Top 3 Funding Programs for CTT’s Business MIssion to China 2012

A guest blog from Mentorworks

CTT’s upcoming Business Mission to China is an excellent opportunity for many Canadian small businesses to expand internationally, however finding room in your budget to attend can be difficult. Luckily, the Federal and Provincial Governments offer a wide variety of Canadian Government funding options to help stretch your dollar. Mentor Works, the Canadian Government Funding Experts, have outlined the top three funding mechanisms for this event.

1. Export Market Access – $30,000 Grant or 50% of Eligible Expenses

Open for all projects ending before June 30, 2012, the Export Market Access trade show grant covers 50% of eligible costs related to international trade shows (ie. ICT Expo) and support activities. Typical applications include airfare, accommodations, booth space, marketing materials, giveaway items, market & competitive research, and product certification.

2. CME SMART Prosperity Now – $75,000 Grant or 33.3% of Eligible Expenses

The CME SMART Program was reinvented for an early February 2012 launch, with a new funding branch: Export Development. In addition to capital equipment and environmental-focused projects, this Ontario government grant allows applicants to receive 1/3 of their export activities in grant funding, including trade shows (ie ICT Expo), international marketing plans, packaging redesign & marketing materials for new markets, foreign country product certification, and foreign website development.

3. Going Global Innovation – $75,000 Grant or 75% of Eligible Expenses

The Canadian government grant is designed to promote international partnerships in an attempt to create a new product or technology for the Canadian market. Going Global Innovation will cover 75% of expenses related to travel, meeting costs, translation, and accommodations over 3-4 visits with prospective partners. Planning one of these visits to coincide with the Business Mission to China will help to capture a portion of these travelling expenses as you build partnerships abroad.

More Information Available from Mentor Works

For more information about these and other Canadian government grants, loans, and tax credits, please contact Mentor Works, The Canadian Government Funding Experts, based in Cambridge, Hamilton, and Burlington, Ontario. They will help you find the best funding for your needs and assist you throughout the application process to ensure you have the best opportunity to receive funding to accelerate your growth.

Waterloo Region: Old Buildings New Purposes

For those who regularly read my posts (Hi Mom!), you will recall a post from months back that discussed CTT’s new location in a cinema-turned-office building. Adaptive reuse and creativity allowed the transformation of this downtown Kitchener movie theatre into open-concept offices with character. As it turns out, Waterloo Region is actually rather good at this adaptive reuse game. The Breithaupt Block  has created a good deal of buzz (The Record, The Globe and Mail, Daily Commercial News) as a rubber factory being transformed into workspace for high-tech and creative businesses.  There are, in fact, many more examples of this type of adaptive reuse going on in the Region.

Perhaps the most obvious example is the Lang Tannery, the current home to Communitech, The Tannery School of Music, Google, The Firkin Pub and Desire2Learn, among others.  The sprawling industrial complex was the largest sole leather producer in the British Empire. It produced saddles during WWI and leather lining for aircraft gasoline tanks in WWII. Operations ceased in 1954 and plans to convert the Tannery into office space began in the 1980s. Though the industrial operations of the building has long ceased, the exposed brick and wood still provide hints of the building’s past life. The project was recently recognized with a Brownie award.

 

In Cambridge, the University of Waterloo School of Architecture has repurposed the Riverside Silk Mill along the Grand River. The mill was built in Galt in 1919 and remained in use until 2000. Renovations began in 2003 and the school moved in the following year. The project is an example of public-private partnership, urban revitalization and environmental remediation.

The expansion of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in September provides us with another adaptive reuse success story. CIGI’s offices are located in the old Seagram whisky distillery warehouse. The Seagram distillery operated in Waterloo from 1857 – 1992. On that same site, the Seagram Lofts have been converted from industrial space into living space. The presence of old machinery and barrels from the site’s whisky producing past provide a unique style and feel.

Some other notable projects include:

The Cambridge Mill (Grist Mill is transformed into a restaurant)

Bauer Lofts (Carriage factory turned into residential, commercial and office units)

Grand River Brewery (Knife factory reborn as a brewery)

The Kaufman Lofts (Shoe factory becomes residential lofts)

The Lofts on Mansion (From boot factory to townhouses and lofts)

Bread and Roses Co-operative Housing (Former button factory to a non-profit housing cooperative)

Arrow Lofts (Former shirt factory to lofts)

Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of Social Work (Former school becomes… a school)

Southworks Mall (from a steel factory to a retail centre)

Tiger Lofts (former textile factory to affordable housing)

Galt Little Theatre (former church becomes theatre)

The aforementioned projects are but a sample of the number of adaptive reuse successes in the Region. I could go on, but I should get back to my day job.

