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General Business News
For general news about businesses in Waterloo Region that doesn't require it's own thread.
General Business News
For general news about businesses in Waterloo Region that doesn't require it's own thread.
Northbridge Capital Partners Closes First Investment
http://www.marketwire.com/press-rele...nt-1132680.htm
CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 16, 2010) - Northbridge Capital Partners ("NCP") today announced the closing of its first portfolio investment in PresGlas, a division of Camali Industries (NA) Inc. NCP provided $550,000 of mezzanine financing, which will help enable PresGlas to meet the increased demand and potential from existing and new customers. Brian Hunter, President of NCP commented: " There is significant potential for the company due to OEM's rationalizing their supply chain, and this has been demonstrated through recently secured contracts."
PresGlas (www.preglas.com), located in Cambridge, Ontario, is Canada's largest supplier of compression molded noise control and thermal insulation components. Major industries and markets served include off-road heavy machinery, specialty vehicle, trucks, buses, automotive, panels for office partitions, wall and ceiling components and a wide array of other related products and industries. Molded composites of various fibers, fabrics and plastics are developed in close co-operation with customers in order to integrate noise reduction, thermal management and high quality fit and trims. PresGlas provides consistent products for global platforms and has a presence in all major markets and can support OEM's worldwide.
About NCP (www.northbridgecapitalpartners.com): NCP is a private equity fund formed by a group of accomplished business executives and entrepreneurs focused on funding management buyouts and growth opportunities. NCP's investments range from $200,000 to $1 million. The fund's preferred market is manufacturing, processing, wholesale and distribution businesses located in Southern Ontario.
Waste Management buys Cambridge plant
Record staff - March 18, 2010
http://news.therecord.com/Business/article/686525
CAMBRIDGE — Waste Management Inc. has purchased the former Von Weise of Canada plant on Conestoga Boulevard in Cambridge.
The multinational waste disposal and environment services company, based in Houston, Texas, plans to “repurpose” the facility for some kind of garbage “diversion activity,” Wes Muir, director of corporate communications for the company, said today.
Waste Management, which does household garbage collection for Waterloo Region, is just going through the approvals process now with the provincial Ministry of the Environment, he said.
The 121,550-square-foot plant, located on 4.2 hectares of land, has been closed since September when Von Weise ran into financial difficulty.
Originally owned by Electrohome and then Fasco Motors, the plant made small electric motors. The final owner, Von Weise, filed a proposal in January under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to pay off creditors including former employees.
Proceeds from the sale of the plant will used to pay off its creditors.
Muir would not disclose the price paid by Waste Management for the property.
The company owns a facility on Northfield Drive in Waterloo which serves as its headquarters for eastern Canada.
Here is an interesting article that appeared in the Record today
Man’s passion became his vocation with Sustainable Waterloo
March 20, 2010 | By Luisa D’Amato | ldamato@therecord.com
WATERLOO — Mike Morrice isn’t rich, but he is happy.
That’s because when the idealistic young man graduated from university, he didn’t just join the first company that would hire him.
Instead, he made his own job, one that he believed could help save the environment.
Morrice co-founded a non-profit organization called Sustainable Waterloo, which helps business and industry measure and reduce their carbon emissions.
He makes $30,000 a year, the same as the two other staff. He shares an apartment with a roommate, doesn’t own a car, and still lives like a student. But he doesn’t see any of that as a problem.
What matters to him is that he’s doing something that really matters.
He was a university student at a conference on climate change when “it finally clicked,” he said.
“That could be my full-time job. There was an opportunity to be engaged with the thing I’m passionate about.”
Morrice saw that “we are moving to a low-carbon economy right now” in which businesses that are lowering carbon emissions will be financially rewarded by government policy, while those that pollute will be penalized.
Since it started in 2008, Sustainable Waterloo has helped other organizations make meaningful improvements to the environment. The organization’s $112,000-a-year budget is paid by fees from these organizations, ranging from $500 to $5,000 a year. There is no government funding.
Two years after it started, Sustainable Waterloo has numerous satisfied customers.
For example, Paul Rak, owner of Veriform, a metal fabricating company in Cambridge, has cut costs by nearly $90,000 a year. He has also reduced his company’s greenhouse gas emissions by 233 tonnes a year after Sustainable Waterloo offered help with a carbon audit and put him in touch with other like-minded businesses.
He says the assistance of Sustainable Waterloo made a real difference, and he is determined to keep cutting emissions.
“I’m 110-per-cent green,” he said.
Morrice’s journey started with a book that a friend gave him.
“He said, ‘I think you should read this, and when you’re done, pass it on,’ ” said Morrice. The book was Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.
Morrice let the book sit around for a while. He didn’t pick it up for five years.
But when he read it, it changed the way he thought.
Ishmael is a lowland gorilla who sees world history differently from humans. He sees how humans have changed the Earth for agriculture and industry. To humans, this activity is progress, innovation and technology. To other species, it is a tyranny that threatens to destroy the planet with pollution and overpopulation.
“This book put me into a new way of thinking,” Morrice said.
He graduated with a double degree from Laurier in business and computing and computer electronics. He did some research on industry strategies for environmental sustainability, and under the guidance of Prof. Barry Colbert, worked with another student to write the business plan for the organization that would become Sustainable Waterloo.
