Innovation + Job News

The Ontario Government's Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) program for renewable energy -- which guarantees an above-market rate for 20 years to those who feed the grid with sustainable power -- has created a bonanza for those in the sustainable power generation business. Last week, the province announced that 500 projects had been approved under the program, and many more announcements are pending.

Among those benefiting is Markham-based NorthGrid Solar, who on March 15 announced the opening of two new regional offices in Ontario in Ottawa and Sault Ste. Marie, which add to the reach of the company's existing offices in Markham and Hamilton. According to NorthGrid Solar President and CEO Carlo Di Gioacchino, the company has not even really begun to fulfill its expansion plans. "The FIT program has improved business dramatically," he says. "We've really just launched our partnership in the last couple of months and we've already exceeded our first-year projections by orders of magnitude."

The company is currently hiring, and Di Gioaccino says they're looking to take on "dozens and dozens" of employees over the next year as projects get approved. He says that most of the jobs will be located in the city of Toronto, where the company is currently seeking a site for a large industrial manufacturing space.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Carlo Di Gioacchino, President & CEO, NorthGrid Solar

On March 10, CIBC announced a plan to open or expand six bank branches in the GTA over the spring and summer of 2010, among 20 new or expanded branches across Canada. The bank notes that this is an ongoing expansion program as they have added or expanded 16 branches in the Toronto area since 2008.

In an announcement, CIBC VP of Retail Markets for central Canada Larry Tomei said the new branches mean new jobs. "In addition to increasing our physical presence across the GTA, we are also hiring great people to join our team. We encourage exceptional candidates to visit our online career site to apply."

A spokesperson for the bank, contacted by phone, was unwilling to say exactly how many jobs would be available, as every branch will be different. He did note that CIBC aggressively hires those able to reflect the city's diversity -- some branches offer full banking services in up to 10 diffferent languages. "CIBC will be hiring staff from the local community that speak the preferred language of our clients -- which will reflect the diversity of our clients," is the company policy read over the phone.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Doug Maybee, Director of External Communications and Media Relations, CIBC

YM Biosciences, based in Mississauga, is in the business of turning our country's investments in health sciences research and innovation into products that can be brought to market and improve public health. "We take our public investment in innovation and turn it into a return for society," says David Allan, the company's CEO. Hospitals and universities spend billions of public dollars on basic research, he notes, but very little of it is pursued beyond the basic stage. YM Biosciences uses that basic research to pursue clinical trials to prove the efficacy of drugs for the market.

Allan says he is surprised and somewhat dismayed that there are very few companies doing what his does, noting that the investment in research we make as citizens is so often wasted -- that is, it finds no public health application. And he also sees it as a huge opportunity, "it's almost free food," he says. Which doesn't mean conducting clinical trials is inexpensive.

Last week, YM Biosciences secured US$17.5 million in financing by issuing shares. The money will be used to pursue three products it is currently developing. Allan says that as drug testers, YM Biosciences is a "huge consumer of capital," and that the company has raised roughly $200 million in financing in the 15 years since its founding.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: David Allan, CEO, YM Biosciences

Reena, a social service agency in Vaughan that serves people with developmental disabilities by housing them and helping them integrate into the community, has secured a $1.5 million grant from the provincial government towards the construction of a new facility in Vaughan.

The new building on the agency's Lebovic Campus will house 84 people and will employ 20 support staff immediately, in addition to the construction trades jobs created before it opens, says Minnie Ross, communications and marketing manager of Reena. She says the number of employees "will increase to 30 or 40 over the next two years."

The new building will also house the agency's professional development training program, creating 56 new training spaces for those considering working with the developmentally disabled, and a day centre serving young adults in the community who require programming during the day.

The agency, founded in 1973, currently provides services to approximately 1,000 individuals, including housing 300 people in 132 group homes, condos and apartments.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Minnie Ross, Communications and Marketing Manager, Reena

Bioprocessing Alliance Inc, a new biologics drug development "think tank" meant to assist innovator companies with managing their third-party relationships, has set up shop in the 905 to serve the global market, with an "intergalactic headquarters" in Timmins.