Converting old industrial factories into office space is an interesting way to see this Region’s progression from its predominantly manufacturing past (though still a vital sector in this economy) into a vibrant ICT and high-tech cluster. It is a physical representation of this area’s ability to reinvent itself.

Canada’s Technology Triangle and Waterloo Delegation attend The 8th Chongqing International Garden EXPO (China)

By John G. Jung, CEO, CTT

John G. Jung, CEO, CTT

I never thought of a Garden EXPO to be important or a major international economic development driver, but I must admit that I was wrong.

The Chongqing Garden EXPO is more than a garden expo site; it is a major regional investment covering 2.2 square kilometres that provides a permanent regional park in the community; it is a domestic and international tourist attraction and adds to the economy of the region through jobs and innovation in landscape and environmental design. It also helps significantly in building and maintaining international relationships. In short, its wow factor is as significant as any of the mega events on a regional and global stage. Its goals include developing innovation in mountain and river garden designs and landscape development, as well as developing expertise in ecological, scientific and conservation design and development. Furthermore, the Chongqing Garden EXPO covers garden floral, natural ecology, leisure and cultural tourism, interactive amusement, art and design as well as business and trade exchanges. It also seeks to develop a platform for collaboration among its international partners, especially sister cities and friendship cities. Learning to share resources, participating in exchanges and developing partnerships and other cooperation seem to loom large in their programs. In previous years the China International Garden EXPO took place in Dalian (1997), Nanjing (1998), Shanghai (2000), Guangzhou (2001), Shenzhen (2004), Xiamen (2007) and, Jinan (2009).

Waterloo Delegation at Chongqing Garden Expo (see recreation of Waterloo Park Victorian Garden behind)

The City of Waterloo signed a friendship agreement with Chongqing in December 2009. CTT, area universities and private sector partners have been back numerous times since and we have benefitted from many large delegations and training programs coming to the Waterloo Region in the past two years. Waterloo was invited to open a park in this massive garden project. It sent its designers a few months back to check on its progress and this week, the Waterloo delegation, headed by Mayor Brenda Halloran visited the completed garden. CTT participated and used its CTT-WLU offices to assist in the coordination of the visit. The delegation found a familiar sight in the form of a small replica of Waterloo Park with its gates and columns. The delegation beamed with pride. The Mayor of Chongqing passed in his motorcade and waved to our delegation. The Chongqing Foreign Affairs Office also beamed with pride on their accomplishment. This was definitely a day of brownie points for Waterloo in relationship building between our two cities and regions. >> View 360 Degree panorama of the Waterloo Park Victorian Garden Replica

The day was a celebration of sights, sounds, good food and goodwill. Many of the other friendship and sister cities were there unveiling their gardens as well. Among them included Houston; Seattle; Cordova, Chile; Quebec City; San Francisco; Wales and Brisbane; among others. It was an opportunity to share stories and business cards among the international participants as well.

The delegation attended the day-long event, but there was also targeted business that took place on this trip. Several of our private sector partners such as Gowlings, Miller Thomson, Logikor and Christie Digital undertook business meetings and briefings with the Canadian Consulate while in Chongqing. The Universities met with their counterparts and with the Ministry of Education for successful discussions regarding student exchanges. I also gave a couple of presentations to Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications and to the Cloud Computing office of the Communications Ministry and the Chongqing Service Center (with whom CTT signed an MOU in May, 2011).

Waterloo Delegation Meets with SASAC

We all met with the Chongqing State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Committee (with whom CTT also signed an MOU in September, 2011). This meeting further developed our program of developing some key projects and provided further information on investment opportunities in the Waterloo Region. Finally several of our delegation members met with the Foreign Experts group, a group that encourages sharing of information by foreign experts in China from abroad.

