Or so some media reports might have us believe.

However, we need to put this sweeping statement into perspective and recognize that while there are undoubtedly challenges for the North American economy as well as the economies of most OECD countries with aging demographics, there are also opportunities.

One in five Canadians
According to Statistics Canada’s 2021 census, there were seven million people in the country aged 65 and older which, at 19 percent of the population, represents nearly one in five Canadians, with the highest numbers of seniors residing in the four Atlantic Provinces. U.S. figures are similar, with 17 percent or one in six Americans aged 65 in 2020, which represents 55.7 million people, according to a report from the Biden Administration on aging published in the Washington Post this past February.

While numbers don’t lie, they don’t tell the whole story, either, because within that over-65 demographic, there are vast differences in abilities and needs for care. The numbers should really be looked at in terms of “young seniors,” those aged 65 to 85, and “older seniors,” those over 85, which in Canada account for only 2.3 percent of the population and in the U.S., 1.9 percent. A significant proportion of them, however—more than one quarter—have mobility limitations or health-related issues and live in a collective dwelling such as a senior residence, nursing home, or long-term care home.

With breakthroughs in medical science including joint replacements, organ transplants, and better treatment for chronic conditions, the number of “older seniors” is projected to keep increasing as the leading edge of the baby boomer cohort moves into the 2030s and 2040s. Their care will continue to present challenges, according to the Statistics Canada 2021 Report on aging, putting increasing pressure on governments to ensure adequate support in housing, health care, and transportation.

Since the governments of both Canada and the U.S. know what to expect, they do have time to make changes and prepare for what is facing them. They, along with the U.K., have the youngest populations among OECD countries and are well-placed to plan for the next decade, something they’re already doing.

According to the same Statistics Canada report, many European countries—as well as Japan, which has the highest proportion of seniors—are ahead of Canada and the U.S. in terms of population aging, and they are finding ways to adapt to demographic shifts. For example, the retirement age is set to increase in Italy and most other OECD countries (although this has set off a wave of protests in France).

Changing the system
Meanwhile, some countries, including Japan, the U.K. through its ‘Lifetime Neighbourhoods’ program, The Netherlands through ‘Apartments for Life,’ and Denmark are reforming their health care systems to integrate in-home care.

In “Time to re-think seniors’ housing and long-term care in Canada” (April 3, 2020, iPolitics.ca) Alan Freeman writes, “Denmark has chosen to concentrate its health care investments on the home and community care sector, believing that the elderly are better taken care of at home.”

He goes on to say that in Denmark only 36 percent of the budget for senior health care goes to long-term care, while the remaining 64 percent goes to home and community-based care, the opposite of what occurs in North America, policies he calls “short-sighted.”

“No new conventional nursing homes have been built in 20 years,” he writes, “but when they do build new, the Danes opt for small, independent apartment units, linked to a common kitchen and garden, where seniors can age independently in a protected environment.”

North Americans are catching up. In recent years, for example, in preparation for features in our sister publication, Construction in Focus, we’ve spoken with construction company owners and CEOs, including Andrew Cameron from Northumberland Properties of Amherst and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, who builds accessible one-level homes within existing neighbourhoods for seniors wanting to downsize; Maurice Meagher of Case Design Remodelling of Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Mark Hatfield from Homestar Inc. of Quispamsis, New Brunswick, who, among other projects, remodels homes for accessibility in two of the provinces with the highest proportion of seniors.

Although renovations are only one part of Homestar’s business, Hatfield described a heart-warming moment when he was thanked by a client who said, “Mark, you gave my wife and me ten more years in our home.”

Remaining in a home that addresses mobility needs and is fully accessible is one half of the aging-in-place equation. The other is ensuring that seniors remain active and avoid falls, because the resulting injuries that adversely affect mobility are the leading cause of otherwise healthy seniors entering nursing care facilities.

Fit for a better life
Through its kinesiology department, the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton has taken the lead on this issue by initiating, in 2019, a Zoomers-on-the-Go program. The program is spearheaded by Dr. Danielle Bouchard and offered free of charge to over 1,500 New Brunswickers, either online or in person, by certified trainers who are aged 50 and over.

The program contains a mix of cardio, strength, balance, and stretching components, with an emphasis on balance. Early studies showed that the program improves seniors’ ability to complete daily tasks such as getting up and down from a chair easily, walking long distances, and improving balance—all improvements that could lead to a reduced risk of falls.