Co-founder and director of corporate affairs Terry Cochrane says that in the past 10 years, innovator companies in the drug development field have moved away from constructing their own facilities to manufacture medications for clinical trials. The shift towards outsourcing in the industry has led to increased complexity in managing relationships with service providers. "Our group has extensive experience managing these things from the service-provider side," Cochrane says. "We basically provide the handshake between the service providers and the knowledge companies."

Just launched on March 10, the Alliance is in "encouraging" talks with a long and growing list of potential clients, Cochrane says.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Tom Cochrane, Director of Corporate Affairs, Bioprocessing Alliance Inc.

On March 9, the Toronto Cyclists Union was honoured for the 'Innovation of the Year' at an awards ceremony in Washington, DC hosted by the Alliance for Cycling and Walking. The group was recognized for its Partnership for Integration and Sustainable Transportation, which it runs in conjunction with Culturelink Settlement Services.

"We're honoured to be accepting this award on behalf of our partnership," says Yvonne Bambrick, Executive Director of the Toronto Cyclists Union who received the award in Washington. "This project is helping us to grow roots in Toronto's diverse communities, and to exchange knowledge about sustainable habits here and around the world."

The recognized program involves workshops around the city in 16 different languages, a handbook and a poster campaign.

The union was formed in Toronto in May 2008 to promote cycling as a viable form of transportation and to provide services and information to the city's bike riders.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Yvonne Bambrick, Executive Director, Toronto Cyclists Union

Pretty much since the social media revolution took off in 2008, people began searching for ways to make money from their Twitter accounts. Waterloo University school friends Saif Ajani, Mike Rhemtulla and Minaz Abdulla joined them when they launched their company, Assetize, in September 2009.

"We looked at the growth that had been happening on Twitter and thought that there must be ways to monetize it," says co-founder and CEO Ajani. "If you look at the history of other media developments ... every time there's a place where people can create content, there's been a way to make money from it."

Originally they looked at ways to have people embed advertising into their message streams, but found the approach too invasive. So they developed an application that would display advertising in the frame of links that people tweet (it looks like this). As Ajani says, in addition to direct revenue, this creates viral revenue as links are re-tweeted across the network. The concept took off and in the first six months of operation, Ajani says revenue has grown approximately 50 per cent each month and the company's clients have served more than 147 million ads.

In addition to private users, the concept has attracted business from large mainstream media organizations, including the Canoe network, publishers of the Sun chain of tabloids, who use the service to brand all their content and photos rather than to drive direct revenue. Ajani says the company is in talks now with a major American television network, and is in the process of launching a service for a professional sports organization.

The three founders have been working together from their Financial District offices since the launch, and are in the process of adding their first additional employee. Ajani says that's just the beginning, as he expects Assetize will "double or triple the size of the team over the next year."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Saif Ajani, Co-Founder and CEO, Assetize

Children's birthday parties are meant to be fun, but they can often also have a huge environmental footprint, as Debbie Zinman says. Every guest drives to a store, picks out an individually packaged gift (each of which has been separately manufactured and shipped by truck), wraps it in paper that will soon be discarded... that's not even to get started on paper invitations and thank you cards.

Zinman and her business partner Alison Smith were looking to do something about that environmental drain when they launched ECHOage in January 2008. And they came up with a concept that Zinman says makes a child's party "an opportunity to learn something," by helping others in a way that is "moving, inspiring and exciting."

The social enterprise's innovation was to create a website that would allow children to send invitations to guests, asking them to contribute to one large gift for the birthday child and to a good cause at the same time. Children choose charities to benefit from their guests' giving, and money received is split equally between the charity and the child's dream present. ECHOage gets revenue from a 15 per cent administration fee charged on each party.

Based in the Yonge and Eglinton area of Toronto, the company has ECHOage parties happening across North America, and Zinman says they have been growing at an ever-greater rate. She says clients have so far raised over $250,000 for children's charities and points to a scrolling list on the ECHOage homepage of the donations' impact. In addition to the two founders who work "day and night" on the enterprise, the company employs three part-time staff.

