TIMES COLONIST: Not all B.C. manufacturers taking advantage of low loonie, but some are making hay

Andrew A. Duffy includes a quote from StarFish Medical CEO, Scott Phillips in his Times Colonist November 14, 2017 article discussing the impact of exchange rate between Canadian and U.S. dollars.  Duffy writes, “The Canadian dollar’s relative weakness to the U.S. greenback should have B.C. manufacturers in a stronger position than they currently are, according to the chairman of the B.C. Alliance for Manufacturing.”

The article focuses on manufacturing in a number of sectors including technology.

“Victoria’s tech sector is also making short-term hay out of the relatively weak loonie.

Scott Phillips, founder of Starfish Medical, which designs and develops medical devices for the global market, said its profitability is buoyed by the weak dollar.

“But in the long term, if more talent drains to the U.S., it’s bad for the tech industry overall,” Phillips said. “So we wouldn’t welcome further weakening.”

Phillips said the volatility of the Canadian dollar has made planning difficult.

“For purposes of planning and investment, we are assuming an 80-cent dollar. But we have to build scenarios for other rates into our planning,” he said.”

Read the full article here.