Morrice knows that it’s easier to live on $30,000 when you’re single, sharing an apartment and commuting to work on your bicycle.
But he believes in a simple lifestyle. Even if his salary doubled tomorrow, he wouldn’t buy a car, he says.
And even 10 years from now, if he’s married and has children, “I certainly hope I will continue to be able to live on that kind of salary. I’d like to continue to make life decisions based on work that is meaningful.”
In a world where many of us define happiness by the things we have, Morrice sees it differently.
“Happiness is having your behaviour in line with your values,” he says. “There’s nothing more fulfilling than that.”
Safety-Kleen wins endorsement for site consolidation
March 25, 2010 | By Jeff Outhit, Record staff
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/688254
BRESLAU — Safety-Kleen has been given the go-ahead to consolidate oil recycling operations at a vacant site beside its Breslau plant, east of Kitchener.
The company says this will reduce its transportation costs, and help advance an environmental cleanup it is undertaking 700 metres from the Grand River.
Governments agree, but environmental watchdog Alan Marshall contends the plan will further slow a cleanup that’s taking too long.
Safety-Kleen plans to buy six hectares near Woolwich Street South. Part of the vacant site was polluted by waste lagoons closed in 1977 by a previous oil recycler.
Vice-president Dale MacIntyre estimates up to 20,000 gallons of oily pollution are resting there, just below the ground and going nowhere. He estimates Safety-Kleen has removed up to 3,000 gallons under a cleanup approved in 2004 by the province. Full cleanup of the plume will exceed 20 years, he warns.
The company plans to use a clean part of the site for warehousing, packaging and blending, and to park trucks and trailers. These activities would be relocated from other sites in Breslau and Cambridge.
“In no way will it inhibit the cleanup that has been taking place over the years, and is projected to take place over the next many, many years,” MacIntyre said in an interview.
Woolwich councillors approved the consolidation in principle this week, altering the official plan and zoning. The plan has also been endorsed by regional government and the Ministry of the Environment, which wants Safety-Kleen to own the contaminated property.
“I find them to be a very responsible company,” Coun. Murray Martin said.
Marshall, of Elmira, worries Safety-Kleen will build on contaminated soil, inhibiting the cleanup. “Clean it up first, then build,” he said in an interview.
He also contends Safety-Kleen has ducked responsibility for contaminating nearby municipal wells that were closed in the 1990s. Corporate and government officials disagree, saying the wells were closed due to bacteria from the Grand River.
Last edited by UrbanWaterloo; 05-04-2010 at 07:38 AM.
"Only the insane have the strength enough to prosper. Only those that prosper may truly judge what is sane."
2009 Cambridge Chamber of Commerce Excellence Awards Winners Announced Last Night.
March 26, 2010 - http://www.cambridgechamber.com/
2010 marked the 9th Anniversary for the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards. Held on March 25th at the Armenian Centre, a sold out house celebrated the achievements of fellow members for the year 2009.
Award winners of the Business Excellence Awards are businesses or individuals that have demonstrated a significant and sustained commitment to positive business development, economic growth and diversity within our city.
Business of the Year (Fewer than 50) - GeoSmart Energy Inc.
Business of the Year (Over 50) - Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies Inc.
Personal Business Achievement Award - Brian Law, Pavey, Law & Witteveen LLP
New Venture of the Year - Grand House Student Co-operative Inc.
Keith Taylor Memorial Award - Dave Sopha, Portraits of Honour
Breakthrough Award - Grand River Film Festival
Environment Award – Excellence in Energy Conservation - Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan Inc.
WOWCambridge Customer Service Award - Michael McKeown, Ridgehill Ford Sales
Sunrise Rotary Scholarship Award – Spencer Adams
Lifetime Achievement - John Keating, COM DEV International
Chair’s Award - Cowan Insurance Group
Real estate software firm scoops up business award
By Chuck Howitt, Record staff
March 26, 2010 - http://news.therecord.com/Business/article/688897
The Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan won a Cambridge Chamber of Commerce business excellence award in the environment category for its new headquarters on Pinebush Road.
CAMBRIDGE — When Lorne Wallace moved his small startup, Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies, to Cambridge in 1997 it had only four employees.
Over the next 13 years, he built the company from humble beginnings into a force to be reckoned with in the real estate industry.
Lone Wolf develops accounting and administrative software and web page products for real estate firms. Its products are used by 7,800 real estate firms across North America.
The company now has more than 50 employees working out of its headquarters on Shearson Crescent in Cambridge and offices in Edmonton, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Denver.
Not only has Lone Wolf succeeded in its own right, it has extended a welcoming hand to other technology startups in the region. The building it occupies, the Can Amera Corporate Centre, was erected by Lone Wolf in 2005 to serve as a business incubator for other early stage companies in the area and to make Cambridge a destination on the regional technology map.
For these business achievements, and a solid track record of community service, Lone Wolf won the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce business of the year award for companies with more than 50 employees. The company received the honour Thursday night at the Armenian Centre.
Other winners of business excellence awards were:
Business of the year (fewer than 50 employees): GeoSmart Energy Inc. Since launching in Cambridge in 2005, the company has become a leader in Canada in providing geothermal heating systems for residential and commercial customers. Drawing their energy from a liquid circulated through underground pipes, GeoSmart systems have increased in sales by 200 per cent since 2008, the chamber said.
