In a world where small businesses are often forced to do more with less, Calgary-based MRO Electronics Supply Ltd. (MRO) is flipping the script, thanks to a timely boost from the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF) Express program.
For Managing Director, Phil Stiles, whose family roots run deep in entrepreneurship, the OCIF Express Program didn’t just ease the pressure of hiring; it reshaped the entire way MRO thinks about building its team.
MRO isn’t your typical manufacturer. Specializing in custom cable assemblies and complex wire harnesses for a wide range of industries, the business is niche, technical, and driven by precision. As a second-generation, family-owned business, MRO built its reputation on flexibility, customer service, and a steady commitment to quality.
“I always looked up to my dad,” Phil shares. “From a young age, I knew I was going to join the business. My parents, Sandra and Kevin Stiles, built it alongside their partner Steve Shepherd. Kevin led operations and sales, Steve handled the front counter; Sandra Stiles kept everything on track with the accounting. It was a true team effort.”
That same spirit of teamwork is still at the heart of MRO today, but modern manufacturing challenges, especially around talent acquisition, require a different approach.
The hiring dilemma
Due to MRO’s line of work based on precision, problem solving, flexibility and dependability in complex manufacturing, finding the right employees has always been a challenge.
“We operate in a niche space,” Stiles explains. “You need very specific technical skills paired with flexibility, and in Alberta, the talent pool is tight when it comes to specific roles. We were always training new people, but getting the right to expand our technical leadership is challenging.”
MRO employee testing custom cable assemblies.
Stiles had long envisioned building out the company’s engineering and leadership capacity. But like many small- and medium-sized businesses, the cost and risk of hiring top-tier talent – especially for roles like product development, quality systems management, and engineering leadership – felt out of reach.
“Before OCIF Express, I’d started imagining what our company would look like with a stronger engineering core,” Phil explains. “But people looked at me like, ‘That’s nice – how are you going to pay for it?’”
Enter OCIF Express.
OCIF Express: the game changer
Through OCIF Express, MRO was able to access funding to offset hiring costs for key roles, and in doing so, rewire its entire approach to workforce planning. Instead of looking for cost-effective hires to meet immediate production needs, the company began to focus on long-term talent investment.
“We’ve fundamentally changed how we hire,” says Phil. “Our entire strategy is based around OCIF-eligible candidates. It forces us to aim higher and bring in top talent that can drive innovation, not just fill a seat.”
Further developing Calgary’s aerospace innovation story
The timing couldn’t have been better. As Calgary cements its position as an emerging aerospace and advanced manufacturing hub, MRO has landed new opportunities, including early work with aerospace anchor De Havilland. But to compete at that level, the company needs the same thing any scaling enterprise does: expand their existing leadership and highly specialized team.
With the support of OCIF Express, MRO recently hired an experienced engineering leader from a major multinational – someone who has not only taken charge of new product development but is reshaping manufacturing processes across the board.
“She’s already made a huge impact,” says Phil. “And because of her network, we’re now talking to more high-caliber candidates from across the country. Talent attracts talent.”
It’s a classic flywheel effect, now spinning faster thanks to OCIF support.
Looking ahead with OCIF Express
With two new hires on board and five more roles in active recruitment, MRO is positioning itself not just as a local manufacturer, but as a player on the national aerospace and defense stage. Phil also points to the growing opportunity in uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV), where Calgary’s bustling tech ecosystem, strong talent pool and world class research institutions provide a natural competitive advantage.
From a broader economic perspective, this is exactly the kind of transformation OCIF Express was designed to support: helping Calgary-based businesses scale intelligently, compete nationally, and contribute to the diversification and resilience of the local economy.
The OCIF team worked closely with MRO throughout the process, from identifying hiring gaps to fine-tuning the application, and Phil is quick to acknowledge the role that collaboration played in making this pivot possible.
“We’ve had success with hiring grants before, but nothing like this,” he says. “OCIF Express moved the needle. We’re not just thinking bigger, we’re building bigger.”
Looking ahead, MRO plans to keep leveraging its new leadership capacity to pursue higher-value contracts and expand into new markets. And with the OCIF-powered hiring model in place, they’re now able to move faster and with more confidence.