Innovation + Job News

MaRS research and innovation hub to expand: Phase two construction will create 4,000 direct jobs

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The MaRS Discovery District, opened in 2005, has rapidly fulfilled its intended function as a hub of research and an accelerator of innovation—an incubator of dozens of start-up companies and a link between researchers, hospitals, universities, entrepreneurs, financiers and venture capitalists. Today, more than 2,300 people are directly employed by the various tenants housed at its College Street MaRS centre, and it recently announced an expansion that will see it almost double in square footage and make it, according to the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, "the largest urban innovation hub in the world."

The phase two construction—which was always part of the long-term strategy—was halted when the global economic crisis struck in 2008. Now it's back on, with committed tenants and provincial government financing, according to MaRS Discovery District CEO Ilse Treurnicht.

The construction, now underway and scheduled for completion in September 2013, will employ 4,000 workers. Information supplied by the office of the minister of innovation suggests the job gains will not all be temporary, either: after completion, 5,000 people are expected to work at the facility, including employees of anchor tenants Public Health Ontario and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.

"Today, start-ups are blooming and growing across the GTA," Treurnicht writes. "These young, high-growth companies create the majority of new jobs in modern economies.... The expanded MaRS Centre will catalyze more startups and help grow companies that will generate thousands more knowledge-based jobs in the years ahead."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Sources: Ilse Treurnicht, CEO, MaRS Discovery District; Office of the Minister of Research and Innovation; Chris Stevenson
Communications Director, MaRS

Mississauga unveils 10-point plan to become centre of creativity and innovation

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Job one for the City of Mississauga is to "establish a Mississauga Innovation Leadership Alliance comprising leaders from the private sector, post-secondary institutions, and the city that can provide strategic direction, support and commitment to overseeing initiatives designed to strengthen the innovation economy in Mississauga," according to a report commissioned by the city and its Research, Innovation and Commercialization Centre (RIC).

The report, entitled "A 10-point Action Plan for Innovation in Mississauga," was unveiled late last month. Pam Banks of the RIC said in announcing the strategy that it will "get more of the Mississauga business community, in particular, involved in fast-tracking innovation" in Canada's sixth-largest city.

Thought of by some in downtown Toronto as a primarily suburban municipality, Mississauga has recently become a hub for the pharmaceuticals industry, among others. Despite this blossoming innovation culture, according to the report, the city still lacks "a meeting place to promote connectivity and a coherent approach to better capitalize on the post-secondary assets for training, education and R&D purposes."

The plans focuses on building a hub organization to connect business and academia, fostering research and development clusters, nurturing a talent stream to develop entrepreneurs and create jobs, and marketing the city as an innovation hotspot.

According to the RIC, meetings this month will examine how to begin implementing the strategy.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Jana Schilder for the Mississauga RIC Centre

Biopharmaceutical company Eisai to establish Canadian HQ in Mississauga with staff of 11

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Late last month, the provincial government and Esai Inc, a Japanese-based biopharmaceutical conglomerate, announced that the company will establish a Canadian headquarters in Mississauga. The expansion of Esai's operations will see the company invest $15 million in the region, supplemented by a provincial government grant of $2 million. What is now a one-person operation will add 11 new staff over the next five years.

Eisai first announced its expansion into Canada just over 15 months ago. Then, the company's chairman Hajime Shimizu said the Canadian operation would anchor an expansion of the Esai's marketing of its drugs in Canada as it embarked on a substantial expansion of its activity here. In a statement on the recent headquarters expansion announcement, Esai Canada president Takihiro Hirasawa said the company selected Mississauga as its headquarters because of "its exceptional talent pool, comprehensive research and clinical trial resources and unique global connections and partnerships."

