Why Trade Matters
Success Stories
Canadian Innovation: The Power of Ingenuity
Canada has a leading-edge, technology-driven economy. This is one of the key messages that Prime Minister Paul Martin delivered recently during his visit to China, when he stated that: "our nation has expanded and diversified into a knowledge-based economy powered by ingenuity."
Canadian innovation represents a kaleidoscope of technological breakthroughs. These include not only familiar sectors, such as information and communications technologies with companies like Nortel, Mitel and Research in Motion (BlackBerry) taking the lead, but also a myriad of other niches. Among these are: security technologies, such as communications security, identification products and face recognition technologies; and the infrastructure and environmental sector that deals with municipal and industrial water systems, air pollution control, and solid and hazardous waste management. In agriculture, Canada is marketing crop and production control systems, irrigation technology, monitoring and quality control systems, food safety technologies and processes, livestock production and aquaculture, around the world. The list goes on to include space technologies and space robotics (Canadarm 2). Canada is also one of the world's largest producers of fuel cells, thanks to Ballard Power Systems. We are a world leader in geomatics. We have leading-edge pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and are highly advanced in animal genome research, bio-security and food safety.
This issue of the Success Stories features companies that illustrate Canada's innovation mosaic.
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Satellite Technology for Highway Slopes, Ice Environments and More
C-CORE, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
A major project in the United States has C-CORE using its advanced satellite technology to evaluate the stability of slopes along interstate highways. Known as InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar), this technology is capable of measuring ground movement to sub-centimetre accuracy. "Since many highways navigate rugged terrain, planners need to consider various geotechnical issues affecting the construction and maintenance of roadways along proposed routes," says Dave Gullage, C-CORE's Marketing and Business Development Manager.
C-CORE's technical expertise—in fields such as geotechnical engineering, remote sensing, ice engineering and intelligent systems—is used by the natural resources sector worldwide for a variety of applications. The St. John's-based company is currently leading a consortium from six countries in a multi-million dollar program on remote monitoring of northern regions, funded by the European Space Agency.
Development of natural resources in the Arctic is another field in which C-CORE engineers have been actively involved since the mid-1970s, helping industries such as oil and gas manage the risks associated with operating in ice environments. In Alaska, the U.S. government has commissioned C-CORE to revisit options for constructing and maintaining ice islands for exploratory drilling. The company is also actively addressing issues related to northern pipelines and mining.
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A Cure for the Common Cold
CV Technologies Inc., Edmonton, Alberta
A Canadian over-the-counter remedy has become the first natural health product to successfully complete a Phase II, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Developed by Edmonton-based CV Technologies Inc. (CVT), COLD-fX is composed of chemical molecules extracted from North American ginseng, and has been clinically proven to dramatically reduce the incidence and symptoms of colds and the flu.
CVT is marketing its products in Australia and recently entered into a distribution agreement with Calgary-based Extended Care Pharmacy to sell COLD-fX in the United States. "Our product has been proven in eight clinical trials to strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of getting a cold or flu," says Dr. Jacqueline Shan, CVT's President and CEO, and co-discoverer of COLD-fX. "This could have a huge impact on health-care costs around the world, in terms of both prevention and treatment."
A spin-off of the University of Alberta, CVT has been profiled on radio stations and in newspapers such as The Wall Street Transcript and the Hartford Business Journal. The company has experienced exponential growth over the past two years. "In 2002, we were generating less than $2 million in sales a year, while in the last three months of 2004, our sales had soared to over $11 million," says Shan, winner of BioAlberta's 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year Award and a finalist for both an Ernst & Young and a Rotman female entrepreneur of the year award.
