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"My job is to be a year to a year-and-a-half in advance so that we're prepared for what's coming," says Blenkhorn.
GRANT WATCH
SOVAR and BDC Venture Capital have awarded $1.2 million to Surfasys, a company whose technology originates from the mechanical engineering research laboratory of Université Laval. The funds are earmarked to test the commercial feasibility of a mechanical polishing process for industrial moulds used in the plastics industry, a process traditionally carried out manually.
This investment in Surfasys falls under the partnership concluded between SOVAR and BDC Venture Capital in 2004 for the seed funding of emerging leading-edge technology companies. This initiative provides university researchers developing new technologies or prototypes of products with a potential commercial value, the financial and business support necessary to turn their innovative projects into concrete reality.
The Surfasys team has developed a mechanical process using ductile electrode polishing of industrial moulds used in plastic injection moulding. This process is traditionally done by hand, which hampers the productivity of companies active in the sector. While a number of manufacturing processes have been automated over the years, manual polishing continues to be very costly for the companies involved.
"The cost of hand polishing a mould, in fact, can account for up to 40% of the mould manufacturing cost, says Alain Curodeau, President and founder of Surfasys. Automating the process would translate into increased competitiveness for industrial mould manufacturers."
The Saskatoon Urban Development Agreement (UDA) between the Government of Canada, the Government of Saskatchewan and the City of Saskatoon will invest $150,000 to assist with the pre-launch phase and the first year of operations of a business support centre in Saskatoon.
The facility will support new and growing enterprises under one roof, offering a wide range of programs, advisory services and shared equipment in a professional working environment. Up to 30 businesses can be accommodated at the facility.
The business support centre will be operated and administered by Saskatoon Ideas Inc., a registered membership non-profit corporation. The corporation is governed by a board of directors composed of business people from the Saskatoon community, as well as representatives from key business sector associations.
A new training and work experience program will help Manitoba’s video game creators advance to the next level in the global video games industry. The Winnipeg Partnership Agreement is providing $350,000 towards the Fortune Cat Games Studio incubator.
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