2022 Automotive News Canada All-Stars

Windsor, Ont.-based Reko International Group is making pioneering strides in automotive manufacturing, supplying automakers with robotic automation equipment using the Internet of Things approach — “smart” devices that collect and transmit data using the internet — to simplifying installation and operation.

The company, led by CEO Diane Reko, 58, outfitted installers and operators with wearable devices connected via the internet, allowing instant communication between workers located inside the robotic equipment cage and workers located at the control panel. Previously, installers would have to move physically between the two locations.

Reko’s team is also using wearable technology to highlight the increasingly hightech nature of automotive manufacturing, helping attract technology workers who might not have considered the industry for a career.

“Without the Internet of Things connectivity and mobile devices, we wouldn’t be able to do that,” said Reko.