New Venture of the Year: Grand House Student Co-operative Inc. This 4,500-square-foot non-profit student housing project, built on the side of a hill on Ainslie Street, started out as a thesis by a University of Waterloo School of Architecture grad student in 2006. Housing 14 students, it uses a cistern for toilet water, straw bales for wall insulation and reclaimed wood in much of its construction.
Personal Business Achievement: Brian Law, of Pavey, Law & Witteveen LLP. A longtime local lawyer, Law was honoured not only for his career success but his extensive work as a community builder with such organizations as the YMCA, Big Brothers, the Canadian Cancer Society and the United Way of Cambridge and North Dumfries.
Keith Taylor Memorial Award: Dave Sopha. The veteran Cambridge artist has painted murals for Royal Canadian Legions, and his memorial mural decorates a wall on the Royal Bank building in Preston. He is currently working on Portraits of Honour, a large mural featuring every Canadian soldier who has died serving in Afghanistan.
Breakthrough Award: Grand River Film Festival. The three-year-old festival’s 2009 version featured a shorts competition with up to 40 entries, a series of professional workshops and the appearance of two high-profile directors, Canadian Bruce McDonald and Japan’s Yojiro Takita.
WowCambridge.com: Michael McKeown, general manager of Ridgehill Ford. When a former client had to leave his broken-down vehicle in northern Ontario last June so he could return to work, McKeown stepped into the breach. Not only did he return the client’s rented car to Espanola, he drove the repaired vehicle back to Cambridge and presented it to the owner, cleaned inside and out.
Environmental Award: Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan Inc. The new $15-million headquarters for the company representing mutual insurance companies in Ontario, located on Pinebush Road and visible from Highway 401, features geothermal heating and cooling, a green roof, recycled building materials, automatic light dimmers and recycled rainwater.
Sunrise Rotary Scholarship Award: Spencer Adams. Currently a freshman in business administration at Houghton College in New York, Adams was the valedictorian in 2009 at Preston High School. In addition to doing well academically, he volunteered in the school’s Jamaican Mission Trip and Relay for Life.
Lifetime Achievement Award: John Keating. Since taking over as chief executive officer of Com Dev International in 2002, Keating has led the space technology firm on a growth spurt that has seen sales rise from $33 million a year to $240 million. Keating was also honoured for his extensive community work.
Chair’s Award: Cowan Insurance Group. More than 80 years old with 10 offices across Ontario, Cambridge-based Cowan was honoured for raising funds locally and across Canada for numerous charities including the food bank, literacy efforts and a program to provide defibrillators for heart patients.
Canada's Economic Action Plan Investment in Communities and Businesses Delivers Results for Kitchener-Waterloo Region
http://www.marketwire.com/press-rele...er-1143471.htm
KITCHENER, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 6, 2010) - Residents and businesses in the Kitchener-Waterloo area will benefit from an investment of more than $1 million in three new stimulus projects. Peter Braid, Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Waterloo, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), made the announcement today at Riverside Door & Trim Inc.
"These investments will create jobs and strengthen the economy," said Minister Goodyear. "Our government is working with the people, businesses and communities of southern Ontario to help our region prosper now and in the future."
"Our government is proud to partner with innovative local businesses," said MP Braid. "The investments announced today will encourage economic revitalization, and help our community become a key player in the global economy."
Riverside Door & Trim Inc. will receive up to $820,250 to relocate and expand its manufacturing facility, as well as develop a new product line.
"I am thrilled Riverside Door & Trim Inc. will now be able to expand operations and improve efficiency thanks to the support of FedDev Ontario," said Mario Gianniotis, Managing Partner, Riverside Door & Trim Inc. "This funding will help us develop new products and improve our manufacturing processes."
For additional details on local projects, please refer to the backgrounder. These projects will be funded under the Community Adjustment Fund in southern Ontario, which will create immediate employment opportunities and support the local economies that have been struggling with the effects of the global economic downturn.
Other projects approved under the Community Adjustment Fund will be announced over the coming weeks. Approved projects must meet the terms and conditions set out in their contribution agreements.
FedDev Ontario was created as part of Canada's Economic Action Plan to support economic and community development, innovation, and economic diversification, with contributions to communities, businesses and non-profit organizations in southern Ontario. To learn more about FedDev Ontario and the Community Adjustment Fund in southern Ontario, please visit the website at www.feddevontario.gc.ca, or call 1-866-593-5505. For additional information on Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.
This news release is available online at www.feddevontario.gc.ca and www.actionplan.gc.ca.
Backgrounder
Listed below is a breakdown of the projects approved for funding under the second phase of the Community Adjustment Fund (CAF) in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.
Funding Recipient | Project Title | Total CAF contribution (up to)
Accelerated Systems Inc. Construction of a test lab, staff hiring and training, and purchase of new software $153,750
Canadian Innovation Centre Creation of an online toolkit $85,388
Riverside Door & Trim Inc. Relocation and expansion of manufacturing facility, and development of new products $820,250
Total $1,059,388
With signs that Canada is already recovering from the recession isn't it a bit late to now add new stimulus?
Oh wait, there's also talk of an election later this year and last time Braid won by a stunning 17 vote landslide
I couldn't find the actual announcement on Canada Post's website.