Waterloo Delegation Meets with Foreign Experts Group

As we look to China as one of the economic drivers in the 21^st Century it becomes clear that having a China strategy is important. Our strategy revolves around our relationship with Chongqing. Chongqing is the only municipality directly under the jurisdiction of the central government in the central and western part of China. The area is an extremely important modern manufacturing base, a transportation hub, and a mega-city focused on integrated urban-rural reform. Many of our industry sectors and our institutional interests come together in this part of China.

Developing relations in China happens in many different ways. They can’t be accomplished by just sharing a boiling hotpot and toasting each other with Moltai. It also can’t happen simply by coming once a year and disseminating business cards, even if they are in Mandarin. We have to look for many different ways to strengthen the relationship. The Garden Expo experience proved to me that a long-lasting point of connection in the form of a replication of the Victorian garden at Waterloo Park in Chongqing and the pride and linkages that are formed around this union are much deeper than one suspects on the surface. I expect that we will have many investment opportunities in the future on the strength of this effort alone.

Brazil: All systems are go

Jung Jung, CEO, CTT Inc.

When you think of Brazil, what comes to mind? The movie “Rio”? Samba? Carnival? Caipirinha (a lovely but toxic drink that creeps up on you after a few glasses)? Or perhaps those skimpy swimsuits up and down the beaches of Copacabana? Some may recall the tourist images of the Christ the Redeemer statue on the mountaintop overlooking Rio, called Corcovado, or the iconic Sugar Loaf mountain popping out of the ocean like big gumdrop candy. Perhaps Rio doesn’t come to mind at first and instead you might recall the density of people in Sao Paulo (population 40 million), the sounds and images of the Amazon in Manaus or the futuristic images of Oscar Niemeyer’s Brasilia? Or maybe the Brazilian flag during World Cup games is an image that many of us in North America recall the most.

What most people don’t think of are the incredible business opportunities in this massive country that is nearly the size of the United States. It is surrounded by no less than 9 countries and full of entrepreneurs, multinational investors and average Brazilian citizens with the keen desire to embrace opportunity. It has become the darling of international investors and those seeking new global opportunities. It is red hot, not just on the Brazilian beaches, but also in board rooms , conferences and trade shows, like Futurecom and RioInfo. Flights are fully booked and the buzz on the streets is for more than the Girl from Ipenema. As The Economist has aptly pointed out: Brazil takes off!
Canada’s Technology Triangle recently organized its first exploratory mission, led by Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr (representing the Region of Waterloo), to Brazil from September 7-16, 2011. Other delegates included George Dixon, VP Research at the University of Waterloo; Drew Knight, University of Waterloo’s Director of International Programs at Waterloo International; Bo Densmore, Director of Economic Development for the City of Cambridge; Zoran Veselic, VP, Visual Environments at Christie Digital; Alex Lucena, Business Development for Latin America at Desire2Learn; Ray Phillips, VP of Latin America, Sales and Service at OpenText; Jon Rohr, Editor –in –Chief, Exchange Magazine; Darryl King, President, Logikor Inc; Craig Mar, GM at Logikor Inc., as well as John Jung, CEO of Canada’s Technology Triangle.

Mayor Carl Zehr, George Dixon, and Canada's Ambassador Jamal A. Khokhar at the Futurecom Canada Booth, Brazil

Our business mission took us to Brasilia, Rio, Sao Paulo and Curitiba. Without going into the full itinerary, our extensive program covered everything from meetings in the Mayor of Rio’s office; to MOU’s signed by University of Waterloo with Pontifica Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro, an important research-focused university in Rio with whom the University of Waterloo has had a long relationship with through its computer faculties; and an important meeting with CAPES, the education ministry in Brasilia, looking to send 100,000 students abroad. We also met with the Secretary of State of Science and Technology for Brazil, who expressed interest in bringing the Governor of Brasilia to visit the Waterloo Region to focus on our experiences in P3 partnerships in developing tech parks and best practices in R&D commercialization and innovation in the ICT sector. We were also briefed by Canada’s Ambassador, Jamal A. Khokhar, in Brasilia as well as by the Canadian Consulate officials in Sao Paulo along with our colleagues from across Canada attending Futurecom. We met with RIM’s representatives in Brazil and toured Brazil’s version of NASA at INPE’s research facilities in Sao Jose dos Campos. We also gave extensive presentations in Sao Paulo and Curitiba to industry organizations, universities and companies. In addition to learning about opportunities from organizations such as Softex, the industry association for the software industry throughout Brazil, we met with each of their local affiliates and some of their member organizations. So intrigued were Softex members about the opportunities in the Waterloo Region, we were invited to be keynote speakers at their annual national conference in Rio, called RioInfo, during the week of September 26. As a result, it is expected that Softex will also send a representative to the Waterloo Region to further explore opportunities with the Waterloo region’s companies in this sector next month.

