For the most part, many Canadian manufacturers have been weathering the current economic storms and Guelph-based auto parts giant Linamar is leading the charge. The company posted record highs in both their sales and earnings for the second quarter this past week.

The most notable increase came in their industrial sales segment. Sales increased by 48.6 percent to $148.6 million, up from $100 million in the second quarter of last year. The increases were a pleasant surprise for the company given the slowed world economy, but there were a few main reasons for the increase.

Compared to last year, there was an increase in demand in because a number of manufacturers that Linamar supplies to made recalls this past year.

Furthermore, the company credited a lower amount of start-up costs compared to last year, and also increased production volumes thanks to improved margins.

In a statement, CEO Linda Hasenfratz said, “We are delighted to register another record quarter in Q2 on both sales and earnings. Earnings growth is outpacing sales growth by a factor of three, the industrial segment continues to perform very well and we continue to see great improvements in ROCE and ROE. In addition with a solid quarter of free cash flow we continue to drive a very strong balance sheet at Linamar.”

Linamar has offices in 11 countries and employs over 16,000. The company is made up of two primary segments: Powertrain/Driveline, and Industrial segments, which includes the subsidiary Skyjack. Linamar’s year-end earnings for 2011 were $2.86 billion.