More cuts coming at Canada Post
CANADIAN UNION OF POSTAL WORKERS
OTTAWA, April 9 /CNW Telbec/ - http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/a.../09/c9262.html
In the wake of last week's contracting out of call centres and the elimination of more than 300 jobs, Canada Post has announced further dramatic changes to its operations in Victoria, B.C., Kitchener, Ontario, and Moncton, New Brunswick.
On April 8th, the Crown corporation officially notified the Canadian Union of Postal Workers of its decision to restructure in the affected communities. For example, in Kitchener, the bulk of parcel operations are being relocated to the Gateway processing plant in Toronto, while in Moncton, local services are being moved to Saint John. In Victoria, mail will be shipped to Vancouver for sorting.
At stake are hundreds of postal worker jobs, many of them held by "temporary" employees who have been with Canada Post for years. The workforce in the Victoria and Kitchener plants alone will be virtually cut in half. The economic impact on the affected communities may add up to millions of dollars.
"Canada Post posts a profit for the fifteenth year in a row and this is what their workers are getting in return," said Denis Lemelin, national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
"This is an abdication of Canada Post's social responsibility as a publicly owned institution that is supposed to serve the public interest."
CUPW plans to pressure the federal government to live up to its responsibility for the Crown corporation. "The Conservatives are washing their hands of this issue," Lemelin pointed out. Recently, Peter Mackay, MP for Central Nova, shrugged off the closure of the call centre in his riding, saying there was nothing he could do.
"We need jobs in our communities, not jobs outsourced by CEOs," said Lemelin. The union is calling for public support and urging members of the public to contact their MPs.
For further information: Aalya Ahmad, (613) 327-1177
Cambridge engineering firm sold to Winnipeg company
April 16, 2010
Record staff
CAMBRIDGE — Hydromantis Inc., an environmental engineering and software solutions company with offices in Hamilton and Cambridge, has sold its Cambridge division to a large Winnipeg consulting and engineering firm.
The sale of Hydromantis Cambridge Engineering Group to Wardrop will allow the Cambridge operation to grow in this area and “capture more of the market,” said Mike Newbigging, who runs the Cambridge office.
Located in a unit at 420 Sheldon Drive, the Cambridge office employs 20 people, he said in an interview.
The Hamilton office of Hydromantis specializes in software modeling and solutions for water treatment facilities while the Cambridge office focused on implementing those solutions from an engineering perspective.
Hydromantis was founded in Hamilton in 1985 and opened its Cambridge office in 1998. The Hamilton group has been renamed Hydromantis Environmental Software Solutions Inc.
Newbigging said Hydromantis has worked with Wardrop in the past on projects, including a water treatment facility in Red Rock, Ont., near Thunder Bay.
Founded in Winnipeg in 1995, Wardrop has about 1,000 employees in offices in North America and Europe. It services the natural resources, energy and infrastructure markets.
In 2009, Wardrop was acquired by the larger engineering and project management firm Tetra Tech of California.
“Broadening Wardrop’s design and execution capabilities in the areas of water and wastewater is an important component of our national infrastructure expansion program,” Shayne Smith, president of Wardrop, said in a news release.
Newbigging said the Cambridge office will keep the Hydromantis name for the time being, but may eventually adopt some form of the Wardrop/Tetra Tech name.
Medicalis gets new CEO, expands staff in Kitchener
By Rose Simone, Record staff
April 15, 2010 - http://news.therecord.com/article/698466
KITCHENER — Medicalis Corp. has a new chief executive officer and is hiring more software engineers in Kitchener.
The company, which develops software that helps the health-care system avoid wrong or unnecessary tests, has hired Oran Muduroglu as CEO to replace Ron Kelly, who left last September to pursue other interests.
Muduroglu said the company, which currently employs 35 people at offices on Riverbend Drive and in San Francisco, is hiring about 10 more software developers in Waterloo Region to help expand its product line.
The company also has restructured, with the head office in San Francisco handling more of the administrative and marketing functions while software development is consolidated and expanded in Waterloo.
Muduroglu said in an interview today that Medicalis is investing more than $10 million in the next two or three years to expand its product line, with much of that effort being focused in the Kitchener office.
Muduroglu previously was chief of health informatics for Philips Medical Systems. He was one of the founders of Stentor Inc., a maker of radiology image-archiving systems in the San Francisco area that was acquired by Philips in 2005.
Medicalis has recently gone through “a strategy evolution” to bring related, but different, products to the market, he said.
Traditionally, the company’s software, which gathers knowledge of case histories and symptoms to help determine which medical tests should be ordered, has been sold almost exclusively to hospitals, imaging centres and doctors. Now the company is also targeting the insurance industry, including insurance companies in the United States and provincial health insurance systems in Canada.
Software for these different groups is really “two sides of the same coin” because these groups share an interest in avoiding unnecessary or wrong tests, Muduroglu said.
About 20 to 25 per cent of the tests ordered in North America are either not needed or else the doctor should be ordering different tests, he said.
Reducing the number of unnecessary or wrong tests helps to get to the right diagnosis faster and that improves the outcome for the patient, Muduroglu said. It would also help to reduce waiting lists for tests in Canada, he said.
From the insurance providers’ point of view, getting the correct tests done first will help to save money, Muduroglu said.
The company decided to expand its software development base in Waterloo Region because this is where the engineering talent base is, he said. “There are a few places in the world that have great concentration of information technology expertise and obviously, Waterloo Region is one of those great places.”
