmonton, Alberta – January 24, 2023 – Bunzl Canada is proud to announce its sponsorship of a community scale, solar-powered greenhouse at the Alberta Avenue Community League (AACL) in Edmonton. This state-of-the-art initiative will provide the community with access to fresh, locally grown produce year-round.
The innovative project was initiated by Edmonton’s own Exceed Solar, a local start-up business founded on passion for the environment and a commitment to making a meaningful impact on the planet by promoting alternative energy and sustainable living. The new greenhouse will feature advanced technology, including a 1.2kW solar energy system, heating and cooling ductless pump, and an Internet of Things (IoT)-based environmental monitoring system.
“We are very excited to partner with Exceed Solar and the AACL on this innovative project,” said Margo Hunnisett, Bunzl Canada’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “We believe that access to food, especially fresh produce, is essential for building strong, sustainable communities. We’re committed to supporting initiatives to address food insecurity and hope this new greenhouse will serve as a model for other communities to follow.”
Bunzl Canada provides the cleaning and hygiene products and equipment, food and retail packaging, safety products and industrial supplies to over 45,000 Canadian businesses. The company supports local foodbanks across the country as well as contributing to in-school nutrition programs.
“We are thrilled to have the support of Bunzl in bringing this exciting project to our community,” said AACL Facility Manager, Karen Mykietka. “The greenhouse will not only provide us with fresh produce but will also serve as a valuable educational resource for our members. We look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on our community.”
The AACL will provide educational resources and workshops, allowing members of the community to learn about sustainable farming practices and how to properly care for the plants in the greenhouse.
Construction of the greenhouse is set to begin in the coming weeks and is expected to be fully operational by Spring 2023, according to Elliott Putters, Exceed Solar’s founder and CEO. “We’re very excited to see the positive impact this initiative will have on our local community, thanks to our partners, Bunzl Canada and the AACL”.
New Fleet Of Safety Response Vehicles Coming To The GTA
Burlington, ON – October 24, 2022 – Bunzl Safety, Canada’s most comprehensive safety product supplier, is excited to announce the expansion of its Mobile Safety service into Ontario. Starting this month, Bunzl Safety rolled out a new fleet of mobile safety vehicles in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), providing dependable, same-day delivery of safety products and supplies directly to the businesses and workers who need them most.
Over the last 30 years, Bunzl’s Mobile Safety service has delivered essential, high-quality safety supplies to construction sites, warehouses and other businesses across British Columbia’s lower mainland. With the launch of the new same-day site service in Canada’s largest market, even more hard-working Canadians will have convenient on-demand access to critical supplies including personal protective equipment (PPE), and first-aid kit replenishments.
“Bunzl Safety is committed to keeping Canadian workers safer on the job,” said Lajos Guta, Bunzl Safety’s General Manager. “Convenient access to the right gear, information on how to fit and wear it, and updates on safety regulations are key to a safe and productive job site. We’re proud to expand our mobile services to provide just-in-time safety products, service and support to many more of our customers.”
In addition to delivering hard hats, work gloves, first aid kits, defibrillators and countless other workplace safety products, Bunzl’s Mobile Safety reps are trained and equipped to inform employers and workers on the equipment best suited for specific high-risk applications and environments.
Leveraging Bunzl Safety’s strong global manufacturer relationships, the Mobile Safety service ensures safety products are readily available when and where workers need them.
“When safety is compromised, there’s no time to wait for product orders. Our mobile safety vehicles respond to requests for immediate and emergency site visits,” said Guta. “Vehicles are stocked with the most critical safety gear and products needed by labourers, mechanics, machinists and other workers.”
Employers who fail to provide appropriate safety gear put their workers at a higher risk of injury. That can lead to downtime, lost productivity and employee turnover, significantly impacting output and profitability.
“Health and safety plays an important role in our customers’ ability to attract and retain workers,” said Dave Huck, Vice President of Bunzl Safety. “We know that keeping people outfitted with the right protective gear not only improves productivity but communicates a commitment to employee health and wellness on the job.”
To increase productivity and keep workers safer on your work sites, visit https://bunzlsafety.ca/services/mobile/ to learn more about Bunzl Safety’s Mobile Service, or contact your local Bunzl Safety representative to schedule an on-site visit.
Bunzl Canada Breaks Fundraising Record for Pediatric Brain Tumour Research
Burlington, ON – July 14, 2022 – Bunzl Canada once again hosted its 22nd annual golf tournament in support of the Arthur & Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, the world’s largest brain tumour research centre of its kind.
On July 12th, Bunzl Canada, its vendors and customers gathered at Greystone Golf Club in Milton, Ontario to enjoy a day of golf, activities, food, prizes, and most importantly, to raise funds for pediatric brain tumour research. Since establishing the golf tournament, Bunzl Canada and its supporters have raised over $1.6 million to fund the revolutionary work being done at SickKids Hospital to combat these life-threatening pediatric neurosurgical conditions. This week, they surpassed $100,000 in donations in a single event.