Says Dr. Bouchard of the program, which receives federal funding and is set to be adopted across Canada, “One of the long-term goals is to show that Zoomers-on-the-Go reduces the risk of long-term care admission, hospitalization, visits to physicians, and costs to health care.”

Adds Zoomers’ trainer Crystal Grant, who holds Fitness NB Certification: “I know how easily a fall can change the course of an older person’s life. My grandmother fell and never came out of the hospital, and because of that experience, I really wanted to help people be stronger and more stable and maintain mobility.”

Having seniors age in place offers economic opportunities for community-based health care / home care which provides employment for personal service workers and cleaning services; for the construction industry through renovations, smaller accessible homes, and condos; and for tourism and hospitality offerings positioning themselves as senior-friendly, because healthy, active seniors enjoy leisure activities. Plus, there’s a benefit to the community if seniors, with their wisdom, remain a part of it, rather than being isolated in long-term care.

Shifting gears
Modern Western cultures tend to undervalue the potential of elders’ contributions, as opposed to many Eastern and traditional First Nations cultures, where elders are hugely respected and may live in extended families where they are valued and cared for.

But as Bob Dylan, one of those who spoke for the baby boomer generation sang, ‘The times they are a-changin,’ and indeed they are. In the 21^st century, seniors are taking on important roles, including the Presidency of the United States. Former President Donald Trump was 70 when he took office in 2016, and President Joe Biden was 78 when he took office in 2020. Biden has announced he will run again and, if re-elected in 2024, will be 82, making him the oldest U.S. president ever.

Meanwhile, seniors from all walks of life are cancelling the stereotypical picture of seniors in rocking chairs, if indeed it ever existed. Many are caregivers for grandchildren, allowing their children to work and avoid the high cost of daycare, while others are raising grandchildren on their own. Many continue to work past official retirement age, while others who have retired are taking up a second career, establishing small businesses, working as freelancers, business consultants, as mentors within their fields of expertise, or as community volunteers, providing important services. Long may they live, to the benefit of us all.

The post An Eye on Elder Care<p class="company">Caring and Providing for an Aging Population</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

“Even though we can do small scale production runs—maybe ten, fifteen, twenty gears—we really focus on large, low volume gearing that’s specialized,” says Vice President of Business Development Renato Foti. Industries served include mining, military, aggregate and cement, heavy industry, marine, power systems, presses and stamping, pulp and paper, and metals.

Rapid Gear’s size and capability immediately set the company apart. “We’re one of the larger gear shops in Canada,” Foti says. “I consider it a full-service house, where we make almost every type of gear that you can imagine. A lot of shops aren’t able to do that.”

The company’s production facility boasts a full range of equipment in various sizes, “so our versatility is very good,” he says. “And we’ve invested heavily in new technology and new equipment so that we can produce a wide variety of parts. It’s very rare that we have to turn down a job because we can’t make it.”

Rapid Gear recently installed a new 5-axis Mazak that allows “all sorts of configurations,” Foti explains. The team is currently installing a 200-inch diameter vertical mill that will be up and running soon. “It’s a turning lathe that enables us to rough out a large part, up to 200 inches, for heavy gearing applications.”

A few years ago, the company invested in a Gage Master for its reverse engineering abilities to ensure superior quality. “So we can guarantee that the gear is made properly. If we get a gear sent to us, we can reverse engineer it on our floor or we can even take it out to site and reverse engineer parts on site, which we do periodically in special situations. I believe we’re the only one in Canada to own that. There are only a few others in North America that have them and that gives us that extra capability to service our customers.”

Having the latest machining equipment is critical to staying ahead of the curve. “If you don’t have the proper equipment, you’d have to sub out parts or turn down jobs,” and the new equipment also increases quality. “We can keep things more accurate. We can pre-program complicated cycles into the machine and are able to maintain a high quality standard.” It also boosts efficiency, ensuring the team stays on schedule. “By investing in more equipment, we’re able to reduce our bottlenecks in the shop and meet on time deliveries a little bit easier.”

Employing in-house engineers is another factor that makes Rapid Gear stand out from the crowd. “We have a large engineering staff, which enables us to reverse engineer and support our customers full-scale, versus just looking at a print and making a part,” says Foti. “We have five engineers on our staff—for a medium-sized gear shop, that is a lot.”