Medicalis was founded in 1999 as a joint venture between Waterloo-based Mitra Imaging Inc., which was later acquired by Agfa Healthcare, and Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Aeryon Scout Aids Central American Drug Bust
April 19, 2010 - http://www.aeryon.com/news/pressrele...drug-bust.html
Waterloo, ON – The Aeryon Scout, a small man-packable flying robotic system, manufactured by Aeryon Labs of Waterloo, Ontario, gave law enforcement officers the break they needed in a recent drug bust in Central America.
The Aeryon Scout -- a small, lightweight mini-helicopter that is remote-controlled from the ground by computer -- was able to provide visual surveillance of a suspected narcotic trafficker’s compound deep in the jungle. The Scout provides the features of larger unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in a small package, at a fraction of the cost.
“This might sound like a plot from a TV show like CSI or 24, but it’s a real-life application of our robotic technology,” said Dave Kroetsch, President of Aeryon Labs. “This is what the Scout was designed for: providing aerial intelligence in settings too challenging or dangerous for humans to venture into.”
Kroetsch said the law enforcement officers took the Aeryon Scout into the jungle, in hostile territory, under the cover of darkness. At first light they cleared a small launch area, took the Scout out of its suitcase-sized case, and snapped it together. Measuring only 80 cm by 80 cm when assembled and weighing just over a kilogram, the Scout was easy to transport. They then set the robot’s target by selecting the location of the drug compound using a touch-screen satellite-map interface on a portable computer tablet. The target location was approximately 1 km from the operator. For security reasons the actual date and location of the operation cannot be publicized.
The Scout, which can quietly travel as far as three kilometres from the operator’s location and up to 500 metres off the ground, is ideal for this type of beyond line-of-sight surveillance as the officers did not need to see the unit to control it. Once at the target location, the Scout’s motion-compensated camera took digital still images and streamed encrypted digital video in real-time to the operator’s computer, with no risk to the investigating officers.
The images enabled the enforcement team to determine the interior layout of the compound, establish what vehicles were inside, identify possible escape routes, and assess what security measures were in place. Most importantly they were able to see a gap in the wire surrounding the compound that was then used as the entry point for the raid. The successful bust resulted in the arrest of the drug gang members. Before the use of the Aeryon Scout, law enforcement officers would typically drive an armoured vehicle through the wall of the compound and face unknown circumstances on the other side.
The drug bust is just one of the scenarios where the Aeryon Scout is useful to police and similar agencies. Easily carried in a backpack, the Aeryon Scout assists with documenting accident scenes, following fleeing suspects, and aiding in search and rescue operations in day or night, especially beyond line-of-sight of the operator. Military units can use it to scope out areas with dangerous or rugged terrain. There are also industrial applications such as inspecting the exterior of buildings or gathering air samples from exhausts and smokestacks.
“The Scout’s low noise, radar, visual and heat signatures make it an ideal platform for covert tactical imagery collection. You can set it up in a couple of minutes out of its case, fly the mission, and be gone without ever alerting the target. And if you can play a simple video game, you can fly the Scout,” said Charles Barlow, President Zariba Security Corporation and former Canadian intelligence officer.
Aeryon Labs designed the Scout system to be easy enough for even non-technical people to use with minimal training. Its on-board computer system supervises all aspects of the mission, allowing the operator to focus on completing a task.
“We’re excited to have developed robotic technology which is practical and affordable for law enforcement, military and security forces, and can save lives. And that’s priceless,” said Kroetsch.
About Aeryon Labs Inc. – www.aeryon.com
584 Colby Drive, Unit 1, Waterloo
Aeryon Labs provides robotic solutions to real-world problems through the design and manufacture of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and related systems. With a background in robotics, control systems, and digital imaging, the Aeryon team is able to bring leading-edge products to market and provide custom solutions. Aeryon Labs was recently named one of Canada’s Top 25 ICT Up and Comers in the Branham Group300 ranking of Canadian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies.
Is it wrong to want a high-tech, crime and drug fighting tool as your own personal toy?
That's some villa. Who said crime doesn't pay? (For the drug traffickers or Aeryon.)
Here you go.Originally Posted by Shawn
I was thinking the same thing.
"Only the insane have the strength enough to prosper. Only those that prosper may truly judge what is sane."
Canada's Economic Action Plan Invests in Ontario Livestock Industry
Apr 23, 2010 13:58 ET - http://www.marketwire.com/press-rele...ry-1153045.htm
CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 23, 2010) - Canada's Economic Action plan is delivering jobs and growth for the meat packing and processing sector in Ontario. The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) and Member of Parliament (Cambridge), today announced an investment of $1.6 million to help Cambridge Meat Packers from the Slaughter Improvement Program.
"Canada's Economic Action Plan continues to help meat packers and processors keep their competitive edge in the marketplace," said Minister of State Goodyear. "A strong, competitive meat packing and processing sector means more jobs and a stronger economy."
This loan will allow the company to construct a water-treatment facility and finance the purchase and installation of new equipment to make sure that pork producers can get their high-quality product to consumers. Cambridge Meat Packers' 35,000-square-foot plant was recently renovated into a state-of-the-art facility, meeting federal inspection requirements.