The GTA centre will be conducting clinical trials and introducing the company's range of medications to Canada, including those to treat Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and breast cancer.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Sources: Lauren Tedesco, Office of the Minister of Economic Development and Trade; Lynn Kenney, senior director, U.S. corporate communications for Eisai; Manufacturing Chemist

Expanding R&D into electric car battery system creates 102 new jobs at Dana's Oakville operation

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Just two years ago, a heat exchanger essential for the operation of lithium-ion batteries in hybrid and electric vehicles was developed in Oakville, Ontario, at the global battery R&D centre of Dana Holding Corporation. The exchanger is now featured in the Tesla Motors Sport, the Ford Focus EV and the Chevrolet Volt, as well as in new models from Hyundai and Kia.

Recently the company received a $2-million grant from the province of Ontario to fund ongoing development of such battery cooling systems, funding that the government and the company say will add 102 new staff to the company's existing team of 53. For its part, Dana expects to invest $37 million in expanding its Oakville research centre and its Cambridge, Ontario, manufacturing facility. It's also engaged in research projects with three Ontario universities.

"We're pleased to collaborate with the province of Ontario," stated Dwayne Matthews, president of the Power Technologies business at Dana, in a news release after the grant was announced. "Clean energy is a global need, and will require commitments from both public and private sectors to make alternative-energy vehicles more broadly available."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Sources: Lauren Tedesco, Office of the Minister of Economic Development and Trade; Dana Holding Corporation

Toronto washroom hygiene innovators Hygienna flush with $50,000 from Spin Master Innovation grant

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Yonge Street reported this spring that Canada's largest toy maker (and one of its fastest growing companies), Spin Master, had teamed up with the Canadian Youth Business Foundation to sponsor an innovation fund that would give recipient companies $50,000 and team them up with mentors to help their businesses grow.

Citing the "innovation, passion, integrity and outstanding character" of all the recipients, Spin Master CEO Ronnen Harary announced the eight recipients of grants from the fund. Among them was one Toronto-area company, Hygienna, founded by local entrepreneur Christopher Kang. The company is focused on design innovation in the personal hygiene field; its first product is a screw-top attachment for water bottles that turns them into portable bidets.

As Kang explains here, his company was inspired by the simple realization that for many people, going to the washroom, especially a public washroom, "can be a complicated and traumatic experience, so we're out to help them solve their problem."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Harold Chizick, VP of global communications and promotions, Spin Master Ltd.

Blu Trumpet launches app monetization platform, is staffing up

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

In the minds of many people, Google's purchase of Toronto startup BumpTop for a reported $35 million last year put the Toronto tech sector on the map, and also secured the position of Xtreme Labs (and its affiliated investment arm Extreme Venture Partners) as the big players in the local mobile software development industry.

So some excitement greeted the launch this month of a new venture by some of those familiar players--the new app-monetization platform Blu Trumpet is led by Nina Sodhi, the University of Waterloo alum and Harvard MBA who served as COO of BumpTop. And the venture is the first to emerge from Xtreme's partnership with New York-based IAC, Hatch Labs, which bills itself as an "entrepreneurial sandbox" for mobile products.

Blu Trumpet, with sales and administration offices in New York and development based at Xtreme's Yonge Street headquarters, has introduced an advertising mechanism for app developers that they claim users will enjoy rather than find annoying. "We call it it 'life after banners," says Sodhi. "It's an app discovery tool that app clients add to a nav bar, so users choose to navigate to it to find other apps from advertisers." Karthik Ramakrishnan, the product director who heads the development team in Toronto, says that early metrics show more than 10 per cent of users come back to the app discovery tool again and again, "so we know it is adding value for the users." Which, Sodhi and Ramakrishnan agree, makes it all the more valuable for both advertisers and host apps.