Rapid Gear’s capabilities and quality have made the company popular with multiple sectors and the team has made it a point to diversify amongst them all. “I think diversification is good for all businesses,” he says. “If you put all your apples in one basket, it can be dangerous.” A portion of the company’s work is for the military, but the team is careful not to rely on any sector entirely. “It’s a good chunk [of our business], but it’s not a huge chunk, which is probably wise for us because at times it could be very busy and other times it could be very slow. It’s the same with mining and other facets of the industry like oil and gas—sectors that have their positives and negatives.”

The team has also been diversifying its sales geographically. Business with customers outside of Canada has been increasing significantly in recent years. “We sell quite a bit to the U.S. as well as international markets for mining and specialty companies. That diversification helps protect our business and gives us more experience into other marketplaces.”

Indeed, Rapid Gear is plugged into the industry, with multiple professional memberships. The company is a long-time member of the American Gear Manufacturing Association (AGMA), utilizing the association’s continuing education to keep the company’s engineers up to date with the latest knowledge and participating in AGMA’s conference each year. This involvement keeps the team in touch with the rest of the industry. “It’s great networking with other people in the gear industry because other gear companies are our customers as well,” Foti shares. “Even though they may be a competitor, they will still source from us for certain types of gears that they don’t produce or for sizes that they can’t produce.”

More recently, the company joined the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association (CTMA). This has been particularly beneficial because it helps support the industry as a whole, as well as Rapid Gear itself. “We are constantly looking for and also promoting skilled machinists in this industry, and the more we work with local organizations, the more we can help mentor and focus on being part of that growth and the future of these young people in the trades. It’s vital because we need these skills in our industry. When I travel across Canada, there are some areas where they just can’t find skilled people for these industries, and so it’s critical for us to have these memberships in local organizations within Canada and Ontario and be involved with the colleges as well.”

Finding skilled workers is not the only challenge that Rapid Gear—and the industry as a whole—faces. There is also the pressure to retain these workers through highly competitive salaries, and this can be particularly challenging for small businesses. “The smaller shops have a hard time matching these types of salaries and getting people,” says Foti. Rapid Gear works hard to match these high salaries. “Rapid gear does pay relatively well,” he says. “But it is a bit of a battle to make sure that you’re maintaining proper salaries and benefits for the employees because these are high costs.”

Rapid Gear President Tania Sabados emphasizes how important it is to overcome these challenges as an industry in order to keep manufacturing in North America. “It’s so vital to our industries and a lot of people don’t give it enough consideration,” she says. “Without manufacturing, we don’t have the steel industry, aggregate, food industry—anything. It needs to have more respect.”

“I think it’s very dangerous for countries to forget about these critical industries where you actually make something,” Foti adds. “We talk a lot at home about manufacturing, how important it is, right from mining minerals and having natural resources to being able to process those resources and supporting those industries that process them.” Rapid Gear offers this critical support. “We’re kind of a tier one, tier two for these large industries that are resource-related,” he says.

To be sure, Rapid Gear has earned its place within the industry, offering quality products to critical sectors within the North American market. From its recent investments in new technology to retaining top engineers, Rapid Gear is well positioned for ongoing success. “Because of these investments in equipment and in people, we feel the future of Rapid Gear is strong.”

The post An Industry Staple<p class="company">Rapid Gear</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

B. Elliott PLC began to expand worldwide with facilities in Australia, South Africa, and Canada. B. Elliott Canada started its operation in 1950, located in Port Hope, Ontario.

Over time, Elliott evolved into representing various computer numerical control (CNC) machine builders around the world; in 1988, one such builder, Matsuura Machinery Corporation Japan, purchased controlling interest in Elliott to facilitate its presence outside of Japan.

Company President Vince D’Alessio believes that Elliott Matsuura Canada’s hybrid identity makes it stand out in its field. Whereas competitors in the Canadian machine tool industry tend to have a solidified office and brand identity, this company instead carries a range of products to meet different disciplines of manufacturing.

“Compared with other dealers with multiple products,” D’Alessio says, “we are the largest and only coast-to-coast dealer.”

The services, application support, and engineering of the company are all provided in-house, with the business boasting thirty-five service engineers and fourteen application engineers in its employ.

The company keeps close ties to its industry as well. Vice President of Sales and Marketing Frank Bolieiro cites the company’s membership in manufacturing associations like the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association (CTMA) and Canadian Machine Tool Distributors Association (CMTDA) as key for allowing the company to bring its information and technologies to the associations.