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Plant-based, Cholesterol-lowering Ingredient Gets the Green Light in Europe
Forbes Medi-Tech Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia
Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. develops innovative prescription pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products derived from byproducts of the forestry industry and other natural sources for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and related diseases. Over the past few months, the Vancouver-based company's cholesterol-lowering ingredient, Reducol, has obtained approval from European regulatory authorities to be marketed in a variety of food groups, including milk-based products, margarine, soy drinks, spicy sauces and salad dressings. Forbes has also recently signed licensing agreements for the use of Reducol functional food products with Fayrefield Foods in the United Kingdom and with Scanvit Ltd., a Finnish health-care company.
"Our sales opportunities in the European Union have increased significantly with the approval of Reducol in key food groups," says President and CEO, Charles Butt. "I am very encouraged by the level of enthusiasm of our European partners as they prepare for our product launches in the coming months."
Reducol—a unique blend of naturally occurring compounds found in plants—has been clinically proven to help decrease low-density lipoprotein LDL (also known as bad cholesterol) levels safely and naturally. It is produced by the Phyto-Source manufacturing facility in Pasadena, Texas, a 50-50 joint venture between Forbes and Chusei (U.S.A.) Inc., which recently expanded its annual capacity by 50 percent to 1,500 tonnes.
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Inventor of the BlackBerry
Research In Motion Ltd., Waterloo, Ontario
The word BlackBerry has become synonymous with not only cutting-edge wireless technology, but also Canadian innovation and success. As the world's leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of wireless communications solutions, Research In Motion (RIM) has had a profound global impact on the way business and consumers manage mobile connectivity. Its BlackBerry wireless platform has become the standard for secure, always-on, wireless communications, enabling professionals worldwide to remain connected to their mobile phone, e-mail, corporate data, Web and organizer features.
RIM's portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies includes the RIM Wireless Handheld product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third-party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data.
In 2004, RIM was presented with the Innovative Business of the Year award by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) and Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. According to Mark Guibert, Vice-President, Corporate Marketing, innovation has been a key part of the company's culture since its founding. "RIM's pioneering efforts in the wireless data industry go back to the 1980s," says Guibert. "While the rest of the industry focussed on cell phones and pagers, RIM concentrated on mastering the complexities of wireless data technologies. Along the way, and in the face of scepticism, RIM invented many core technologies, products and services that revolutionized mobile communications and led to the BlackBerry being a preferred brand, with over two million subscribers—and growing."
Based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
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Clothing that Fits: Solving a Global Problem
Unique Patterns Design Ltd., Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
While running a previous dressmaking business, Tanya Shaw Weeks was constantly being asked to alter patterns, so she began searching for a solution to automate the process. "I've always been intrigued by technology, and someone told me that you can develop anything you can articulate how to do manually. That's when the lightbulb went off," says Shaw Weeks. She began working with engineers at Dalhousie University, and after much time and determination, developed the proprietary software that led to the start-up in 1994 of Unique Patterns Design Ltd., today the largest custom-fit pattern company in the world.
With its huge and accessible customer base, the United States became Unique's first export market in 1996. Since then, the company has expanded into the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, Australia and the Caribbean, which has brought about a new set of challenges, explains Shaw Weeks. "Shipping to international destinations is a major issue," she says. "We've been working on solutions like printing the patterns in other countries, sending the product electronically and possibly franchising, to grow in those markets."
Approximately 95 percent of Unique's sales are now generated by exports. Through the years, Shaw Weeks has turned to the Canadian consulates in the United States and Europe to identify opportunities and obtain marketing support—a tactic that she recommends highly to other exporters. "There's a lot of helpful information out there to tap into. Don't be shy about seeking help from government agencies, and ask as many questions as you can."
Unique Patterns operates under the management of Unique Solutions, which is also the parent company of Unique Systems, developer of such technologies as the BodyskannerTM, a device that captures accurate 3-D measurements in 45 seconds. Its numerous awards include a Business Development Bank's and an Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year; a Nova Scotia Export Achievement Award; and a Cisco Growing With Technology Award. Most recently, Shaw Weeks received the CATA Alliance's Sara Kirke award for leading woman high-tech entrepreneur.
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