Over the last decade, the research team at Toronto’s SickKids Hospital, led by Dr. James Rutka, has focused its efforts on discovering less intrusive processes to treat children with brain tumours. In recent years, Dr. Rutka and his team have developed a procedure using Magnetic Resonance Imaging Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) that reduces the rate of medical complications associated with pediatric brain tumour treatment, increases recovery time and drastically improves quality of life for patients.
“We still have many unanswered questions when it comes to the diagnosis, the management and treatment of children with brain tumours … hopefully this will lead to a better prognosis for these children,” said Dr. Rutka. “We’re now able to use the strategy of targeted therapy to enable children to live much better and much longer lives than ever before.”
MRgFUS technology can bypass the blood brain barrier and directly target the brain stem, reaching aggressive tumours like medulloblastoma, the most common type of cancerous brain tumor in children. Dr. Rutka and his team hope to launch a clinical trial of this transformative treatment within the next six months.
“The Bunzl Group has been phenomenal at supporting our research these past 20 years and more,” said Dr. Rutka. “They have allowed us to pursue our research objectives, our research dreams – and we’ve been highly successful at moving the needle in terms of better treatments for children with brain tumours.”
“I can’t thank our vendor partners and customers enough for their ongoing participation and generous contributions,” said Bunzl Canada’s President, John Howlett. “We are honoured to support Dr. Rutka and his dedicated team at SickKids Hospital as they continue to develop treatments to help children conquer this devastating disease.”
Innovative Belgian Hospital Applies Cleaning Intelligence with Bunzl’s WandaNEXT™
Burlington, ON – July 12, 2022 – Bunzl Canada (bunzlcanada.ca) today announced the launch of a pilot project designed to maximize cleaning efficiency and quality in one of Belgium’s newest and most innovative healthcare centres.
The Picardy Wallonia hospital (CHwapi) is an ambitious, innovative hospital project designed to meet current and future health challenges. Its singular mission is to serve its community by promoting “well-being and being well” in a human-focused environment. That environment is comprised of clean, bright and green spaces connected by an ultra-efficient digital architecture that includes a range of “intelligent” solutions such digitized appointment making and signage, geolocation of equipment in real time (RTLS), home automation and telemedicine, a new self-serve maternity support app and more.
“The WandaNEXT™ IoT cleaning management platform is a natural addition to our state-of-the-art facility,” said Rudy Varenne, Managing Director at Crèche Les CHwa’ptis (ACBL). “The CHwapi environment has been designed to provide a best-in-class experience for both patients and healthcare providers. This platform supports our ability to do that with better visibility and continuous improvements in quality and efficiency.”
WandaNEXT™ enables healthcare, education, assisted living and commercial facilities to track and verify cleaning activities, validate quality through regularly scheduled audits, and alert cleaning teams to service requirements (such as discharge cleaning routines). It also facilitates schedule optimization, activity management, consumption tracking, end-user feedback and administrative reporting.
Hugues Robert, Managing Director of Global Net Belgium, a Bunzl cleaning and hygiene company, comments, “We are convinced that through the use of WandaNEXT™, the Belgian short and long stay healthcare market will be able to accelerate the digitization of its cleaning and facility management process in the broadest sense, while simplifying the documentation and audit process. We are all very excited to participate in this project within CHWapi and are already very pleased to see the number of expressions of interest from other players in the healthcare market.”
The pilot implementation at CHwapi began earlier this month and will be evaluated over a six-month period. Cleaning teams use cleaning trolleys equipped with tablets that enable them to refer to specific cleaning protocols required for each room type. Dynamic task assignments are delivered in real time so that cleaning team members are aware of immediate service needs as well as scheduled daily, weekly and monthly tasks. Audit features are used to monitor quality and identify training and support requirements.
“Now more than ever, facilities in critical environments such as healthcare, education, long-term care and assisted living must verify and validate that cleaning and disinfecting is being done correctly and at the right intervals,” said Margo Hunnisett, Vice President, Marketing and Communications at Bunzl in Canada, where the WandaNEXT™ product was developed by Visionstate IoT.
Visionstate continues to work in partnership with Bunzl to develop new system features and functionality. The partners are currently completing a pilot project that includes surface diagnostics using ATP testing technology.
WandaNEXT™ has a growing installation base that includes healthcare, education, retail, commercial office, conference, airport and distribution facilities across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.
For more information on WandaNEXT™, please visit bunzlch.ca.
WandaNEXT™ Showcases New Features and Functionality at ISSA Canada
Burlington, ON – June 7, 2022 – Bunzl Canada (bunzlcanada.ca) today announced its exclusive IoT Cleaning Platform, WandaNEXT™, will be showcased this week at ISSA Canada, the country’s premier showcase for cleaning and hygiene products, services and technology. This unique trade show and conference creates a forum for insights on best practices, industry certifications, training and educational programming and the latest emerging topics within the Canadian facility management and commercial cleaning markets.
