Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) May 6, 2008
Today the British Columbia Technology Industry Association (BCTIA) announced the finalists for its annual Technology Impact Awards. The diversity of this year's finalists is a good reflection of the industry where the more traditional Information and Communication Technologies sector continues to produce outstanding innovators with the Clean Energy Tech sector continuing to strengthen.
"We had an overwhelming response to our call for applications again this year. The innovation and commercial success of our finalists, is testament to the strength of our industry and to the contributions it makes to our economy, society and environment," said Pascal Spothelfer, President and CEO, BCTIA. "We are also pleased to see the number of emerging clean energy tech companies that are developing sustainable environmental solutions that stand to make a real difference worldwide."
Among the finalists are software companies who have successfully maximized web technology to deliver products, services and information. Other companies are augmenting traditional industries by providing software solutions for mining, retailing, restaurants and health. Still others have achieved success focusing on blocking spammers from even sending spam, building low-cost satellites and recovering stolen computers.
On the clean energy tech front, finalists are finding new ways to effectively address climate change by harnessing solar energy, producing fuel-grade ethanol from waste wood, developing environmentally friendly products and reducing energy consumption in large buildings.
The TIAs are broken into three distinct groups: Technology Awards, Company Awards, and Personal Recognition Awards. This year's finalists are:
Excellence in Product Innovation
- Kodak Graphic Communications (Burnaby) has developed an advanced manufacturing tool that uses laser imaging to produce color filters for Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD CF) and, specifically, large LCD televisions in a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly way. (graphics.kodak.com)
- McKesson Medical Imaging Group (Richmond) has developed a multi-touch system for medical imaging professionals to perform diagnostic activities and interact with one another using their hands and intuitive gestures. (mckesson.com)
- Strangeloop Networks' (Vancouver) signature product dramatically improves the performance and scale of web applications allowing enterprises to extend even the most dynamic applications to thousands of concurrent users. (strangeloopnetworks.com)
Best Application of Technology
- BuildDirect (Vancouver) has developed single most cost effective online distribution channel in the building industry offering quality building supplies globally. (builddirect.com)
- MailChannels (Vancouver) is an anti-spam company that has found a new way to block-out spammers (mailchannels.com)
- MDA (Richmond) is making satellite building more cost-effective which paves the way for nations, that were previously unable to afford the technology; to have monitoring programs to manage their own environment and protect their people. (mdacorporation.com)
Most Promising Pre-Commercial Technology
- Lignol Energy Corp. (Burnaby) is constructing biorefineries to produce fuel-grade ethanol and biochemicals from Canadian forests and vast supplies of biomass feedstocks thereby reducing reliance on corn and other edible feedstocks to produce ethanol. (lignol.ca)
- Zymeworks Inc. (Vancouver) is a computational biotechnology company that combines proprietary molecular simulation technology with high performance computing to research and develop industrial enzymes and protein therapeutics. (zymeworks.com)
Most Promising Start-Up
- RX Networks Inc. (Vancouver) helps mobile operators and device manufacturers deliver the best possible GPS user experience by accelerating and enhancing a device's ability to discover and calculate its location. (rxnetworks.ca)
- Small Energy Group Inc. (West Vancouver) uses software to help institutional facilities, remote communities operating microgrids and utilities manage reduce energy consumption. (smallenergygroup.com)
- Strangeloop Networks Inc. (Vancouver) (strangeloopnetworks.com)
Emerging Company of the Year
- Day4Energy Inc (Burnaby) is a solar energy company that has found a new approach to providing cost competitive renewable energy from the sun. (day4energy.com)
- Vision Critical (Vancouver) is an online interactive market research company that enables companies to conduct all their online research through one system. (visioncritical.com)
- Vivonet Canada (Vancouver) provides the tools, information and knowledge retailers and restaurateurs need to be successful by enabling them to access and manage their businesses from any location via the Internet. (vivonet.com)
Team of the Year
- Payment Processing Inc.'s (Whistler) Team Highlander was assembled to integrate the necessary connectivity from one payment platform into an existing payment platform in record time while reducing costs. (paypros.com)
- Vision Critical's (Vancouver) Community and Qualitative Team built from scratch a number of products that offer online communities and research service packages to enhance the company's technological capabilities. This work contributed significantly to company revenue. (visioncritical.com)
Leadership in Social Responsibility
- Abebooks (Victoria) AbeBooks, the world's largest online marketplace for books, supports a wide variety of charitable activities and literacy initiatives, as well as offering a progressive work environment and showing environmental leadership. (abebooks.com)
- Westport Innovations (Vancouver) Westport Innovations is leading the shift to global sustainability by providing technologies that allow engines to operate on clean-burning fuels. As an employer Westport also offers flexible work arrangements and actively promotes employee wellness initiatives, opportunities for professional development and community volunteerism. (westport.com)
Company of the Year
- Absolute Software Corporation (Vancouver) provides computer theft recovery, data protection and secure asset tracking solutions. The company now counts nearly 3 million computer users among its active customer base, owns 14 patents, with 14 others pending, and has 230 employees. (absolute.com)
- Gemcom Software International Inc. (Vancouver) is at the convergence of two of British Columbia's most important industries - high technology and mining. It is the market leader in mining productivity solutions with a 40% global market share. Over 2,500 sites in more than 90 countries use its software. (gemcomsoftware.com)
- Sierra Wireless (Richmond) develops modems and software that connect people and systems to mobile broadband networks around the world. The company holds the top position in the embedded mobile market with more than 40% of all shipments in 2006, as well as growing its revenue by 99%. (sierrawireless.com)
Other awards to be presented at the Technology Impact Awards Celebration include Person of the Year and the Bill Thompson Award which recognizes the highest level of leadership in BC's technology industry.
Winners will be announced on June 12th at the Technology Impact Awards Celebration, at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver.
About the BCTIA
The BC Technology Industry Association is British Columbia's leading member-based industry association that represents start-ups to established technology companies across the province.
As the voice of the technology industry, the BCTIA is committed to the ongoing growth, sustainability and prosperity of the technology industry and the transformation of British Columbia to a knowledge-based economy.
BCTIA delivers a broad range of programs and services that provide members with opportunities to connect learn and promote their businesses in BC.
For more information visit http://www.bctia.org.
For more information, please contact:
Catherine Ducharme
604-813-6104
cducharme @ outsidein.ca
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