Bolieiro says that CTMA broadly serves the company’s customer base, while the CMTDA is aligned more directly to the business. Membership with both allows the company to be in closer association with competitors and customers and promotes a sharing of expertise that is beneficial for the company and the machine tool industry at large.

D’Alessio reflects that the pandemic actually helped the company rebound. One of the best years for the machine tool industry in North America, in terms of investment, was 2018. However, the industry did have an investment pullback in 2019 and was showing a strong rebound prior to the COVID pandemic starting in March 2020. After a brief slowdown that year due to initial pandemic measures, the economy rebounded in August 2020 and has not stopped since.

Work and production came back strong to North American manufacturing, due to much-needed assistance from local suppliers and supply chains. D’Alessio and the company saw that many companies suffered during the pandemic because they relied too much on supply chains in different global regions. This need for multiple supply chains led to a greater look into using local suppliers at any cost to minimize risk.

D’Alessio is pleased to see a lot of work like this returning to North America now but acknowledges that this sort of move does not happen overnight. Manufacturing companies are trying to bring supply chains back to North America while consolidating suppliers, so there will be very strong investment opportunities for the company’s clients coming in the next few years.

Indeed, the machine tool industry is bouncing back from one of the most turbulent periods in recent history, but businesses are not out of the woods yet. D’Alessio has noticed a downturn that began at the end of 2022 in the industry and says that companies are pausing investments due to negativity caused by soaring inflation and interest rates.

There continues to be a large amount of reshoring happening as more work returns to Canada from overseas, which is bringing big opportunities while leaving clients simultaneously busy and gun-shy about investment plans. There is also still a demand for its clients to innovate and improve efficiency, so the company is focusing on working with its customers and getting them to move forward in improving production capabilities.

“We are still very busy,” D’Alessio says, and the overall outlook of manufacturing for 2023 is bright; looking further ahead to the next five to ten years, he believes that the machine tools market in North America will ultimately be better than it was a decade ago, thanks in no small part to reshoring and the ongoing automation in the industry. “If you can automate a process, it doesn’t matter where it’s made.”

Bolieiro is pleased to say that the company will be continuing with its pre-COVID machine tool shows, with an open house scheduled for May and shows in Edmonton and Toronto scheduled for June and September, respectively. He shares that COVID necessitated changes to sales processes, meaning that regional sales and product managers had to adjust in delivering information to customers. Many of these implementations, such as Zoom meetings and virtual presentations and demonstrations, will continue alongside the return of face-to-face meetings.

The company is confident in its set of around twenty machine tool suppliers and is also representing automation and robotics companies that are moving further forward in plant automation endeavours. It also has associations with additive manufacturing outfits, which D’Alessio feels will continue to grow in importance in the industry in the next five years.

Along the way, the company’s goals will be to strengthen its market reach and find products that complement what it offers while helping it discover new possibilities, especially as many of its machine and technology builder suppliers are doing the same. The company will also be on the lookout for new talent, especially from across different disciplines, to succeed older company personnel who are beginning their steps toward retirement.

Above all, D’Alessio is firm that the company will stay true to its core beliefs, especially the idea that service and support is the main pillar of what it does. “The value we provide for our community… the equipment we offer is world-class, as are our builders. We are always looking for ways to strengthen our capability; we view it as the most important aspect of the company,” he says.

With seven decades under its belt, Elliott Matsuura Canada is more capable than ever before.

The post Living a Legacy<p class="company">Elliott Matsuura Canada Inc.</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Halneuron—currently in Phase III clinical trials for neuropathic pain brought on by chemotherapy—is also being studied for additional pain indications, with more than 700 patients having been previously treated by the drug.

Tetrodotoxin (TTX), Halneuron’s active ingredient, is a sodium channel blocker that prevents pain signals from reaching the brain without the negative effects of opioids, the current gold standard for treating moderate to severe pain.

While opioids have substantial drawbacks and hazards when used long-term, including adverse effects on the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and central nervous systems, and putting patients at risk for addiction and tolerance, Halneuron promises to revolutionize how the brain perceives both short- and long-term pain.

A subsidiary of CK Life Sciences Int’l., (Holdings) Inc., a publicly traded company in Hong Kong, WEX is headed by CEO Walter Korz, who has a distinguished background in the healthcare industry, including experience with concerns such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and now pain management.

“I’m also pleased to say we have a strong management team,” says Korz of the focused group of nine people who understand the core of the business and drive its research, manufacturing, and business development.

