NEWS RELEASES
MARCHI PRESENTS 1997 CANADA EXPORT AWARDS
October 6, 1997 No. 159
MARCHI PRESENTS 1997 CANADA EXPORT AWARDS
International Trade Minister Sergio Marchi today presented the 1997 Canada Export
Awards to 10 Canadian companies, selected from over 200 candidates, for their
outstanding export accomplishments. The presentation ceremony was held in Quebec
City, in conjunction with the second annual meeting of the Alliance of
Manufacturers & Exporters Canada.
"I applaud the success of these firms in capturing new markets and providing job
opportunities for thousands of Canadians," said Mr. Marchi. "They are an
inspiration for all Canadian businesses to look beyond our borders to sell their
products and services and I encourage other firms to emulate their entrepreneurial
spirit."
Under the theme Partners in Trade, the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade welcomed Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Export
Development Corporation (EDC), and Stentor, the alliance of Canada's only full-service telecommunications companies, as official sponsors of the 1997 Canada
Export Award program.
"The Canada Export Awards symbolize the successful partnership between government
and the private sector," said Mr. Marchi. "Team Canada partners are setting the
stage to do business abroad so that more Canadian companies can succeed
internationally."
For the first time, special recognition was given by the program's sponsors to
three Canada Export Award winners. Under the auspices of the Canada Export Award
program, Wulftec International from Ayer's Cliff, Quebec, was honoured with the
CIBC Job Creation Achievement, Berg Chilling Systems of Scarborough was presented
with the EDC Smaller Exporter Achievement, and the Bell Canada Innovation and
Technology Achievement went to Nortel's (Northern Telecom Limited) Belleville
Location.
This year, as in previous years, Canada's geographical and industrial diversity is
well represented, with winning companies from coast to coast, and a wide range of
innovative products and services including entertaining family programming,
sophisticated dental implant technology, and state-of-the-art communications
systems and software.
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A list of the 1997 Canada Export Award winners and company profiles is attached.
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Leslie Swartman
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister for International Trade
(613) 992-7332
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
This document is also available on the Department's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
1997 Canada Export Award Winners
Berg Chilling Systems Inc. (Scarborough, Ontario) -- EDC Smaller Exporter
Achievement
Berg Chilling Systems Inc., a small, family-owned business, which employs 81
people, designs and manufactures industrial refrigeration equipment, ice makers
and machinery for process cooling. Among its many clients are those involved in
heavy industry, car manufacturing, plastics, graphics/printing, metal forming and
agri-food. Berg also supplies food freeze-drying systems to the food-processing
industry.
Blitz Design Corp. (Langley, British Columbia)
Blitz Design Corp. develops and markets unique sugar-free "power" breath mints. In
just four years since the 10-person firm was formed, its breath fresheners are
stocked on grocery and drugstore shelves in more than 15 countries around the
world. In the United States, its largest market, Blitz has made it to the top 10
in sales of breath fresheners -- hot on the heels of such established name brands
as Breathsavers, Tic Tac, Certs and Clorets. In the past three years, Blitz's
total sales have grown by 257 per cent, with exports currently making up 84 per
cent of its sales.
Cinar Films Inc. (Montreal, Quebec)
Children in more than 100 countries are hooked on Cinar Films Inc.'s menu of solid
family entertainment programming that is easy on the eye and full of positive
images for impressionable young minds. Cinar creates and distributes such name
brand shows as ArthurTM, LassieTM, The Busy World of Richard ScarryTM, The Adventures
of Paddington BearTM and Wimzie's HouseTM -- beloved, familiar characters to kids of
all ages.
Hummingbird Communications Ltd. (North York, Ontario)
Hummingbird Communications Ltd. develops and sells world-class personal computer
(PC) Internet-working and document distribution software solutions designed for
seamless integration within corporate networks. The fastest-growing software
company in Canada, according to Profit Magazine (1995 and 1996), Hummingbird is
the fourth-largest Canadian software company by revenue, and employs more than 400
people.
Image Processing Systems (Scarborough, Ontario)
Image Processing Systems (IPS) develops, makes and sells automated vision
inspection systems that are used by manufacturers of television sets, computer
monitor displays, automotive glass and beer bottles. The company is best known for
its Automated Display Alignment and Inspection (ADI) System, which is used to
ensure that each television and computer monitor tube is focussed, full-sized,
colour sharp and properly positioned vertically and horizontally, while detecting
any defective units immediately.
Innova Technologies Corporation (Toronto, Ontario)
Innova Technologies Corporation manufactures and markets a dental implant
technique known as the Endopore System, which is used to anchor dental prostheses
such as dentures, partial plates, bridgework and single teeth to the jawbone.
Unlike other implant systems, which rely on screws to moor dental work into place,
the Endopore System is a thimble-shaped implant with a porous coating that allows
bone to grow into its surface, thus meshing the implant with the jaw. The Endopore
System is easy to install, provides a shorter recovery period and less discomfort
for patients, as well as better long-term performance than more traditional types
of dental implants.
McCain International Inc. (Florenceville, New Brunswick)
McCain International Inc. is the international market development arm of McCain
Foods Limited. It exports a full line of processed frozen convenience foods such
as french fries, potato products, vegetables, desserts, pizza, juice, onion rings,
appetizers and oven-ready meals to more than 65 countries.
Nortel's (Northern Telecom Limited) Belleville Location (Belleville, Ontario) --
Bell Canada Innovation and Technology Achievement
Nortel's (Northern Telecom Limited) Belleville facility produces advanced
telecommunications equipment such as private digital switching systems, which
permit communication among voice, data and multimedia terminals. The Belleville
plant maintains design ownership of Nortel's Meridian 1 Small Systems, Meridian 1
Integrated Solutions, Magellan Passport base hardware and Passport Bandwidth
Consolidation (voice and transparent data services). In 1996, Nortel Belleville,
which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, contributed $1 billion to Nortel's
worldwide sales. More than 80 per cent of Belleville's products are shipped to
customers in some 150 countries outside North America.
Tesco Corporation (Calgary, Alberta)
Tesco's top drive systems are installed in land and offshore rigs in more than 20
countries. These systems are essentially robotic machines made up of a drilling
motor and pipehandler used for drilling oil, gas and geothermal wells. Tesco's
fiscal 1997 exports comprised $60.3 million, or 60 per cent, of its sales,
climbing an incredible 1051 per cent from $5.2 million in 1995. Its employment
ranks have burgeoned too -- from three people when the company first opened its
doors, to 440 today.
Wulftec International Inc. -- CIBC Job Creation Achievement (Ayer's Cliff, Quebec
Wulftec International Inc., formed in 1990, designs and manufactures a line of
stretch wrapping machinery used in factories across the United States, South and
Central America and Europe. From soft drink cases to farm produce, Wulftec's
machines can automatically apply a full web of recyclable polyethylene film or
netting around pallets of goods, providing convenient, secure shipment to stores
and warehouses worldwide. Some of Wulftec's models can wrap up to 110 pallets an
hour, achieving a uniform stretch and consistent appearance that could never be
matched by hand.
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