A new crop of surveillance technology developers in B.C. is illustrating the importance of having major home-based companies and a critical mass of local talent in creating a flourishing cluster.
Consider Coquitlam’s Seon Design Inc. as an example. The mobile surveillance systems maker’s co-founders are former employees of Silent Witness Enterprises Ltd. – a surveillance system maker founded in 1986 that arguably was the seed for B.C.’s entire surveillance technology cluster.
Silent Witness, which was founded to develop black-box recorders for cars, was bought by Honeywell International Inc. in 2003 for $84 million.
July 6-12
An American phone-directory publisher with US$115 million in annual revenue and plans for significant growth is set to base its head office in Vancouver.
The move runs counter to Vancouver’s reputation as a branch-plant city, where California-based companies such as Electronic Arts and Lions Gate Entertainment have significant B.C. operations but are based elsewhere.
ZipLocal’s 950 employees work in the 30 U.S. states where the company operates. It has no immediate plans to expand into Canada, but CEO Olivier Vincent plans to run the business out of downtown Vancouver, possibly in the Harbour Centre tower.
July 6-12
An agreement to ban all mining, oil and gas projects in B.C.’s Flathead River Basin contains wording to compensate the companies with operations there by July. But those companies say they haven’t received a dime.
“To be honest, the dialogue with the government has been pretty skinny,” said Bill Morton, president and CEO of Eastfield Resources Ltd.
The Vancouver-based gold explorer was sent reeling in February when the provincial government announced an agreement with the State of Montana to protect the Flathead from potentially damaging mining projects. The basin was protected because of its proximity to Montana’s Glacier National Park.
July 6-12
B.C. wood-pellet producers are being hit hard by rising sovereign debt concerns in Europe. More than 80% of production from B.C.’s nine pellet plants is destined for the European market, where the wood fibre is burned to produce power.
Lately, the euro has been on a steady slide against the Canadian dollar, and that’s hurt local pellet producers.
“Prices have held fairly steady in Europe, but the decline in the euro all of a sudden has made conditions difficult for us here,” said Gordon Murray, executive director of the Wood Pellet Association of Canada.
A year ago, one euro was worth as much as $1.63 in Canada, but last month it dropped as low as $1.24.
That, said Murray, limits currency exchange benefits B.C. producers used to enjoy. It also makes it more difficult for them to compete against Scandinavian pellet producers, who are much closer to their consumers.
July 13-19
The rise of e-commerce and book-reading devices such as Amazon.com’s Kindle and Apple Corp.’s iPad has ravaged booksellers’ bottom lines and prompted some independent bookstores to close and become Internet-only operations.
Entrepreneurial confidence, however, continues to flourish. Ria Bleumer watched 52-year-old Vancouver-based Duthie Books shrink from eight locations to a single 3,200-square-foot store that closed in February.
In August, Bleumer will open Sitka Books & Art in 2,800 square feet of space that has long been a Book Warehouse near West Fourth Avenue and Maple Street.
July 13-19
Removing the Main Street overpasses might be the most practical answer to the question of what to do with Vancouver’s viaducts.
According to Lon LaClaire, manager of strategic transportation planning in the City of Vancouver’s engineering department, the option to shorten the viaducts so that they terminate at Main Street could offset costs of area construction and/or a new street network and reconnect Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside with False Creek.
City staff recently presented a report to council outlining six options for the future of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts, the remaining piece of infrastructure from a mothballed freeway plan.
July 13-19
A Burnaby company wants to supply BC Hydro with the technology to support the utility’s $930 million smart metering and smart grid program. But, its market traction thus far illustrates the challenges many B.C. companies face in procuring government contracts in the province.
If Tantalus Systems Corp. is successful, its technology will be used in up to 1.8 million homes in B.C. that are expected to receive smart meters by 2012 under Hydro’s program.
Tantalus recently closed its fiscal year-end, in which it reported $25.3 million in sales – a 134% increase compared with 2008.
The venture capital-backed firm, which has 81 staff, is planning to hire an additional 33 employees this year. However, of the 30 utilities that Tantalus is working with, none are in B.C. and only two are in Canada (one in Ontario; the other in the Maritimes).
July 20-26
The rise of social media is rattling the foundations of business models at public relations companies across Metro Vancouver.
That shake-up has forced some agencies to close, which in turn has increased the number of independent public relations consultants at a time when younger, aspiring PR professionals are opting to go it alone.
They say the traditional model of career advancement in public relations is “broken” and that establishing a reputation as a social media expert is a better springboard to a successful career than is slowly climbing the ladder at a traditional agency to be an account manager.
Industry veteran Mat Wilcox agreed that the clipping services part of the business has been rendered virtually obsolete. She said Google and social media sites make it easy for clients to find out what’s being said about them.
That contributed to her decision to close her agency at the end of August and become a social media consultant.
July 20-26
Cirque du Soleil’s production of Kooza will create 150 temporary local jobs and stimulate Vancouver’s arts scene when it launches in Vancouver July 22 for a one-month run.
The circus-style production also brings 50 performers and 125 permanent staff who have travelled across North America with the show since it left Montreal three years ago.
The production is one of 19 Cirque du Soleil productions showing around the world. These include:
- seven permanent shows in Las Vegas;
- another three presented in Orlando, Florida; Tokyo; and Macau;
- seven “big-top” travelling shows performed in tents; and
- two travelling shows performed in arenas.
Combined, the shows generate nearly $1 billion in annual revenue.
July 20-26
An exclusive agreement to sell rare earth metals could be a major boon for a local trade company, but it comes amid increasing volatility as China tightens its stranglehold on the industry.
Vancouver-based Canada Export Centre (CEC) recently secured a deal to sell up to 3,000 tonnes per annum of rare earths on behalf of a Chinese conglomerate.
Bill Purcell, the CEC’s director of rare earth trading, believes the timing of the deal couldn’t be better.
Rare earths are a group of lesser-known metals such as dysprosium and neodymium that are used for many high-tech and clean technologies.
They’ve become indispensable lately as the demand for hybrid cars and laptops continues to grow, but more than 90% of all rare earths are produced in China.
July 27-August 2