“We stay lean by relying on a strong network of competent contractors from animal studies to manufacturing, spending a high percentage of our money on the actual drug development rather than on overhead,” he explains.

WEX is also a long-time member of Life Sciences BC, a non-profit, non-governmental organization, and an important element of the healthcare biosphere, providing networking events and continuing education, and serving as a conduit to government services and other pharmaceutical companies and agencies.

“They’re the glue that keeps this sector here in BC attached and a vibrant community,” says Korz.

While numerous factors set WEX apart from others in the pain management field, it’s the company’s unique technology that has truly made it stand out, says Korz. “We’re succeeding where others have failed.”

Pain is a “very subjective” area of research, he explains, compared with cancer, for instance, where a CT scan can measure the size of a tumour and, after a drug is administered, doctors can accurately establish whether the tumour has shrunk. “That’s a very good surrogate marker of efficacy, and you measure how long somebody lives without their disease coming back,” he says.

With pain, he says, it’s more nebulous. You’re taking something that’s not quantifiable, that’s subjective, and you’re trying to quantify it.

“We try to take something subjective and turn it into objective data,” Korz says. “You use pain scales and try to have patients answer questionnaires about how their pain is progressing, and then you try to see whether your drug is doing something compared to a placebo.”

Placebo effects are real, he adds, and response can be as high as 30 to 40 percent. Sometimes when doctors or nurses ask patients to assess their pain score on a scale, patients tend to say “better” so as not to disappoint their doctors.

“It’s hard to prove [the efficacy of] a drug when you get 30 percent of the people on placebo saying they’re better,” Korz says. “So that’s one of the challenges we have.”

WEX employs technology to capture patients’ data more effectively—for example, using cell phones to more accurately record pain scores in real time. “But it comes down to our technology with our drug itself and how it’s working,” he says. “The pain drugs we’re routinely using today are no different than 30 years ago. There are different ways of delivering it; you can put fentanyl in a lollipop and give that to a patient, as an example, but essentially, they’re the same kind of drugs.”

WEX’s Halneuron, however, is a non-opioid drug designed to address moderate to severe pain indications with no evidence of addiction or withdrawal symptoms and doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier, a vital distinction.

“Many of these drugs being used today are absorbed into the brain where they relieve the pain,” says Korz. “But at the same time, you may experience side effects such as confusion, somnolence, respiratory depression, euphoria. And before you know it, evidence tells us some patients are abusing these drugs.”

A worldwide opioid crisis points to the undeniable fact that new ways of treating pain are desperately needed. Halneuron, administered through an injection twice a day for four days, has resulted in some patients reporting pain relief, not for hours or days, but for weeks and months, a truly remarkable effect.

“Despite everything the government is doing, deaths from drug use are increasing, not decreasing,” says Korz. There has been a 26 percent increase in the number of drug deaths since 2020, despite more treatments and detox facilities, better control of prescription drugs, and limiting the types and number of doses per patient.

“The sad truth is those people that are on the street didn’t decide one day to get up in the morning and become addicted to an opioid. In fact, 70 percent of people who abuse these drugs started from a doctor’s prescription—an athlete who got injured, or a routine surgery that ended up needing analgesics. There are many, many reasons that everybody in their life will at some point need an analgesic.”

While media reports are rife with celebrity addictions and overdoses, Korz stresses it’s mainly everyday, ordinary people who are suffering.

“We’re trying to provide a tool for physicians that is safe, efficacious, and gives them some additional drugs they can use, and introduce something novel,” he says. “This is a drug that interrupts the pain signal from the periphery, meaning from your external to your central nervous system, and prevents the pain signal from reaching the brain. If it does that, then there’s no perception of pain.”

WEX has conducted 15 clinical trials to date and has administered the drug to late-stage cancer patients and healthy volunteers at the same dose, showing a patient can take a dose of the drug and go back to work without feeling sleepy or confused. “We’ve shown we can reduce pain even in some of those patients that had intractable pain and were not responding anymore to opioids or couldn’t tolerate them. There was a statistically significant reduction of pain in this patient group,” Korz says. “That’s compelling evidence.”

WEX has also demonstrated that, when introducing its drug, the amount of opioids used decreases. “Our drug is safe, and our clinical evidence to date supports that,” he says. “We’re changing the way the brain is perceiving long-term chronic pain.”