Zoron Veselic, Christie Digital, presents to consulate at the Brazil Chamber

While CTT’s focus was on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), our private sector members in the delegation took advantage of our two-way trade and development approach and promoted their companies. They also looked for opportunities to locate in Brazil or enhance potential sales opportunities. This activity is called CDIA, or Canada Direct Investment Abroad. For instance, Desire2Learn has made great inroads in Brazil and this mission further assisted their plans. OpenText already have operations in Brazil, but took advantage of the doors that the Mayor’s participation opened to enhance their current opportunities. Christie used the opportunity to get connected and establish themselves in the region, especially with the World Cup and Olympics on the Brazilian horizon. The Mayor’s participation in this mission cannot be underestimated. Without a senior civic leader like a mayor, our delegation would not have been received in the same manner or welcomed by senior officials. The number of contacts we made was impressive, and directly related to each of the delegate’s areas of interest. Delegates themselves benefited from knowledge gained about respective companies/organizations as we traveled across the country.

Bo Densmore, City of Cambridge, at the Institute of Space Environment Research

This mission also helped us to better understand and appreciate the value of the highly collaborative public-private partnership model we work in everyday back home in the Waterloo Region. In fact, we couldn’t have asked for a better delegation to represent us abroad. Our partners on the mission were an exceptional representation of our community in action: government, non-profit, private sector and institution. Jon Rohr of Exchange Magazine exclaimed after one of our presentations: “We rocked!” Mayor Zehr introduced the region, and I spoke about our sectors and strengths. Private sector partners finished with their examples of excellence in the marketplace. Christie’s Zoran Veselic pulled out his tablet and displayed images from the Beijing and Vancouver Olympics, and showed a screening of the movie “Rio” using the front of one of Copacabana’s major hotels as the screen. Christie enjoyed celebrity-like status among our delegation, largely due to their visualization and projection experiences with the World Cups and Olympics. Attendees eagerly gave their business cards to Zoran to help ensure Christie’s success in the Brazilian market. Alex Lucena explained the future of learning and how Desire2Learn products and services will help to transform teaching and learning experiences around the world. Similarly, Waterloo-based Open Text was well-received as Canada’s largest software company that produces and distributes computer software applications designed to enable ECM solutions for large corporations across all industries. We also heard from Drew Knight about the excellence of the University of Waterloo, from its unique IP policy to its successful cooperative education program and relationships with the business community.

Waterloo Region Delegates at FIEP, Curitiba

We met with our final group in Curitiba, a collection of some 20 organizations, all of whom were in awe of our community model, as demonstrated by our delegation members. They explained to us that they aspire to break down the silos they’ve built and become more integrated among their partnerships. Clearly we can offer them something as well.

CTT is planning to return to Brazil in September 2012. If you are interested in participating in the next delegation activities in Brazil with CTT, please contact John G. Jung at john@techtriangle.com

Waterloo Region gets a visit from Taiwanese Young Entrepreneurs Foundation

In September, CTT helped coordinate a visit to Waterloo Region by the Taiwanese Young Entrepreneuers of the Future (YEF). YEF was founded by the Epoch Foundationin 2003 to help the program’s students to nurture a global vision, enhance innovation, entrepreneurship, and build their networks in the global entrepreneurial community.  YEF trains the students through the ten-month program, including team building, mentor coaching, business plan development, entrepreneurial workshops, English oral assessment and an overseas visit.  Each year YEF program selects approximately seventeen finalists from nearly two hundred student applicants from Taiwan’s top universities.  The finalists are rewarded by having the opportunity for an overseas visit to the most active entrepreneurial communities – and this year, that community was Waterloo Region.