Sodhi says that Blu Trumpet currently has a team of four working in Toronto and two in New York, and expects to double its staff her and perhaps triple it in New York by the end of the year. She says that originally the company's plans had not called for basing all development work here, but that the rich pool of talent that's available here, and that has been shown to be "willing to stick things out" with start-up companies, made the decision obvious. Sodhi attributes the bustling scene here to both the presence of great engineering university programs in the area and to government programs that support innovative startups. Meanwhile, Ramakrishnan says that prominent "exits" like the sale of Bumptop last year have created an appetite for startup life among local developers. "People are interested in startups again--the risk factor is mitigated by the coolness, the desire to be in on the ground floor of something exciting," he says.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Nina Sodhi, CEO, Blu Trumpet; Karthik Ramakrishnan, Product Director, Blu Trumpet

Polar Mobile grows rapidly with global expansion announcements, hiring "constantly" now

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Last year, Toronto-based application developer Polar Mobile doubled the size of its workforce as it grew quickly to serve a roster of corporate clients. In November, company spokesperson Jon Zifkin said it was a matter of the company having built a solid development foundation upon which it was now rapidly building. "The immediate future is pretty steady growth as we continue expanding our reach globally," he said.

Those words appear prescient on the heels of two recent Polar announcements. On August 17, Polar unveiled a deal with Nokia that will see it develop 300 or more applications for big-name corporate clients for use on the Nokia phones. In the announcement, a Nokia spokesperson cited Polar's ability to scale up to meet the demands of the world's top-tier brands as a key asset in the deal. One week later, Polar announced the opening of an office in Dubai alongside a deal with a major Middle Eastern phone manufacturer to build more than 100 apps to serve the region. Once again, the company's ability to scale quickly was cited as a decisive factor.

Polar spokesperson Sydney Strader says that as the announcements suggest, the investment in a scalable platform for apps is now paying off. "We can now turn out apps for big clients as quickly as two weeks, and that's across every single smartphone platform, as well as tablets," she says. "Growing to become a large global player is certainly the intent. Every year now we've seen growth around the world, and we continue to expand in those markets.

As you might expect, the company is continuing to hire at a quick rate. "Our team is pretty much constantly growing now," Strader says of the 40-employee company. "There are lots of open positions, and we expect that to be the case going into the future."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Sources: Jon Zifkin, Director of Business Development, Polar Mobile; Sydney Strader, Communications, Polar Mobile

Bionik Labs brings mind-controlled prosthetics from sci-fi to reality, hires 14 in 2 months

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

It might be the holy grail of the prosthetics world: an artificial limb that moves in response to the thoughts of the person wearing it. And such a device has been developed by two students at Ryerson, Thiago Caires and Michal Prywata of startup Bionik Labs. The young company--less than a year old--has drawn attention from major media outlets around the world, including, locally, CBC, Global and the Toronto Star.

Prywata says they are motivated to develop medical devices that extend and enhance the lives of those suffering--they're seeking out flaws or gaps in current medical technology that they can address. Their first prototype, a robotic forearm controlled by the brainwaves of the wearer, uses brainwave technology that's already been developed for video games and fairly basic mechanical moving parts. The pair hope to eventually market the device for less than $20,000.

Another product they have under development will likely hit the market sooner, Prywata says. They have developed a mobility device that will allow paralyzed people to walk, and the company is currently seeking manufacturing facilities and regulatory approvals to commercialize the technology.

They built their invention while both were students at Ryerson, working out of Thiago's home. Since unveiling it, they have moved into the business incubator at Ryerson's DMZ, and have begun developing other products. Plans include a prosthetic hand and an artificial lung, as well as innovative surgical procedures.

Prywata says that the company is growing quickly. "We're up to 16 employees now, and this has all happened in the past two months. This spring, we didn't even have a company yet, now we have a lot of people working to build a company." He says the founders have received quite a few offers from venture capitalists already, but are waiting to further develop the company before accepting outside investment.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Sources: Michal Prywata, Bionik Labs; Toronto Star; Ryerson DMZ

Owens-Illionois to hire 20 with innovative retooling of Brampton plant

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

In a move that company vice-president Ryan Modlin heralded as signalling "a vibrant future for glass packaging in Ontario" Owens-Illinois (O-I) announced earlier this month that it would be undertaking an innovative update of its Brampton glass manufacturing facility. Company spokesperson Beth Peery says the plant will be seeing $29 million in updates and innovation upgrades to add capabilities.

