Windsor welcomes new company

Windsor is changing the face of its contribution to the auto industry by shifting its manufacturing outlook to one of technological involvement.

Mayor Eddie Francis officially welcomed Autodata Solutions and Executive Vice President Chris Wedermann Nov. 5.  Autodata Solutions is a company that provides consultation and technology services to auto manufacturers in North America, contributing in market analytics, product planning, vehicle configuration and overall marketing as well as aiding in social media and mobile applications for original equipment manufacturers or OEMs.

“We support the technology that OEMs use to sell and market their cars, the best examples are websites … We also help them with some of the emerging technology, so think tablet, mobile, html5, think social media. Those are all emerging technologies that they need to incorporate into their strategies. We help them with that as well,” said Wedermann.

Autodata has 500 employees across North America, with offices in Los Angeles, Detroit and London, Ont. They will be opening their newest location in Windsor on Lauzon Parkway.

“It was the office that gave us the fastest get up and go, so we didn’t have a lot of lease holds, it was for a telecommunications perspective it was well outfitted it required the least amount of work. As a getting started location it was the easiest get started offices,” said Wedermann.

Wedermann is looking to hire 20 employees as soon as possible and expects to hire at least 40 more if all goes well. There will also be internship and co-op programs available to students looking for experience with the possibility of advancement and the opportunity to show what they’re capable of.

“The roles that we’re looking to fill here are very unique in that we’re looking for software engineers we’re looking for analysts … Windsor ended up being a spot that had not been explored very often, we did some preliminary recruiting and we’re very impressed with what we’ve found,” said Wedermann.

Mayor Eddie Francis said he agrees and believes this is a way to diversify the job market here in Windsor and expects this will benefit many of the younger individuals who may be looking for a career in the field of science and technology.

“If you’re a University of Windsor student or if you’re a St. Clair College grad, and you’ve been out there trying to get involved in the new industry, this is where you want to land. This is where you want to be. It’s a cool and exciting place and they’re doing great and exciting things,” said Francis.

Wedermann explained why Autodata Solutions had chosen Windsor, and what he expects from the automotive capital.

“Automotive experience is something that when you go into other geographies you don’t find very often, so we take that for granted. But Windsor has a long tradition of automotive experience so we’re certainly looking to tap into that.”