The Finalists get the opportunity to share ideas with companies’ entrepreneurs and student groups, build up the networks and further broaden their horizons. The Students, accompanied by Terence Huang, Manager of Quanta Computer in Taiwan, enjoyed an exhilarating itinerary, including visits and tours to VeloCity, the Accelerator Centre, the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, the University of Waterloo Center for Automotive Research (WatCAR), the Communitech Hub, CIGI and some local tourist attractions.

The YEF finalists were inspired and enthused about the area. When asked “What makes this area so special?” They replied…

Cindy Yen, Student, Department of Public Finance, National Chengchi University

Yin-Yu Lin, Student, Department of Computer Science, National Tsing Hua University

Yao-Yu Lin, Student, Department of Physics, National Tsing Hua University

In the past eight years, YEF overseas visits centered in Silicon Valley and Boston, and included stops at places like Google, Sun Micro, Juniper Networks, IDEO, Digg, Meebo, E-ink, i-Robot , MIT and UC Berkeley.

KW’s Oktoberfest: Verwunderlich Food and Brews

Jordan Duff, Information Officer at CTT Inc.

With Summer coming to a close, university students flooding back to the area, and a drop in temperature, one cannot help but turn their thoughts to Kitchener-Waterloo’s  upcoming signature event: Oktoberfest. The annual nine-day festival, based on the original German Oktoberfest, has been attracting tourists since 1969. The festival runs from the Friday before Canadian Thanksgiving until the following Saturday. With 16 festhallen, 40 family and cultural events, a parade with 120 floats, bands and characters, and even a Miss. Oktoberfest Pagent, Oktoberfest celebrates the area’s German heritage, good food and great beer.

While its best-known draws are the beer-based celebrations, other cultural and entertainment attractions also fill the week. The most well-known is the parade held on Thanksgiving Day – it is the only major parade on Canadian Thanksgiving, and is broadcast throughout Canada and portions of the northern United States on CTV. The parade draws an audience of about 150,000. But let’s get back to the food and beer part.

The food and beverage industry is thriving in Ontario, as well as in Waterloo Region. This is good news as Oktoberfest involves a healthy amount of eating and drinking. The initial Oktoberfest consumed 50,000 lbs of sausage and other German eats washed down with 57,000 gallons of ale – these numbers only increased as the festival grew. Schneider’s Foods (now part of Maple Leaf Foods), began as a small operation in J.M Schneider’s kitchen in the 1890s. Over time, it grew into a major supplier of processed foods and meats. Half a century later, Wilhelm Huber, a Yugoslovian immigrant, opened a butcher shop that evolved into Piller’s Sausages and Delicatessans Ltd.  These two companies produce over 30% of all hotdogs consumed in Canada (roughly a billion anually)  right here in Waterloo Region. Need a bun?  Weston Breads is right around the corner.

If those salted meats have left you a bit dry, Cambridge’s Grand River Brewing and Waterloo’s Brick Brewery (one of Canada’s largest breweries) can provide you with some tasty and quenching pints. In fact, the Brick Brewery is touted as a leader in Ontario’s renaissance in craft brewing . Other examples of regional craft brewing include Grand River Brewing, who produce a variety of staple beers and unique seasonals out of an old knife factory in Galt. Mark your calendar for the upcoming Highballer Pumpkin Ale release!

KW’s Oktoberfest has had its beer supplied by Molson-Coors for over 30 years and this year they will feature a traditional German-styled beer brewed by nearby Creemore Springs. If you would like to pair that with the perfect Oktoberfest frank – you’re in luck! Schneiders developed the official Oktoberfest sausage in 1969.

Now that I have whet your appetite for some fine German culture and fare, you may also want to note that CTT Inc., Okotberfest, and our Municipal Partners will be using Oktoberfest as an opportunity to showcase and promote the Region of Waterloo to international business leaders, media, and government at the annual Passport to Success event.

Conestoga College Student Brent Morrison Starts Things Up for Siggraph 2011

A guest post by Brent Morrison, Advertising – Creative, Conestoga College – School of Media & Design

Ever since I started in the creative field I’ve always wanted to visit Vancouver. Not only for the opportunities presented by the city but also for the beautiful landscapes and the chance for adventure. I’ve spent my entire life growing up in southern Ontario and never really explored outside of the province. When the opportunity presented itself through my work placement to travel to Vancouver I was absolutely beside myself.