WEX is also looking at chemo-induced neuropathic pain, a peripheral neuropathy caused by chemotherapy damaging the nerves, sometimes permanently. When this occurs, chemo is usually stopped, as there is currently no drug that can treat the condition, including opioids. WEX is investigating methods of treating this and has been developing and conducting clinical trials, recently launching a Phase Two trial in Korea, Taiwan, the U.S., and Canada.

“The difference between our company and others who have tried and failed, again, comes down to the way our drug works,” says Korz. “Nature produces drugs for us. This is part of pharmacy called pharmacognosy, taking active ingredients from plants and animals, refining them, and making them into pharmaceutical drugs that are useful to humans.”

This group of drugs includes penicillin from mould, heroin from poppy plants, insulin from the pancreas of a pig, and Taxol, from the bark of yew trees, one of the most successful chemotherapeutic agents. In fact, 70 percent of drugs used today had their genesis in plant or animal chemistry, says Korz. Tetrodotoxin is also extracted from nature: a toxin found in puffer fish used as a defence against predators.

“It’s a complicated molecule. It’s a gift from nature in that it’s very efficient in blocking a channel critical for the sensation of pain. People have tried to emulate that molecule from chemistry and haven’t been successful,” Korz says. “Our success is that this chemical that nature has produced is very efficient at targeting sodium channels. We use this chemical, refine it, purify it, and make it into a drug.”

While tetrodotoxin is a toxin, WEX has shown it can be used and handled safely and is far less dangerous than many analgesics being used today, but that process hasn’t been easy, with the company overcoming “hurdle after hurdle” to prove its safety.

“We’re faced with this challenge all the time,” Korz says. “We have a potent drug, and it becomes a question of educating even the companies that normally manufacture drugs. We need to work with them closely to convince them of the safety profile of our drug for their workers.”

Due to this, the number of manufacturers that will work with WEX is limited, he adds. Of course, it’s not just a matter of educating manufacturers, but also preclinical and regulators about the use and safety profile of the drug.

Despite all the challenges faced, from production to manufacturing, trials, and ongoing education, WEX remains dedicated to its goal of helping people fight pain in new and safer ways.

“Everybody at one point in their life will need to take some sort of painkiller,” Korz says. “Not everybody’s going to be touched by cancer or heart disease or some other [severe] affliction, but everybody will experience pain of some sort that needs help,” he says.

“There’s a ‘heart’ factor in the people involved in this development,” Korz says. “This isn’t just a job to them; they’re committed to seeing this being put in the hands of doctors to alleviate pain and suffering in the people that really need it.”

The post Perfecting the Science of Pain Management<p class="company">WEX Pharmaceuticals</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Headquartered in British Columbia, SignalChem’s business model has been built on four important pillars: Drug Discovery and Development; Bioreagents and Research Services; In-Vitro Diagnostic Development; and Plant Biosynthesis System.

As the company says, “A group of scientists with extraordinary expertise and experience in protein engineering and drug discovery are working together cohesively to provide the best products and services to customers around the world and to maximize the efficiency of its drug discovery efforts.”

Leaders in biotechnology research
While SignalChem Biotech was created in 2004, SignalChem Diagnostics, a subsidiary of SignalChem LifeSciences Corp., was founded in 2018. It is a Richmond B.C. biotech company focused on raw materials for in vitro diagnostics (IVD) / diagnostics research.

“The founding of SignalChem Diagnostics was driven by the increasing demand for accurate and reliable raw materials for IVD,” says Luigi De Martino, Head of Global IVD Sales & Marketing. “SignalChem Diagnostics was already well-established in the biotech industry.”

The company specialized in developing and manufacturing high-quality active enzymes, antibodies and functional proteins for research purposes and providing contract research services to clients in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors.

As a separate entity, SignalChem Diagnostics focuses exclusively on developing and producing raw materials such as proteins, enzymes, and compounds required for any kind of diagnostic research, rapid tests production, and diagnostic kits

“SignalChem Diagnostics began its operations by building on the expertise of its parent company in the areas of protein expression, purification, and characterization,” says De Martino. “The company developed a range of diagnostic tools based on these technologies, including ELISA assays, lateral flow assays, and CRISPR-based nucleic acid target detection.” [ELISA stands for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and CRISPR for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.]

Since its founding, SignalChem Diagnostics has expanded its product portfolio from COVID-19-related products to CRISPR Cas Enzymes involved in novel CRISPR-based molecular diagnostic tests for human, animal, and plant applications. Establishing partnerships with leading academic and research institutions also enables the company to further develop its technology platform and bring new diagnostic tests to market.