"We're grateful for the loan provided by the Slaughter Improvement Program as it will assist us in finishing the extensive renovations to the plant so that we can begin slaughtering operations," said Albertino Domingues, President of Cambridge Meat Packers. "This will provide jobs to the local community and an additional market for Ontario hogs."
The Government of Canada's $50-million Slaughter Improvement Program, as part of Canada's Economic Action Plan, makes federal loans available to support sound business plans aimed at reducing costs, increasing revenues and improving operations of red meat packing and processing operations in Canada. The 2010 Budget provided an additional $10 million to the program.
With more than $20 billion in sales, the red meat industry is Canada's single largest employer in the food industry.
For more information on this program, visit www.agr.gc.ca/slaughterhouse.
For more information on Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.
This gives new meaning to the term "bringing pork to the constituency."
Last edited by IEFBR14; 04-25-2010 at 05:12 PM.
Desire2Learn Incorporated
HQ: 305 King Street West, Suite 200, Kitchener (moving to The Tannery this year)
Website: www.desire2learn.com
Desire2Learn Raises the Bar with Release of Learning Suite 9.0
New Products Focus on Ensuring Pedagogically-Sound Courses and Programs That Will Transform Education, Training and Networked Learning Experiences
KITCHENER-WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 28, 2010) | http://www.marketwire.com/press-rele...90-1155573.htm
Desire2Learn Incorporated (Desire2Learn), a leading provider of mission-critical enterprise eLearning solutions, today announced the release of Desire2Learn® Learning Suite 9.0. The release includes major innovations that will enable clients to improve the experience for their learners, instructors and administrators and will have considerable influence on teaching and learning.
"Our systems are designed to have a measurable impact on strategic priorities. This release will change the game in many ways as it is centered on pedagogically-sound course design, with successful learning outcomes at the forefront. Our continued focus on security, accessibility, reliability, user experience and performance means clients will always have a system they can count on to ensure they maintain a leadership position," remarks John Baker, President & CEO, Desire2Learn.
Desire2Learn Learning Suite 9.0 includes significant advancements to the core learning management system (LMS) (Desire2Learn Learning Environment), as well as Desire2Learn Learning Repository, Desire2Learn ePortfolio and Desire2Learn Analytics. These advancements, as well as dozens of other feature improvements, are the outcome of extensive client input on the new version as well as the direct result of client feedback gathered and strategic research and development (R&D) projects undertaken.
Desire2Learn Instructional Design Wizard™ and Desire2Learn Course Builder™ are complementary to the existing content management tools, and are the result of substantial investment and years of intensive R&D involving clients, strategic research partners, including National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and Université de Moncton, along with many members of the Desire2Learn R&D group. For more information about this research partnership, please see www.synergic3.com.
Desire2Learn Instructional Design Wizard™ is a new tool that increases the quality of courses and enables time-savings by simplifying and streamlining the course development process using an instructional design framework.
Within the Instructional Design Wizard, instructors can:
Desire2Learn Course Builder™ , is an intuitive drag-and-drop interface within Desire2Learn Learning Environment that enables organization and management of the development of a course, its lessons, and its materials. This is all accomplished in an accessible framework.
- Organize tools and steps for setting up courses
- Organize a course into modular units with complete learning experiences
- Define course learning objectives
- Incorporate outcomes-based assessment
- Identify appropriate instructional methods
- Recommend tools to use to create the learning experiences desired in the course
- Promoting alignment of those experiences with Bloom's taxonomy
- Create structure and placeholders for the Course Builder tool
- Review instructional design strategies
Within Course Builder, instructors can:
Course Builder will enhance the course development process and end user experience. Educators will spend less time focusing on the technology and more time on what's important: teaching and learning.
- Organize and structure lessons and complete courses
- Interact with course materials, learning experiences and assessments in an organized and consolidated interface
- Build on the placeholder and structure guidance provided by the Instructional Design Wizard to align to instructional goals
- Easily associate competencies and learning objectives with learning experiences and assessments
- Creating activities to build competency structure to promote objective-based learning and assessment
- Add learning experience and assessment placeholders to enable defining the structure of a course
- Populate them later by creating new items or linking to existing resources
Desire2Learn Learning Repository 5.0 has been designed to dramatically increase value through improved search and the storage of not only learning activities, but now assessments and quiz questions. Open standards are being leveraged to help with library integrations and incorporating other repositories to provide a simple method to discover, access and incorporate global learning resources.
Desire2Learn ePortfolio 3.0 takes social learning to a new level with improved dashboards and the expansion of open APIs and Web Services.
Desire2Learn Analytics 1.1 focuses on providing greater access to information on student performance and engagement, expanding the capabilities of existing data and enabling customization of assessment and rubric criteria.
Further details on these features will be highlighted in a subsequent release or can be accessed by visiting www.Desire2Learn.com/experience-it.
"We heard very clearly from our educational and corporate clients that they needed help with frameworks to support instructional design, and to speed the development of high quality courses and programs that meet their vision for a high value learner experience," states Baker. "The effort behind this release wasn't just focused on tools for a single instructor building a course; we were also addressing the demand for multidisciplinary course development teams needing a better framework for their course and program development."
To learn more about Desire2Learn Learning Suite 9.0, and experience it first hand, visit www.Desire2Learn.com/experience-it, call 1.888.772.0325 or email Info@Desire2Learn.com.