Zinman says that the company is based on a community of parents -- overwhelmingly mothers -- who advise on every aspect of operations. To capitalize on that community asset, ECHOage launched an Ambassador program last week to help spread the world through social networks.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Debbie Zinman, co-founder, ECHOage

Last year was a tough one for much of the Information Technology industry, but when Entertainment-District-based server management firm uptime software closed its 2009 books on January 31, it looked back on a solid year. They launched up.time 5, an update on their server dashboard product, and saw their global client list grow from 580 to 700 companies. Already this year, they've added three new employees to bring their team to roughly 40 members, and a company spokesperson says he expects this year to be even better as they launch another update.

"We're in a good position, and so far we've been growing [revenue] at a clip of about 45 per cent per year" says Nick Johnson, uptime's director of marketing. This year, he says, the company has targeted matching their expansion levels from 2008, when they saw 67 per cent growth. If things go as anticipated, Johnson says the company will add "conservatively, eight-10" more new positions in 2010.

The company was founded by three former Sun Microsystems employees in 2001. At the time, Johnson says, most of the server management products on the market were from multinational corporations, "they were multi-million-dollar solutions." With no venture capital or outside investment, the founders built their company and financed growth through sales.

"These guys have done a good job hiring a team made up of really good talent," Johnson says, noting that all the company's development, marketing and sales is handled in-house from their Richmond Street offices. "When you bring in these types of people, they love to succeed ... and they work their butts off."

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Nick Johnson, Director of Marketing, uptime software

"Don't let the cute chicks fool you. It's not girly," says Fit Chicks founder and "Head Chick" Laura Jackson of her company's G.I. Jane Bootcamp. "We take a lighthearted approach and have fun and foster a sense of community. But it's also a great workout."

Jackson and her "business partner and BFF" Amanda Quinn were looking for all those things in a workout -- and not finding them -- when they decided to launch Fit Chicks in September 2008. They hosted a G.I. Jane Bootcamp in a park in Forest Hill, and the response, she says, was overwhelming. Today they run classes in 14 GTA locations and one in Ottawa (a class in Vaughan just launched this week, while another Ottawa location will be added in April).

The company employs 15 "Chick Seargants" and one "Admin Chick," and business has reached a level to allow Quinn to leave her job with the Toronto International Film Festival to join Jackson in running the company full-time. The duo plan to take their fitness army national this year, expanding to Vancouver, Calgary and Halifax, and anticipate hiring another 15 employees along the way. They are currently looking to move the business out of Jackson's home and into an office in the St. Lawrence Market area.

In addition, Jackson says she has plans in the works to expand their fitness empire into more of a full-service wellness company, offering a merchandise line and cookbooks in addition to other products.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Laura Jackson, Founder and Head Chick, Fit Chicks

When Bill Milne bought his father's sanitation company, Alex Milne Associates, in 1980 and turned it into an environmentally friendly chemical company, people laughed at him. "They thought I was Mr Hug-A-Tree," he says. But despite the lack of green consciousness at the time, Milne knew ecology would become a hot topic. "I'd been a scuba diver since 1950, so I could see the marine environment going downhill," he says. He'd retired at age 40 from his first career and "walked around the world with a backpack and a girlfriend" for two years. That experience, he says, gave him the perspective he needed. His first major product, launched in 1987, was a protective wax for boats that wouldn't destroy the sea bottom.

Today, no one is laughing at Milne. With the explosion of of environmental awareness and the launch of an innovative, all-natural mosquito repellent, he's seen his revenue grow 100 per cent since 2008. He says the launch of Mosquito-less spray, an all natural and effective insect repellent, is a large part of that growth. The product is made from garlic oil, an idea he got when he spoke to some farmers about what they used to keep bugs off their horses.

Looking further into 2010, at age 71, Milne is still working on developing another new, innovative line of products for launch. He's developed and marketed several products for the equine market that use zeolyte, and claims the substance will revolutionize the Canadian gardening market when he brings his new development to stores this year.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Bill Milne, President, Alex Milne Associates

When Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced the new federal budget last week, the headlines were all about the tightening of purse strings.

But there was some good news in the budget for research and innovation adding up to more than $1 billion in investment. The university of Toronto provides a breakdown of its own here and the Cross-Border Biotech Blog has another roundup of innovation highlights here.

