Beacons of distinction

The company's foray into China started in 1996 when Ball established the EHC Shanghai company. The move to have a presence in China, said Ball, was one of necessity, as most of the world's manufacturers of escalators and elevators had already set up facilities in the country.

"It was a simple decision. We simply followed our customers to where they went so that we could continue to be their major supplier. Today, everyone who makes escalators and elevators have a base here, and these China-based plants account for about 75 percent of the global supply of escalators and elevators," he said.

Having lived in Shanghai for the past 22 years, Ball has witnessed the rapid development of not just the city but the nation's manufacturing industry. The change, he said, has been nothing short of phenomenal.

"No country has ever developed as quickly and to the degree of prosperity that we now have in China. There are so many things that China is now excelling at and they could soon become leaders in automation and artificial intelligence," he said.

But it was not just his expertise in this niche product that Ball brought along with him to China - the Canadian is also well-known in business circles for being a passionate facilitator of economic, trade and investment exchange.

Some of his roles outside the company include being a board member of the manufacturers' business council within the American Chamber of Commerce, a consultant to the China-Canada Trade Council, and the vice chairman of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce's Industrial Association. Ball also plays an integral role in the strengthening of technological and cultural exchanges between his hometown of Oshawa and Jiading district in Shanghai.