The Magna Man

Not my photos.

I saw a book at Indigo a short time ago. It was called The Magna Man. It's an autobiography by Frank Stronach, founder of car parts manufacturing giant Magna International. Since I couldn't read the whole thing there, I reserved it at the library. It came in three weeks ago.

Frank Stronach is a remarkable person. Born to working class parents in a small town in Austria, he made his way to Canada, at age 21, in search of adventure and a better life. The year was 1954.

Disembarking the freighter ship in Montreal he struggled to get by in the early days. With the little money he had fast dwindling he soon had to seek help from a friend, Max Windhager, who lived in Kitchener, Ontario at the time.

A few days later Frank got his first job working in the basement of a hospital out there. He washed dishes and peeled carrots and potatoes for them. A far cry the specialized tool and die training he received as a teenager in Weiz (his hometown).

Max helped him get a job as a machinist at a plant that made components for the Avro Arrow (the ill-fated Canadian jet plane). Frank worked there for a few months before getting laid off.

After that he applied for a job at the Ford plant in Oakville with no success. It was then he decided to make his way to Toronto where he found a job with auto parts manufacturer A.G. Simpson. That lasted a good 3-4 months, again with the same result as his previous employment at the Avro Arrow plant - being laid off.

What happened next was, as he says, a turning point for him - In 1955 he was hired to work at a small tool shop in downtown Toronto. After a short time Frank was promoted to manager thus receiving his first taste of what it would be like to run his own company.

Long story, short... in 1957, Frank Stronach, at age 24, with $3,000 of his own money and a loan from the bank, opened his own tool and die shop. Working 16-hour days, 7 days a week and knocking on countless doors looking for business his tiny one-man shop grew and grew and grew to a multi-billion dollar company that currently employs over 100,000 people worldwide.

The book is quite interesting. Among other things it chronicles Mr. Stronach's interest in horse breeding and racing, his formula for success (sharing profits and ownership), his business philosophy (fair enterprise which gives all employees a slice of the profits) and his many charitable offerings (to the needy worldwide).

He's hardworking, practical, charitable and driven. I must say I admire the man greatly.