About LaFlesche
LaFlesche is a trusted injection mold plastic and metal machining company located on Indigenous territory in Kahnawà:ke, Quebec. We specialize in the sustainable manufacturing of high-quality polymer and metal products, predominantly for the Defense, Aerospace, and Medical sectors. With a commitment to innovation, sustainability, and excellence, we offer a wide range of manufacturing services including:
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Prototyping
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Engineering and design
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Mold making
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Medical device manufacturing
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Product development
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Sustainable plastics innovation
Perhaps more importantly, we're on a mission to create a sustainable and reliable manufacturing supply chain in Canada. Why? We're glad you asked...
In the 70s, most life science products were made by hand in North America. In the late 80s, however, international trade increased and production was outsourced offshore to where labor costs were lower. Although this was a logical course of action four decades ago, the more we assessed the practice in modern times, the more we realized it had become problematic.
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How We're Shifting
the Industry
As our team of manufacturing experts investigated worldwide supply chains, we were surprised at how inefficient and costly the system had become.
Foreign labor markets had moved to automated manufacturing, making the price of labor largely irrelevant. Global shipping had gone from predictable to congested and outrageously priced. Quality controls and ethical labor guarantees were increasingly important yet difficult to verify. And raw materials were often being exported from North America, turned into goods overseas, and then imported back home, wasting precious time, money, and natural resources.
We thought the whole process was ecologically unsustainable. None of it made sense. And every step of the supply chain bore an increasing brunt of the costs. Discovering these huge problems emboldened our team to one simple solution: to create domestic manufacturing solutions our partners and community could rely on. And so, LaFlesche was born.
LaFlesche is a proudly Indigenous business. Our facilities are located on traditional Kahnawà:ke lands in Southern Quebec and owned and operated by a diverse team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts in their fields.
As an Indigenous business, caring for others means a lot to us. That’s why we named our company after one of the greatest heroes of North American Indigenous history – Dr. Susan Picotte La Flesche. Dr. La Flesche became the first Indigenous doctor in the United States and was a passionate advocate for underserved people.
What's in a Name?
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Achieving her medical degree as class valedictorian in 1889, she graduated a full 31 years before women could vote in the US, and 35 years before Indigenous Americans could become citizens of their own country. Moved by her desire to make modern medicine accessible to Indigenous communities, she not only pursued her degree, she then built a hospital that enabled anyone, regardless of color, to receive quality healthcare across an astounding area of 1,350 miles.
Inspired by this incredible trailblazer who dedicated her life to improving the lives of others, our vision at LaFlesche is to innovate high-quality, ecological life sciences solutions for an increasingly thriving and sustainable world.
We hope you will join us.
Our Values
Honor
Acting honorably in all that we do.
Authenticity
Having the courage to be our authentic selves, and creating space for others to do the same.
Sustainability
Continually striving to leave the planet better than we found it.
Community
Putting people first. Always.
Quality
Everything we do is our best work.
Innovation
Constantly shaping a more exciting and functional world.
At LaFlesche we hold strong to sustainable, human-centric business practices. Our culture dictates our responsibility towards the environment, driving our belief that the land is only lent to us to take care of and then pass on to future generations better than we found it. This is why we continually innovate towards greener technologies, resources, and methodologies.
Being conscious of the gift of creating workmanship in a positive economic context, we also support the community through responsible employment, technical training programs, and fundraising for Indigenous initiatives.
Our team are especially committed to our annual LaFlesche Education Bursary, a scholarship program supporting the future success of Indigenous women and youth. It is our belief that the pursuit of happiness and community development is a trail best travelled through education.
Community Impact
Meet The Team
Thawennontie Thomas
President
Leo Hurtubise
VP Business Development
Katie McGowan
VP Marketing & Communications
Victor Wang
VP Resourcing
Lance White
Indigenous Relations