About Desire2Learn Incorporated
Desire2Learn Incorporated is a world-leading provider of enterprise eLearning solutions that enable institutions and other organizations to create teaching and learning environments that reflect their vision, values, goals, pedagogical approaches and branding. Desire2Learn and its subsidiaries support more than five million learners worldwide and clients include Higher Education, K-12, as well as Associations, Government and other leading organizations. Founded in 1999, Desire2Learn is headquartered in Kitchener, ON, Canada with personnel located in North America, the U.K. and Australia. For more information, visit: www.Desire2Learn.com, call 1.519.772.0325 or toll-free 1.888.772.0325 (within North America), 0808.234.6744 (U.K.) and +61 412 067 308 (Australia).
Last edited by UrbanWaterloo; 05-08-2010 at 05:16 AM.
Palmer Audio
150 Vondrau Drive, Cambridge
www.palmeraudio.com
Small firm plans big events
April 28, 2010 | By Chuck Howitt, Record staff
http://news.therecord.com/article/703187
CAMBRIDGE — Palmer Audio may be one of Waterloo Region’s best-kept secrets.
“We’re not known in the community at all,” says president Scott Pollard.
But outside this area the company has organized some of the biggest events in North America. When Pope John Paul came to Toronto in 2002, Pollard had the mammoth job of hiring technical contractors to provide all services at each venue, including lights, cameras, audio, staging, communications, security, transportation and cleanup.
He points to an aerial photo in his Cambridge office showing a sea of 800,000 people crowding about the site at Downsview Park. To plan the event, “I was there (Toronto) for pretty much two years,” he says.
The following year, organizers of the Rolling Stones concert for SARS called. This was going to be a smaller show, only 500,000 people. Could Palmer do a feasibility study on whether the Downsview site would work for that event as well? And by the way, could he have it ready in three days?
Not only did he meet that deadline, he went on to serve as oversight planner, working with police, fire services, roads officials and health officials. He also helped manage the overall budget and hired vendors and suppliers of tenting, scaffolding, toilets and trash collection.
The Ottawa Blues Festival, the Molson Indy, auto races in Edmonton, California, Mexico and Australia, entertainment at the Vancouver Olympics, large corporate events. Palmer has designed, planned, lit, amplified, staged, serviced and videoed all these events. “A boutique design-build company,” is how Pollard describes Palmer.
It all happens from a 15,000-square-foot building on Vondrau Drive in Cambridge. Built by Palmer five years ago, it’s packed to the rafters with crates of sound equipment, lighting, rolls of wiring, flooring, stage scaffolding and the like. Crates are colour-coded to denote equipment owned by Palmer and two other similar companies sharing the space — Straight Street Event Services and Hiretech Systems.
Palmer acquired Hiretech a few years ago, but runs it as a separate entity handling more local events. Straight Street, owned by Keith Kissner, plans regional and medium-sized corporate events and fundraisers. An addition of 7,000 square feet put on the plant to accommodate its recent move to Vondrau Drive.
Together the three firms employ 16 full-time and 33 part-time people.
With all three firms under one roof, “we can co-exist in different markets and feed off each other,” says Pollard.
For Pollard, it all began in high school, at J.F. Ross Collegiate in Guelph. While studying theatre arts and electronics, he volunteered to help set up school shows and other community events at Ross Hall, at that time the only concert hall in the city. By the second year, he was in charge of audio, projection and lighting. “I ran Ross Hall,” he says.
He also played bass guitar in a band. “I was always the guy setting up the equipment.”
After graduation, he worked for a local sound company, then bought some of the equipment and clients when the owner wanted to change direction. He called the new firm Palmer Audio after the street he lived on in Guelph.
He started doing sound for rock concerts. One night he noticed a band struggling with flimsy-looking sound equipment. He helped the band set up. Named the Spoons, it went to become one of the most successful Canadian bands of the 1980s. Pollard became their sound man and tour manager.
From there he broadened Palmer’s expertise to include larger events and motor sports. Along the way he hired a lighting designer named Drew Detlor. They became partners with Detlor running day to day operations while Pollard hits the road.
The main challenges now include changing technology and the economy. With technology getting cheaper, some clients try to do more in-house, Pollard says. As for the recession, it has cut revenues, but the firm still made a profit last year.
“I’ve been through three recessions. Everytime we’ve come out of it stronger.
Last edited by UrbanWaterloo; 05-04-2010 at 07:34 AM.
Karos Health the sixth company to graduate from Accelerator Centre
By Charlotte Prong Parkhill, Chronicle Staff
May 05, 2010
Karos Health celebrated its graduation from the Accelerator Centre last Wednesday. The company, which creates software for use in the field of electronic health systems, is the sixth start-up to graduate from the networking centre.
“This is a little like when I moved away from home for the first time,” said president Rick Stroobosscher.
During their two years at the Accelerator Centre, they’ve enjoyed furnished rooms, meals, and occasionally, the keys to the car.
“But even more important are the moms and dads that are here, with loads of advice and experience to share,” he said.
Tim Jackson, recently named the new CEO of the Accelerator, said the community can expect to see more graduations in the near future.
He’s been on the board of directors since it opened three years ago, and said the typical company needs a two-to three-year cycle in which to maximize their potential through the networking, mentoring, legal, accounting and other services offered at the centre.
Jackson said they are also working with Communitech and the digital media hub at their Kitchener office.
“So there will be one intake process that will help figure out where people should go, without duplicating services,” he said.
