Edward Keenan

With a staff of just over 100, Markham-based technology distributor punches above its weight — in 2009 it saw over $130 million in revenue. And according to company President Royson Ng, a lot of that success can be attributed to the fact that more than 90 per cent of his staff are immigrants to Canada.

Samtack was recognized this week at the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council Immigrant Success Awards, on a stage with companies many times their size. The award, the RBC Immigrant Advantage Award shared with fellow winner Pitney Bowes, recognized how the company “leveraged skilled immigrant talent to respond to changing needs of mass merchant customers; increased market share with smaller, local, diverse retailers and purchased parts from overseas suppliers.”

Samtack was founded in Markham 20 years ago but has seen business boom significantly since it went public on the Hong Kong stock exchange six years ago. It now has 27 per cent of the Canadian market in computer parts, supplying such giants as Best Buy and Wal-Mart.

Ng says that hiring people who are immigrants to Canada helps a company to better do business in an international environment. “Immigrants, regardless of where they come from, have a better understanding of local markets around the world,” he says. That has helped Samtack set up supply chains and source parts from various global locations, especially China.

And the company isn’t about to rest on its laurels. Currently, according to Ng, Samtack is looking to crack South American markets, and so is looking to hire people who speak Spanish.

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Reference: Yonge Street