2025 IndustryWeek Best Plants: Culture-Driven Manufacturing Excellence Propels Pullmatic Mfg. Magna Powertrain

Communication and Servant Leadership

Pullmatic operates in the powertrain division of global automotive giant Magna International. Roller die spline forming, stamping and welding assembly are among the processes underway within the walls of the unassuming Markham building, where a team of 152 employees come together to achieve performance metrics such as 99% first pass yield for all finished products, 100% on-time delivery based on the customer request date, and more than 2,000 days without a lost-time accident.

At Pullmatic, conversation around operational excellence begins and ends with culture. The right culture builds success. The wrong culture limits opportunities.

To that end, Pullmatic began doubling down on its engagement efforts about four years ago. Not that it was bad then, “but culture is never good enough,” says the general manager.

Central to the culture is servant leadership, which emphasizes a leadership focus on nurturing employees’ growth and well-being.  

The other is performance appraisals. New employees receive three performance appraisals in their first three months on the job: the first after one month, a second after two months and a third after three months. Then the cadence moves to annual reviews.

The early reviews are not about finding fault or laying blame. They instead are about setting up the new hire for success by checking in and addressing concerns (by the manager and employee) early and often—not waiting three months and springing a surprise on either party.

“It gives us the chance to sit down and discuss things after one month,” Banwait explains. “The second month, if [the new employee has] the same issues, then the manager should be thinking, ‘Okay, what is not working? What is happening here?’” And how do we fix it?

“We make sure we invest the time in hiring and training,” adds HR coordinator Tania Prashar.

The new hire and orientation process is part of Pullmatic’s bigger people-development process, which emphasizes growth opportunities and talent development.

Sarjak Patel and Jacob Ham are prime examples of talent development at work. Pullmatic hired Ham approximately three years ago as a project engineer. Upon joining the manufacturer, Ham continued his education, with a focus on program management. When the opportunity to become program manager for the Rivian line opened up, he was ready to step up.

“We gave him all the tools and he took those tools and ran,” Melo says.  

Patel, a senior manufacturing engineer, started with Pullmatic approximately seven years ago as a temporary CNC operator working the night shift while he pursued courses as an international student. He transitioned to a full-time operator, later a machinist, got promoted to a junior quality engineer and then quality engineer. In 2022 he moved into a manufacturing engineer role and in 2024 was promoted to senior manufacturing engineer.

Banwait said Patel’s “interest and dedication and accountability” captured Pullmatic’s attention early on, which prompted inquiries into his career goals and placement in the manufacturer’s talent management program.

“If you want to be successful, you have to develop your people,” Melo says.

Continuous Improvement Mindset

No story about an IW Best Plants winner is complete without a conversation about continuous improvement. As part of the larger Magna organization, Pullmatic’s continuous improvement efforts are guided by the Magna Factory Concept, or MAFACT, a set of global guidelines for continuous improvement.

Continuous improvement specialist Rupinder Sains, who is also the division’s MAFACT champion, guides Pullmatic’s operator training for standardized work, 5S, Training Within Industry and more.

“She is also our ‘train the trainer’ and she provides training to everyone,” Banwait adds.

Signs of improvement activities abound across the plant floor, where in one location a team is making layout changes to a production line to save both space and labor. Two employees from that line will transition to the Rivian line.

In another area, engineers are unpacking their belongings in an office adjacent—and closer—to the factory floor. Not only does the new home speed their response time to calls for assistance from operators, but “on the shop floor you learn,” Melo remarks.

Overhead, the plant recently installed an air-handling system to both help cool and heat the production floor. And across the plant, an Industry 4.0 initiative is underway to connect all the equipment, collect live data and introduce condition-based monitoring.

Move into the lunchroom and you will find the employee suggestion box. Employees must submit a minimum of two improvement suggestions per year, with small prizes awarded monthly in several submission categories. Management has responsibilities here as well, reflective of Pullmatic’s open-door process.

Every day a “fast response” team meets to review the suggestions and assign a champion—typically a department head—to each one. Champions must provide feedback to the employee who made the suggestion within seven days. It’s important that employees know they are being heard.

“To be successful, you have to have workforce engagement,” says Melo. “Once you have that, the sky’s the limit.”