The updates are to add new capabilities to the plant's product offerings, make the building more sustainable and, it was announced, would add 20 new jobs to the existing staff of 314 as part of a financing deal with the provincial government. Peery says that since those numbers were agreed to and announced, the company has already exceeded hired more than twice as many new staff as had been expected.

The global glass manufacturer's GTA factory produces glass bottles for the LCBO, among other things, and the changes at the plant should add the capability to create more colours and styles of bottles ncedin line with sustainability efforts to create more lightweight packaging. The company will also update the heating at the facility to make it more energy efficient.

The move was heralded by spokespeople for the provincial government -- who are preparing for an election -- in a statement crediting favourable tax benefits to the company and an $8.8 million loan to the expansion effort.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Sources: Beth Peery, O-I; Lauren Tedesco, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development

Pharmaceutical giant Roche Canada to invest $190 million in Mississauga R&D facility, hire 200

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Roche Canada will invest $190 million to construct a new research and development facility in Mississauga, the company announced last week. According to information sent in an email by Corporate Affairs Manager Mike Vesik, "The Mississauga site will coordinate the execution of global clinical trials both within the Roche affiliate network that support more than 60 countries world-wide, and as outsourced trials working with Contract Research Organizations."

"We are extremely pleased to bring global Pharmaceutical Development opportunities to Ontario," Roche Canada President and CEO Ronnie Miller said in his announcement. "We have built a respected clinical expertise within the Roche global network, and this new capability will firmly establish Roche Canada, and the province of Ontario, as a global hub for life sciences and biopharmaceuticals."

The facility will be one of six global research centres for the company, developing new medicines, taking them through testing and trials and bringing them to market. The company estimates the facility will create 200 new jobs through direct employment. Vesik says that the jobs be for both scientists to lead and manage clinical trials and for support staff, and adds that the talent pool in the GTA and the area's school's is one of the key assets of the plant's location.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Mike Vesik, Roche Canada

Canadian Innovation Exchange launches registration for 4th annual conference in Toronto Dec. 1

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) has announced that its fourth annual conference will be held at the MaRS Discovery District in downtown Toronto beginning Dec. 1, 2001. The event brings together entrepreneurs, startup companies and investors to share information and ideas through presentations and networking opportunities.

The conference also features the unveiling of this year's CIX TOP 20, a high-profile selection of the 20 most innovative companies in Canada. Registration for both the conference and consideration in the top 20 is open now. "CIX has established itself as the must-attend conference," says CIX co-chair Rick Nathan in a statment. "This year we have added even more facilitated meeting exchanges to ensure these players have a chance to make real contacts that will ultimately lead to partnerships, investments and growth."

Registration is available online. A list of keynote speakers and presentations will be announced in the coming weeks. However a sneak peak list of attendees includes Jordan Banks of Facebook Canada, John Albright of the BlackBerry Partners Fund and Claudia Fan Munce of IBM Venture Capital.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Katye Seip, Achilles Media, presenters of the CIX

Top Toronto startup 500px goes from 2 to 8 staff this summer, is hiring two more

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Earlier this year, the Toronto-based photo-sharing platform 500px was a two-person, home-based, self-financed operation. It had been that way since 2003, when it launched on the former blogging giant Livejournal, and remained that way as it slowly grew in popularity after it migrated to its current site on the web in 2009. The site allows users to share photos and to create galleries and portfolios. But when the number of the site's users suddenly grew by 60 per cent this spring to 85,000, 500px jumped into another league.

An announcement of $525,000 in venture capital financing in early June and a move to office space at Ryerson's Digital Media Zone drew notice, and soon 500px rose to the top of the TechVibes list of Toronto's hottest startups (seventh on the Canada-wide list). As reported recently in the Globe and Mail, the company's growth had been on the verge of sinking it. With the new funding, it instead seems to be rising fast.