As a student, to have an opportunity such as this find its way to me, I couldn’t have been more thankful. As an advertising student, my role for the Waterloo Region – Canada’s Technology Triangle booth at Siggraph 2011, was to develop and design the creative in collaboration with Canada’s Technology Triangle, Communitech, The City of Kitchener, Christie, and Waterloo Regional Tourism Marketing Coorporation.

My creative approach when I was starting ideas for design was trying to figure out who we were communicating to, either young or an older audience. Unfortunately the demographic was not known however I used this to my advantage by designing the creative that would connect with both audiences.

Since there seems to be a retro trend in society currently, vinyl records becoming popular again, styles of clothing and even colours, I thought I would apply this trend to the project at hand. I designed a pixel like theme for all the creative, including icons, text and images. I gave it a slight modern feel using black backgrounds and variations of bright colours. I felt that the younger individuals would connect with the retro feel with a modern look to and the more mature generations would be able to indentify with the older look.

Start Here: Canada's Technology Triangle - Waterloo Region

Our booth content was centered on a Waterloo Region Trivia game, with the categories of Career, Education, Lifestyle, Start-up, Creative, and Diversity. The object of the game was to answer questions and earn category buttons to enter a draw for the grand prize – a BlackBerry Playbook.  Since our theme was ‘Start Here’ I designed the buttons with a pixilated start button that you would find on a computer. We had roughly 6000 players participate in the trading of our buttons. We had plenty of positive feedback saying how much people enjoyed interacting with others and commented on the design itself, which was humbling. We even heard about people trading them outside of the convention.

Overall our booth was a great success as we were able to make an impact through our creative game that, according to participants, other booths failed to do. People thought the whole trading idea was fun as it made everyone interact with each other, rather than just handing out redundant promotional swag.  My experience at Siggraph 2011 in Vancouver was incredible. This was such an invaluable learning experience working with many people and developing the content, especially in such a small time frame. I’m definitely appreciative of having the opportunity to work on this one of a kind project and finally have my chance to see Vancouver in all of its glory.

Siggraph 2011, Vancouver

For more information about this initiative, visit www.waterlooregionstarthere.com.

CTT Goes to the Movies

Jordan Duff, Information Officer at CTT Inc.

In 2010, Canada’s Technology Triangle Inc. moved from its offices in the CIGI Seagram Building (in Waterloo) to The Synergy Centre (in Kitchener). A location previously home to the King’s College Square Cinemas (until 2004), and before that, The Century Theatre (1928  – 1961).

Despite the location’s shift in business ventures, the cinematic theme still abounds… coming attractions are now business attractions, foreign films have been replaced with foreign direct investments and instead of the musical ‘Billy Elliott’ we are now showing VP of Business Development – Bill Elliot. Original light fixtures, glass panels, doors and stairs from the buildings previous offer a theatrical atmosphere. Projection rooms are now board rooms, theatres have been converted into open concept offices and lobbies have been adapted into… lobbies.

Though Kitchener no longer enjoys a downtown cinema, the city and the Region are still home to cutting edge visual technologies. Recently, Kitchener was selected (along with St. John’s and Calgary) as a pilot location for IMAX’s new digital installations. This celebrates a type of homecoming for IMAX, since the IMAX camera and projection system was created in Cambridge by three Galt Collegiate Institute classmates: Graeme Ferguson, Robert Kerr and William Shaw over 40 years ago. IMAX Corporation has since grown to over 500 hundred theatres operated in over 40 countries.

Prior to this, Electrohome, founded in Kitchener in 1907, became one of Canada’s largest manufacturers of television sets from 1949 – 1984. Its reputation was based on its heavy floor models boxed in hardwood cases - relics that can now almost exclusively be found in the homes of our grandparents, waiting to throw out the backs of any grandchild kind enough to volunteer to help move them. In 1984, Electrohome ceased producing television sets as competition from Japanese producers grew. By 1999, Electrohome Projection Systems was acquired by Christie Digital, a company which offers world-class projection displays and digital solutions. In April of this year, Christie announced plans to expand its Kitchener operations. This is likely due to its growing operations: of the 140,000 movie theatres globally, 50,000 use digital projection and nearly half of those use a Christie projector.

Through the past century, the innovation in the Region of Waterloo continues to advance the world of film projection,  and the small cinema start-up Cineflow, which specializes in equipment and software to edit, organize and manage digital images, is no exception. Interruptions to the Sony supply chain have provided Cineflow with the opportunity to expand its business internationally.

