U.S. President Barack Obama waves from Air Force One at Andrews Air Force base near Washington, February 13, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Barack Obama used a Canadian-based company with a facility stateside to push his agenda for more government involvement in the economy.

Calling for so-called manufacturing hubs, where government, education and the private sector combine efforts to lure jobs and foreign investment, Obama visited Canada's Linamar Corp.'s plant in Asheville, N.C., Wednesday.

Guelph-based Linamar, which manufacturers auto parts for industrial vehicles, opened shop in the state in 2011 in an abandoned Volvo plant.

"They (Linamar) were looking for a place to build some big parts, and these parts are big I gotta say," Obama said, in front of mining truck parts. "And while they could have gone anyplace in the world, they saw this incredible potential right here in Asheville."