“We are very excited to showcase WandaNEXT™ at ISSA this year,” said Margo Hunnisett, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Bunzl Canada. “The platform continues to evolve, thanks to the active participation of many of our customers across Canada. The result is an industry-leading product that is, quite literally, designed for and by customers who view state-of-the art facility cleaning and hygiene as critical to their key stakeholders, and to their businesses.”
WandaNEXT™ enables healthcare, education, assisted living and commercial facilities to track and verify cleaning activities, validate quality through regularly scheduled audits, and alert cleaning teams to service requirements. It also facilitates schedule optimization, activity management, consumption tracking, end-user feedback and administrative reporting.
Visionstate IoT, the original developer of the platform, continues to work in partnership with Bunzl to develop new system features and functionality. The partners are about to launch a new pilot project that integrates surface diagnostics using ATP testing technology.
“We are extremely excited to have WandaNEXT™ featured at ISSA,” said Visionstate CEO, John Putters. “This provides us an opportunity to demonstrate to the industry the value of the platform as an essential tool to improve cleaning quality and to help prevent the outbreak of disease.”
WandaNEXT™ can be purchased through an annual subscription fee for each activation of the mobile application which has unlimited scalability and is applicable to diverse industry sectors. It has a growing installation base that includes healthcare, education, retail, commercial office, conference, airport and pharmaceutical facilities across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.
The WandaNEXT™ platform will be featured exclusively at ISSA Canada booth #607 on June 8 and 9, 2022. Its capabilities are applicable to all areas of a facility but will be demonstrated in the restrooms at the Metro Convention Centre during the event.
For more information on WandaNEXT™, please visit bunzlch.ca.
Bunzl Canada’s Annual Week of Giving Supports Local Communities
Burlington, ON – December 16, 2021 –Bunzl Canada today announced the launch of its second annual Week of Giving to provide much needed personal care, hygiene and safety products such as masks and gloves to foodbanks and shelters across Canada.
Five pallets of essential care products will be donated to organizations including health care facilities, food banks, emergency housing facilities and community support services. The supplies are being distributed throughout the week by Bunzl’s Cleaning & Hygiene, Safety and Grocery divisions to support healthcare delivery, protect essential workers and assist people in need.
“The global pandemic continues to impact local communities and has exacerbated issues such as food insecurity and homelessness,” said John Howlett, President of Bunzl Canada. “Giving back to our communities by supporting these organizations in the amazing work they do is a fundamental tenet of our business philosophy, culture and values. We share those values with our employees, and with our customers.”
In 2020, Bunzl provided remote communities and front-line workers in a wide range of organizations across Canada with donations of desperately needed personal protective equipment. This year, the company resumed its annual b.r.a.i.n.child golf tournament which has now raised over $1.5 million to fund paediatric brain tumour research, and it is an enthusiastic participant in a wide range of other community events across the country.
“We’re very excited to get our second annual Week of Giving under way,” said Margo Hunnisett, Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “Bunzl Canada is comprised of long standing, local businesses with deep roots in the communities we serve. This event demonstrates our commitment to investing and participating in those communities across the country.”
Bunzl Canada Raises Over $1.5M for Pediatric Brain Tumour Research
Burlington, ON – September 27, 2021 –Bunzl Canada held its 21st annual golf tournament in support of the world’s largest brain tumour research centre of its kind, the Arthur & Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.
The event, held on September 21st at the Greystone Golf Club in Milton, Ontario, was attended by Bunzl Canada customers, vendors and employees and has raised over $1,575,000 since its inception. While the event could not take place last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bunzl Canada did hold a smaller Ryder Cup tournament and raised $25,000.
This year’s event looked a little different with the required health and safety protocols in place to keep golfers safe. Tee times were scheduled, rather than the traditional shotgun start. The number of golfers was limited, a mask mandate was in place for indoor locations, and sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer were provided for participants in every cart. None of this dampened spirits – everyone in attendance was not only proud to support this important cause but excited to have the opportunity to once again participate in this much anticipated annual event.
Led by Dr. James Rutka, the Arthur & Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children has made exciting inroads into the treatment of this devastating disease. Clinical trials of a new treatment strategy are currently underway using Magnetic Resonance Guided Focused Ultrasounds (MRgFUS). The technology enables delivery of therapeutics across the blood brain barrier, targeting specific areas of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) brain tumours and increasing the strength and accuracy of the treatment. Dr. Rutka’s team is the first to use this technology to enable therapeutics to penetrate the blood brain barrier in children with this type of highly aggressive tumour.
“Bunzl’s annual tournament has been incredibly supportive of our research,” said Dr. Rutka. “The funding has allowed us to perform pilot studies, purchase state-of-the-art equipment and has helped us become world leaders in innovative, state of the art research for pediatric brain tumours. Thank you to the Bunzl group for holding this tournament, year after year. There is no substitute for the funding we have received, and we are proud to say the future looks bright for children with brain tumours.”
“I want to thank our customers and all of our vendor partners for their generous contributions to the success of the tournament this year,” said Bunzl Canada President, John Howlett. “We are so proud to support the incredible work being done by Dr. Rutka’s team. They are pioneering better treatments that are leading to longer lives for their young patients, and hope for the future for their families.”