Her Excellency Susanne Raab of the Austrian People’s Party visits MARA facility in Markham
Proud to be in the most culturally diverse region in the world, MARA Technologies is making the most of the global talent. MARA has been cultivating a phenomenal team that includes voices, opinions, and skills from around the world, and we’ve recently been recognized for it.
One of the foundational values across all the Invotek Group companies is that we collaborate in a positive, accessible, and diverse culture, and we were proud to stand as an example of this value last month when Her Excellency (H.E.) Susanne Raab of the Austrian People’s Party and her delegation visited our MARA facility in Markham, Ontario.
H.E. Raab is the Minister for Integration and the Minister for Women, Family, and Youth in Austria and was on a fact-finding mission to learn more about how Canada deals with immigration and asylum seekers as well as the programs available to them. She was accompanied by H.E. Sylvia Meier-Kajbic, Austrian Ambassador to Canada and Ambassador-Designate to Jamaica (Resident in Ottawa) and members of the Austrian Trade Commission in Toronto on a tour of the facility the morning of October 4.
The delegation was very impressed with the high-tech environment and commented on the secure sign-in procedures that include cameras and temperature sensors, but above all, H.E. Raab was impressed by the 19 nationalities that work closely together at MARA. When asked how the company managed to attain such a varied pool of talent, Matthew Ruscica, Vice President Sales, Non-Automotive, explained: “Most newcomers prefer to live in large cities that cater to their cultural needs, and most of the population in Canada lives 100 miles north of the American border, so we are in an ideal location, and we welcome the opportunities that a diverse workforce brings.”
The Toronto region currently holds 35.9% of Canada’s entire immigrant population, and Markham, where the facility is located, is the most concentrated suburb of the region. There are more than 250 ethnicities and 170 languages represented in the region, and it is recognized by the United Nations as the most diverse city in the world.
H.E. Raab stated she was grateful for the opportunity to meet with such a diverse workforce and see a successful Canadian company with an Austrian connection—Peter Schmied, COO and President of Invotek Group, MARA’s parent company, immigrated from Austria to Canada himself some years ago. MARA was proud to welcome H.E. Raab and highlight our community of individuals and their successful integration into Canadian society.