Many of the companies currently at the Accelerator are local, but the centre is building a reputation and starting to attract attention from across the country and the U. S.
“So one of the things I’m really focused on here is moving people through,” Jackson said. “Either because they’ve maximized their potential and it’s time to grow, or they’re stagnant. We’re not afraid to say to people, ‘It’s time for you to move on.’”
Karos Health is definitely not stagnant. In the exploding field of electronic health care management, they’ve seen some new investment recently, and have significant business opportunities in Canada, the U. S. and Europe.
In some ways, the health care industry lags behind many others when it comes to sharing information electronically. Karos is well positioned to expand with the pace of what is expected to be exponential growth.
“We’ve seen in the last couple of years, federal governments around the world have really take it on as a focus and are investing billions of dollars in it,” Stroobosscher said.
Karos headquarters is staying local but about a dozen employees will move from their 500 square foot space at the Accelerator to an office five times larger on Father David Bauer Drive. Stroobosscher said the company’s strength lies in collaboration with health care system creators such as Agfa, Dell and Cisco.
“We work with people who make applications, and extend them. I like to say we’re plumbers — we connect things together.”
Karos software allows doctors in remote northern communities to order tests and receive results from specialists thousands of miles away. In Alberta and Quebec, physicians can get access to a patient’s health care information from anywhere in the province.
“What we’re really trying to do is connect those sources of information,” Stroobosscher said. “For us it’s really about building up patient-centric health care, as opposed to institutional-based.”
Michel Pawlicz, director of business development, said some of the booming field’s greatest challenges lie with the security and privacy of information. But connecting medical systems more appropriately will mean everyone who is allowed to could access the patient’s full medical history.
Right now, the history can be scattered, especially for more complex illnesses. Patients can misinterpret or misunderstand the results of their own tests. Physicians can wait weeks for results to be faxed or couriered to their offices.
The interlocking e-health systems are expected to shorten wait times for patients and reduce overhead costs for doctors, hospitals and specialists. But Pawlicz suggests that with more complete records available, these systems could also lead to fewer misdiagnoses, fewer adverse drug reactions and a reduction in side effects.
“This will empower the patient to be more central in his care process,” he said.
“It gives the patient the tools to be more proactive.”
it's great to see them move their office Uptown, I would like to see alot more of this in the future.
Last edited by RangersFan; 05-07-2010 at 06:01 AM.
Centra Industries Inc.
HQ: 24 Cherry Blossom Road, Cambridge
Website: www.centra-ind.com
Canada's Economic Action Plan Invests in Businesses and Creates Jobs in Cambridge
May 7, 2010 | http://www.feddevontario.gc.ca/eic/s...eng/00274.html
Cambridge, Ontario — Residents and businesses in the Cambridge area will benefit from an investment of more than $2.3 million for Centra Industries Inc. to buy new equipment for its manufacturing facility. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) at Centra Industries Inc.
"This investment will create jobs in Cambridge and stimulate the local economy," said Minister Goodyear. "Our government is working with people and businesses across southern Ontario to ensure this region continues to thrive and prosper."
Centra Industries Inc., a manufacturer of aerospace parts for commercial and military aircraft programs, will receive a repayable contribution of $2,376,248 to purchase new equipment to increase its manufacturing capacity. This funding will also allow Centra Industries Inc. to meet existing and future contract demands from Boeing and other prospective clients and will create 41 new, full-time positions.
"Centra's aerospace manufacturing capability competes at a world class level, supplying critical structural assemblies on significant emerging airplane platforms," said Mr. David McIntyre, President of Centra Industries Inc. "Support from FedDev Ontario is providing Centra an opportunity to continue to invest in the latest in high speed machining technology and expand its highly skilled workforce."
This project will be funded under the Community Adjustment Fund in southern Ontario, which will create immediate employment opportunities and support the local economies that have been struggling with the effects of the global economic downturn. Other projects approved under the Community Adjustment Fund will be announced over the coming weeks. Approved projects must meet the terms and conditions set out in their contribution agreements.
FedDev Ontario was created as part of Canada's Economic Action Plan to support economic and community development, innovation, and economic diversification, with contributions to communities, businesses and non-profit organizations in southern Ontario. To learn more about FedDev Ontario and the Community Adjustment Fund in southern Ontario, please visit the website at www.feddevontario.gc.ca, or call 1-866-593-5505. For additional information on Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.
Federal cash helps aerospace firm create 41 jobs
May 07, 2010 | Record staff | http://news.therecord.com/article/708181
CAMBRIDGE — Centra Industries Inc., a Cambridge-based manufacturer of aerospace parts for commercial and military aircraft, will create 41 new full-time jobs after receiving $2.3 million from the federal government.
The funding, in the form of a repayable loan, will allow Centra to meet existing and future contract demands from Boeing and other potential clients, the company said today.
Gary Goodyear, minister of state responsible for the federal economic development agency for southern Ontario, announced the funding at Centra’s plant on Cherry Blossom Road.
Centra will use the money to invest in high-speed machining technology and expand its skilled workforce, company president David McIntyre said.
“Centra’s aerospace manufacturing capability competes at a world-class level, supplying critical structural assemblies on significant emerging airplane platforms,” he said in a news release.
Last edited by UrbanWaterloo; 05-07-2010 at 08:01 PM.
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