Among the research grants, the government will provide $45 million over five years to create 140 post-doctoral fellowships at universities. "Though the vast majority of post-doctoral fellows will not directly benefit from this funding, we hope that it will serve as a benchmark for the value we bring to university research," Dr. Jesse Greener, President of the University of Toronto Post-doctoral Association in a statement.

For small business, the budget included $40 million over five years to for a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Innovation Commercialization Program that supports businesses in developing new prototypes. In a statement issued by Polytechnics Canada, Doug Smith of Conematic Heating systems said the funding would enable "companies such as mine to market our products to federal departments and agencies. These programs will greatly enhance the economic competitiveness of Conematic in these trying times."

Author: Edward Keenan
Sources: Dr. Jesse Greener, President, University of Toronto Post-doctoral Association; University of Toronto News; Polytechnics Canada; Corss Border Bio-tech Blog





 

Brampton's Sims Recycling Solutions, an electronics recycling company, has become the first in Canada to receive certification under the OHSAS 18001 standard for workplace safety. The international standard recognizes compliance with risk assessments and appropriate safety precautions dealing with every single job function in the plant.

Company President Cindy Coutts says the certification is an important step -- ensuring green jobs are safe jobs at the Bramption plant -- for a rapidly growing company in a very rapidly growing field. "We are a discard nation. People want newer, better, prettier electronics products all the time," Coutts says, resulting in some 225,000 tonnes of waste electronics in Canada every year. That's where Sims comes in.

Founded in 2003 by the mining firm Noranda, Sims Recycling Solutions was envisioned as an "above-ground mine," Coutts says, extracting resources from discarded electronics. Since then, it has grown from being a single-person operation to employ 100 as it mines an ever-growing mountain of computers, hand-held devices and other electronics from across the country. According to Coutts, clients include municipalities, businesses and governments concerned about data security.

In 2007, the company was sold to Sims Metal Management, an $8 billion Australian company that is the world's largest electronics recycler. The parent company was named one of the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world in 2009 and 2010 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Cindy Coutts, President, Sims Recycling Solutions Canada

The unemployed and those looking to put them to work are both invited to the Centennial College Job Fair 2010 on March 11. The fair, to be held at the College's Student Residence and Conference Centre, is hosted by the employment consulting firm NAPP.

NAPP Director Rita Persaud says that the event is ideal for pretty much anyone who needs work: "new Canadians, the downsized, mothers who have been out of the workforce, people looking to change careers -- anyone really who is looking for new opportunities."

The organization is also still accepting registrations from employers to exhibit at the fair. Ideally, Persaud says, employers would have at least three job openings available, but in this economic climate they will consider anyone looking to hire. Persaud says roughly 80 per cent of exhibitors are direct employers, while the remaining 20 per cent is comprised of government programs, agencies and certification organizations that might help job seekers connect with work.

Those already registered to exhibit at the fair include Peel Regional Police, RBC Insurance, Sedna Globe, VPi and Devik Pharma.

The fair runs from 10am to 3pm March 11 at 940 Progress Road in Scarborough.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Rita Persaud, Director, NAPP

WIDEawake Entertainment Group, which in just over the past year has begun managing the soul  singer Sean Jones and purchased legendary hip-hop label Death Row Records is set to open a luxury recording and performing facility in Liberty Village in April.

The new space, WIDEawake Liberty Studios, will encompass 6,000 square feet in all, including a 1,200-square-foot event space/soundstage, music recording studios, editing suites and other facilities for both film and music production.

WIDEawake Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer Robert Thompson-So did not site specific numbers, but said that the company intends to "ramp up basic staff levels to get things going" over the next few months, and expects the site to be a significant employment hub, both directly and through the creative professionals who use the facility.

Thompson-So says the location is of paramount importance to the new venture. "If you spend time in Liberty Village, you see that the growth is just explosive. And the common theme is that every business down here is pushing the creative boundaries." He notes that the neighbourhood is home to both creative industries and the professional services, including entertainment lawyers and managers, who serve them. That makes it a natural home to a facility like one his company plans, he says.

Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Robert Thompson-So, Vice Chairman and COO, WIDEawake Entertianment Group