So the next time you are here exploring CTT’s new offices, catching up on the latest Dan for Mayor (filmed locally) or watching Mike Lazaridis polish his 1999 Academy Award, remember that although Waterloo’s movie star status is often eclipsed by our neighbour Toronto and the Toronto International Film Festival; this region has made major contributions to the film industry and continues to do so.

*Thanks to Jon Fear of The Record and Karen Ball-Pyatt of the Kitchener Public Library for their help in finding this old article on the demolition of The Century (page 1, page 2).

Stanley Cup Finals, Sticks, Skates and Robots

Jordan Duff, Information Officer at CTT Inc. and Hockey Enthusiast

Waterloo Region is known internationally as ‘Canada’s Technology Triangle’, and is often associated with the high-tech sectors established in the area. Though this is a critical part of our identity, the term actually stems from Waterloo Region’s long history in adapting technology and innovation across all industries  – including Advanced Manufacturing. With the Stanley Cup Finals well underway, it serves as an appropriate time to explore the innovative history of the Waterloo Region using the game of hockey as an example.

Hockey equipment company Bauer was established in 1927 in Kitchener and can be credited with manufacturing the first one-piece hockey skate in 1933. Prior to this, the skate blade and boot were not fixed in place. Bauer would remain a major producer of hockey equipment through being acquired by Nike in 1994, rebranded in 2006 and then sold again in 2008 – returning to the Bauer name brand. It is the major supplier to both teams currently in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.

The Town of Hespeler, in Cambridge, began producing the ‘Hespeler’ hockey stick in the 1930s. Legends Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky are among the many NHLers who used the brand. The company was bought by Cooper (makers of the ill-fated Cooperall) then by Bauer, later bought by Nike. Nike then moved to close the stick producing location before 6 long-time employees purchased the assets and opened Heritage Wood Specialties. Though Canadian-made wooden sticks are a rare sight at the professional level, Heritage Wood Specialties continues to produce them.

The latest Region of Waterloo hockey inspired innovation comes from the University of Waterloo: Hockey Robotics. Perhaps it is no surprise that UW would pursue this market with its former President (and current Governor General) David Johnson’s history with the sport. This recently created company uses their puck shooting robot, SlapShot XT, to mimic a player’s shot, thereby testing the durability of the different materials used in hockey sticks. As the heavier wooden sticks have been largely replaced by composite models, cost and breakage has become a major issue among players of all levels. SlapShot XT is certainly able to push the limitations of any stick as it is capable of shooting pucks up to 110 mph. For reference, Boston Bruin Zdeno Chara set the hardest shot (by a human) record with a 105.9 mph slapshot at the NHL All-Star Game in January 2011. No word on a possible competition between the two.

Community Power Projects – A Closer Look

Ingo Koenig, Koenig Consultants, Germany

A couple of days ago we were interviewed on the differences between community power projects in Germany and Ontario. In Germany wind power is big business, and up to 90% of wind farms have community participation. After comparing the FIT rules, the tax rules, incentives and legal structures we came to the conclusion that the main difference is in the motives and scope for community projects.

In Germany the drivers for the vast majority of community are:

- A passion to change the energy landscape from coal/nuclear to renewable sources.
- A desire to share the burdens and benefits of the project with other members of the local community.
- An interest in earning some decent returns on investment (of time and money).

When it comes to discussing community power projects in Ontario, this last point is undermined and almost a “no-no”. Almost exclusively, co-op and not-for profit structures are discussed as entities with equal (or no) profit sharing and as having one-share-one-vote etc. This co-op-model has not been applied to many wind or solar farms in Germany (personally I do not know of any). For the most part, all farms have been limited partnerships with profit-sharing and voting based on equity-share.
Using this model attracted a high number of highly educated and sophisticated individual investors into the industry. These same people very often switched their careers and are now entrepreneurs, managers, professional advisors etc. for renewable energies enterprises. This, in turn, created a professionalization of the community projects they own and operate and resulted in better returns and increased attraction of people into the community power project space.

Something to think about when in Ontario community power projects are regarded as “granola-bar-eater-projects” by some of the big players.

Koenig Consultants are a CTT Emerald Partner.