This summer, the startup has grown from the original two founders to a staff off eight, and they are currently hiring two more developers now, as they look for new office space.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Sources: Evgeny Tchebotarev and Oleg Gutsol, fournders, 500px; The Globe and Mail, TechVibes, TechCrunch

100km Foods among six Toronto companies to get local food funding

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The local-food distribution company 100km Foods Inc was launched in 2008 by Paul Sawtell and his partner Grace Mandarano from their Indian Grove home near High Park, in connection with the growing popularity of the locavore movement and in accordance with "Local Food Plus" guidelines. The pair built a network of farmers near the GTA and supplies restaurants and caterers. This year, Sawtell says, he expects sales to top $1 million.

Last week a bit of help growing the company even more arrived in the form of a $171,000 grant from the provincial government's Greenbelt Fund. "When we buy Ontario, everyone wins. It strengthens the local economy and supports our farmers," said Carol Mitchell, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, in announcing the grants. "Through this program, we are increasing the amount of local food in the kitchens of our hospitals, schools, daycares and other public institutions, providing our patients and families with fresh, local Ontario food."

100km Foods was just one of six Toronto organizations to receive funding through the project. The others were Dana Hospitality, George Brown College, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Scarborough Hospital and St. Michael's Hospital.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Sources: Melissa Zanette, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; The Globe and Mail

Almost $1 million in federal funding will see Toronto's Nulogy grow and add 40 jobs

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Nulogy, headquartered near Queen and Bathurst in downtown Toronto, has received up to $954,687 in financing from the federal government through its economic development agency, FedDev Ontario. The company will use the money to finance global expansion, according to CEO Jason Tham, as it launches its consumer products packaging software PackShop. This summer's federal announcement came just months after Nulogy received $3 million in private financing from a group led by Klass Capital.

Nulogy was launched in 2002 by a group of Waterloo University graduates to provide software to the consumer packaged goods industry. It has since well established itself through its PackManager software. As Economic Development Minister Gary Goodyear said in his speech at the Nulogy headquarters, "Our contribution to this company will help them research, develop and bring their new PackShop software to market. This innovative software will allow retailers, marketers and manufactures to customize the packaging design of any product. Since 2006, the company has significantly increased revenues and demonstrated the potential for continued rapid growth."

Tham said that the expansion of the company will grow in alignment with its "Living and investing locally, while competing globally" philosophy, saying "Nulogy will use this financing to expand as we secure new customers and enter new markets around the world." The expansion is expected, according to FedDev Ontario, to create 40 full-time jobs.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Nulogy; Gary Toft, Director of Communications, Office of the Honourable Gary Goodyear

Markham's Novo Plastics gets $1 million loan from province for eco-friendly auto parts

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Markham-based injection-moulded plastics manufacturer Novo Plastics, whose manufacturing facility employs 70 people in the GTA, has received $1 million in support for an innovative car parts line. The money, provided in the form of a loan facility, is provided by the Ontario Ministry of Innovation through its Innovation Demonstration Fund.

The company was founded in 2006 to design and manufacture parts for heating and air conditioning systems and for automobiles. It's products for cars aim to be more environmentally friendly than alternatives. Novo Plastics President and CEO Baljit Sierra said in a statement that the loan from the government will help fund the continued testing and commercialization of a muffler system that is lightweight and offers lower carbon emissions than traditional metal mufflers. "Novo Plastics in honoured to have this vote of confidence from the government of Ontario," Baljit said, calling it an "investment in advanced, green technology."

In its five years of operation, Novo Plastics has grown to fill an 80,000-square-foot headquarters in Markham that runs three production shifts, as well as establishing sales and manufacturing facilities in the US, Germany, India and South Korea.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Baljit Sierra, President and CEO, Novo Plastics