Why Trade Matters
Success Stories
Canada-India: Furthering Trade Together
International Trade Minister Jim Peterson is leading a trade mission
to India fom April 3 to 7, with stops in Mumbai, the financial capital,
and New Delhi. With an expanding middle class estimated at 250 million
people, India offers significant opportunities for Canadian trade
and investment in such sectors as agriculture and financial services,
and infrastructure, specifically in the areas of transportation,
energy and information and communication technologies. Another important
goal of this mission is to foster bilateral science and technology
(S&T) collaboration between academic communities and the corporate
sector, building on the results of a study on S&T institutional
linkages between Canada and India released in November 2004.
This special issue of the Success Stories features Canadian
companies that have included India in their global business plans.
|
| Click to enlarge |
Concrete Solutions for the Construction Industry Worldwide
Kryton Group,
Vancouver, British Columbia
Kryton Group’s specialty chemical
products can be found from foundation to rooftop in all kinds of
structures worldwide—in North American office towers, incorporated
into bridges and dams in the heart of the tropics, and in Tokyo
subway tunnels. In Mexico, its Krystol waterproofing is protecting
the Coatzacoalcos Bridge, one of the longest single-span, cable-suspended
bridges in the world.
To meet the expected increase in demand in the Indian market, Kryton
recently established a new coatings division at its manufacturing
and distribution facility in New Delhi. The acquisition was prompted
by a UN study that predicted that, by 2015, three of the world’s
10 largest cities would be in India. “The country is poised
to experience tremendous growth and rapid urbanization, including
significant real estate and infrastructure developments,”
says Ron Yuers, Chairman of the Board and former CEO of Kryton Group.
Kryton opened its first plant in New Delhi in 1999, as a result
of agreements reached during the Team Canada trade mission to Asia
in 1996. “Team Canada not only encouraged our potential partners
to move faster, but it also ensured a timetable for signing, as
everyone wanted to close the deal with their leaders present,”
says Yuers, who also participated in the Team Canada 2001 trade
mission to China. During that trip, Kryton signed a contract to
create a joint Canada-China research group at Tongji University.
“Meeting the political and private sector elite in other countries
is not only important for export success—it is essential,”
adds Yuers. “Trade missions are the best way to get the job
done.”
Fully 98 percent of Kryton’s products are exported to more
than 40 countries, primarily China, Indonesia and the United States.
|
| Click to enlarge |
Pioneer in Ballistic Identification Systems
Forensic Technology,
Edmonton, Alberta
When detectives on CSI Miami consult IBIS to identify a crime gun,
they are referring to Forensic Technology’s
Integrated Ballistics Identification System. But it is not only
fictional characters in popular TV series (including Law & Order)
that rely on IBIS to solve firearm-related crimes. Law enforcement
agencies in Florida and around the world use the technology to match
spent bullets and cartridge cases to the weapons from which they
were fired.
IBIS works by digitally capturing the images of bullets and cartridge
cases, storing them in a database, performing automatic comparisons
and ranking them according to the likelihood of a match. Forensic
Technology has also developed b.a.r.d (Beyond A Reasonable Doubt),
which allows sharing of data between law enforcement and criminal
justice communities, and Gunsights, a software collection of firearm
specifications and images.
While its major market is the United States, Forensic Technology
is promoting safer societies in more than 30 countries and territories.
One of its most recent clients is India’s Ministry of Home
Affairs, which purchased a comprehensive crime-fighting package
in 2004 and is partnering with Forensic Technology to institute
a state-of the-art forensic science laboratory. The company was
introduced to the Indian market in 2002 during a Canada Trade Mission,
when it signed an agreement to deliver training and technology to
25 laboratories throughout the country. For Andrew Creevey, Regional
Director, Asia Pacific, the trade mission presented an ideal opportunity
to examine India's requirements for modernizing crime laboratories
and helping to combat firearm-related violence throughout the country.
"India is a big project for us," says Creevey, "and
our participation in the trade mission helped speed up negotiations
with our potential client.” According to company president
Robert A. Walsh, Canadian trade commissioners have been instrumental
in the company’s global success. “Commercial attaché
staff have always been available when we needed them,” says
Walsh. “They do everything they can to assist Canadian business
ventures abroad.”
Winner of a 2003 Canada Export Award, Forensic Technology employs
176 people in Montreal and has offices in Largo, Florida and Washington,
D.C., as well as in Ireland, South Africa and Thailand.
|
| Click to enlarge |
Hydro-meteorological Data Collection in India
Info-Electronics
Systems Inc.,
Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, Quebec
Info-Electronics Systems Inc. (IES) has
carved a niche for itself in India, handling projects on its own
behalf and that of other North American firms. An expert in engineering,
systems integration and project management services, IES develops
software solutions in the fields of hydro-meteorology, e-business
and multimedia applications. Since setting up an office in India,
the firm has conducted high-profile projects such as the provision
of hydro-meteorological data collection systems for forecasting
floods, cyclones and avalanche conditions in the Himalayas and a
ground data processing system for India’s remote-sensing satellite.
