Draft:Valiant TMS

Valiant TMS is a Canadian-based company that designs, builds, and integrates industrial automation solutions. It specializes in welding and joining, automated assembly and test, industrial parts washers, final assembly, and material handling systems. The company offers services catering to various industries, including automotive, commercial trucks, aerospace, heavy equipment, and energy.

Valiant TMS is headquartered in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. As of 2024, it has 20 facilities in 10 countries, including the US, Mexico, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Spain, and India.

History
The company was founded in 1959 as Avco Tool & Die by Michael G. Solcz in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

In 1963, the company name was changed to Valiant Machine & Tool Inc..

In late 2004, Valiant decided to diversify into industries such as aerospace, construction, and forestry.

In 2006, Valiant acquired TMS Transport -und Montagesysteme GmbH based in Linz, Austria, forming Valiant TMS.

In 2011, Valiant TMS opened a Training and Development Centre in Windsor, Ontario, to cultivate talent in specialized skilled trades locally in response to an industry-wide labor shortage. The program was well-received by young skilled trade students in Windsor-Essex and earned an international manufacturing award in Detroit, Michigan, USA, in 2014. It was later transferred to St. Clair College in 2017.

In 2016, Valiant TMS acquired a 187,000-square-foot facility at 2469 Executive Hills Drive in Auburn Hills, Michigan, to expand its US operations, adding 223 new jobs in the region.

In 2017, the company was acquired by a Chinese consortium.

In 2020, Valiant TMS sold certain assets of its Tool & Mold division to Concours Mold Inc. to concentrate on its core business of designing and integrating industrial automation systems.

Operations
Valiant TMS is a full-service supplier of a wide range of manufacturing solutions for numerous industries. It has five divisions:

Welding and Assembly Systems: Valiant TMS builds automotive body-in-white assembly systems, with specialization in automated closure installation (closure hang) systems that attach doors, hoods, fenders, trunk lids, tailgates, and liftgates to the vehicle body.

Hemming Systems: The company develops automated hemming systems, including hem process and hemming equipment.

Automation and Assembly Systems: Valiant TMS creates automated solutions for assembly, cleaning, and testing propulsion systems and components used in aircraft, automobiles, commercial trucks, and heavy equipment.

Custom Metal Fabricating and Low-Volume Production: Valco Manufacturing Inc., a Valiant TMS subsidiary, offers custom and low-volume production components for heavy industry companies, specializing in fabrication, machining, metrology, and finishing services.

Tools, Jigs, Fixtures, and Gages: Valiant TMS develops specialty-crafted custom tools and equipment, including checking fixtures and gages, process holding fixtures, and test stands.

The company provides services in process engineering, mechanical engineering, controls engineering, simulation, fabrication and machining, tool assembly and integration, robot and PLC programming, commissioning, additive manufacturing, technical documentation, and project management.

In 2010, Valiant TMS sold one of its facilities in east Windsor to CS Wind, Samsung’s Korean partner, creating more than 300 manufacturing jobs in the region. The company’s headcount also reportedly increased by 12% over five years thanks to an improving North American auto industry and a growing customer base in the aerospace industry.

Valiant TMS has been named General Motors’ “Supplier of the Year” multiple times in 2009, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

In 2022, Omron Automation Americas announced Valiant TMS as a new partner in its Certified Systems Integrator program.

Awards

 * Boeing Performance Excellence Award
 * Boeing Supplier of the Year
 * Boeing Long-Term Preferred Tooling Supplier
 * BMW Supplier Award
 * Caterpillar 7 Steps to Welding Excellence
 * DaimlerChrysler Supplier Award
 * Ford World Excellence Award
 * Ford Q1 Award
 * General Motors Supplier of the Year
 * Honda Cars India, Certificate of Excellence
 * Honda Cars India, Best Supplier Award
 * John Deere Partner Supplier
 * Porsche Supplier Award
 * Stellantis Chrysler Gold Award
 * Stellantis Quality Excellence Award
 * Toyota Kirloskar Motor India, Certificate of Appreciation
 * Volkswagen Group Award
 * Yves Landry Award of Excellence, Company of the Year
 * Canadian Manufacturing Hall of Fame, Essence of Philanthropy Award

Certifications

 * ISO 9001:2015
 * AS 9100 Rev. D
 * ISO 14001:2015
 * ISO 45001:2018
 * ISO / IEC 27001
 * TISAX
 * TSSA
 * VDA 6.4:2017