As part of the World Bank-funded flood forecasting system for the
Mahanadi and Chambal river basins, IES was awarded a contract to
provide 55 remote monitoring stations—which measure hydro-meteorological
parameters such as water level, rainfall, temperature, humidity
and evaporation—and two central receiving stations. Data from
these stations are beamed to satellite, then back to two satellite
reception ground stations for analysis, enabling the Central Water
Commission of India to warn people of possible floods and to plan
for agricultural irrigation. IES has also developed a system to
collect and process imagery data from India’s INSAT-2E satellite,
which is used for weather forecasting. In addition, IES India provides
various services in multimedia and interactive training, including
applications software development and e-learning project consultancy.
To expand the company’s contacts in the region, Dr. Harinder
P.S. Ahluwalia, President of IES, participated in federal government-led
trade missions in 1996, 2002 and 2003. “We had the opportunity
to hold talks with high-level personnel from the India Space Research
Organization, the Department of Science and Technology and the Disaster
Management Institute of India,” says Dr. Ahluwalia. “Being
part of the delegations also made it easier to look around for other
companies that could help increase our business in India.”
Incorporated in 1981, IES is headquartered in Montreal and has
an office in New Delhi.
|
| Click to enlarge |
Serving India’s Animation Studios
ChromaColour International,
Calgary, Alberta
"Over the last few years India has made progress in the animation
industry, with about 20 studios now operating in the country, in
particular, around the Hyderabad area," says John Munro, President
of ChromaColour International. As a participant
in the Canada Trade Mission to India in 2002, Munro had the opportunity
to discuss strategic alliances with a number of potential distributors.
Since then, the Calgary-based company has made sales to some animation
studios, and recently appointed an agent for its products who is
based in Pune, with offices in Chennai and Mumbai. "Our distributor
is working on a number of potential accounts and we are looking
forward to increased sales in the region," says Munro.
This was the third such federal government-led mission for ChromaColour,
which signed an agreement with Team Canada in Korea in 1997 giving
ChromaColour sole distributorship of the Jung Sung Manufacturing
Company’s animation discs. The company also participated in
a Team Canada West trade mission to Los Angeles in 2001 where an
agreement was signed to supply ceramic paint to a North Hollywood-based
franchiser.
Although the ChromaColour brand name is historically associated
worldwide with top-quality animation paint, the company also provides
a broad range of industry-specific equipment, furniture, software
and supplies. Some of its renowned clients include DreamWorks, Disney,
Warner Bros. and Film Roman. In addition to its animation business,
ChromaColour International manufactures products for the Fine Art
industry and Ceramics industries.
|
| Click to enlarge |
Solar-Powered Marine Lights
Carmanah Technologies Inc.,
Victoria, British Columbia
Countries around the world are brighter and safer thanks to products
manufactured by Carmanah Technologies Inc.
The Victoria-based company designs and produces solar-powered LED
(light-emitting diode) lights for marking channels, waterways, moored
vessels and docks, as well as highlighting hazards and high-caution
areas on roads, highways and railways.
With 12 major ports, 150 minor ports and 12,000 kilometres of coastline
and navigable inland waterways, India represents a large market
for marine navigation products. During the Canada Trade Mission
to the region in 2002, Carmanah signed a contract for the sale of
22 of its Model 701 marine lights to the Port of Kandla, the connecting
hub for one million square kilometres of northwestern India. “Buyers
there recognize that our short-range marine navigation lights are
the best in the world,” says Carmanah CEO Art Aylesworth,
“and the Model 701 has the lowest cost of acquisition, installation
and operation in its class.” Like all Carmanah lights, the
701 has a self-contained power source and requires no battery/bulb
replacement or other maintenance during its lifespan.
About 85 percent of Carmanah’s production is exported to
port and roadway authorities, marinas and rail yards, as well as
other commercial and private users. The company also serves the
needs of the Canadian and United States coast guards and the United
Kingdom’s Trinity House.
|
| Click to enlarge |
Mapping India’s Sea Floors
Quester Tangent Corporation,
Sidney, British Columbia
Quester Tangent Corporation specializes
in real-time data acquisition, logging and control systems for rail
transit vehicle and marine science markets. The company of 30 people
has been working with the Naval Hydrographic Office of India and
associated shipyards since 1992, but decided to join the 2002 Canada
Trade Mission to India in order to expand its marine business.
“Since then, we have sold sea floor mapping systems to the
Indian Navy and the National Institute of Ocean Technology,”
says Bill Collins, Vice-President of Quester Tangent. “We
have also appointed a local partner, Pan India Electromech, in anticipation
of increased business in the marine sector and to support the marketing
of our rapid transit product line.” Last year, the company
attended the International Hydrographic Seminar on marine surveys
in Mumbai which brought together specialists from the world over
to exchange views on the subject of national security and development.
Quester Tangent’s hydrographic and marine acoustic remote-sensing
products are used in 30 countries in sectors such as fisheries research,
ports and harbours, the military, coastal zone management, the environment,
and oil and gas, while its passenger rail electronics products are
integrated into transit systems operating in Canada, Malaysia and
the United States. Among its high-profile clients are Vancouver’s
SkyTrain, Kuala Lumpur’s PUTRA transit system and New York
City Transit.
Back to "Why Trade Matters"
|