The goal of the company, says De Martino, is to be recognized as a valued partner for leading biotech and pharma institutions, developing innovative diagnostic tools that play a key role in the fight against cancer and other diseases. “The company has a clear growth path outlined for the future, expanding its product portfolio from just raw materials to IVD tests and detection methods,” he adds.

Voices of experience
With a seasoned executive leadership team, board of directors, and scientific advisory board, SignalChem Lifesciences continues to grow and includes three subsidiaries: SignalChem Biotech Inc.; SignalChem Diagnostics Corp.; and SignalChem Plantech Corp.

Established in 2004, SignalChem Biotech focuses on “the research, development and production of innovative and high-quality human recombinant cell signalling products,” according to the company. SignalChem Diagnostics is active in the development, manufacturing, sales and technical services of IVD products such as enzymes, antigens / allergens and antibodies. SignalChem Plantech remains the world leader in the development and use of plant expression systems “for production of recombinant proteins and secondary metabolites in green plants.”

With combined decades of experience in life sciences, biotech, drug discovery and development, diagnostics, cell signal transduction, cancer biology, and all areas of financial management, mergers and acquisitions, and other key areas, SignalChem continues to develop innovative oncology therapies.

The company’s Board of Directors includes Mr. Jun Yan (Chair, Board of Directors, and President), Mr. Michael Chen, MBA (Director), and Dr. Zaihui Zhang, Ph.D. (Chief Scientific Officer, Vice President, R&D). Messrs. Jun Yan and Dr. Zaihui Zhang also serve on SignalChem’s Management team, along with Mr. Harvey Quan, CMA (Chief Financial Officer), and Dan Zekzer, MD (Chief Business Officer & Corporate Strategy).

Good business
A seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in the biotech, diagnostics devices, and life sciences sector as a sales and business manager in national and international organizations, Luigi De Martino has worked worldwide with key opinion leaders (KOLs) to develop diagnostics strategies and protocols.

This includes demonstrating the ability to build a multi-million dollar business from the ground up, successfully designing commercial and business plans, and providing strategic direction at every stage, from concept to commercialization of products and services.

“I work with International business leaders developing mergers and collaboration agreements and have a large professional network,” says De Martino, “and have an in-depth understanding of the life sciences sector and federal and provincial government organizational structures and financial processes. My interest in SignalChem stemmed from their innovative research and development of high-quality cell signalling products that have revolutionized the field of life sciences.”

As the diagnostics company’s global sales and marketing head, De Martino oversees sales and marketing efforts on a worldwide scale, ensuring SignalChem’s products reach their target audiences.

Building strong relationships with key clients and partners, he is also responsible for designing and implementing strategic plans to increase market share and revenue, and staying up-to-date with industry trends and regulatory changes that may affect the company’s operations. “My experience and expertise in sales and marketing are helping SignalChem drive growth and success in the highly competitive diagnostics raw material industry.”

Molecular biology
Along with its board of directors and management team, the senior staff at SignalChem includes Dr. Zhiwei Xie, Ph.D., senior director of molecular biology, who has over 20 years of experience in drug discovery and development.

Joining SignalChem LifeSciences Corp. in 2018 to initiate and lead its new business sector, in vitro diagnostics (IVD), he soon built a core R&D team and established a technical platform for developing and manufacturing IVD core raw materials.

“I successfully led the design and production of raw materials for various IVD tests including clinical chemistry tests, immunodiagnostics and molecular diagnostics,” he says. “Especially, I led the team to develop innovative CRISPR-based molecular diagnostics and successfully achieved one-pot fast detection of pathogens of plant and animal infectious diseases.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Xie efficiently led a campaign of developing and producing over 100 SARS-CoV-2 related products to meet urgent market demands for COVID-19 diagnostics and drug discovery and played a critical role in establishing a subsidiary company in China and building up the ISO 9001 certified manufacturing facility.

Path to leadership
Under his leadership, the SignalChem subsidiary company was selected as a leading innovative enterprise in the Suzhou high-tech industrial park, located in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.

Like many other staff members, Dr. Xie came to SignalChem LifeSciences Corp. with considerable prior experience. Working at Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. as a senior research scientist from 2007 to 2018, he made critical contributions to drug development for the treatment of various conditions including anemia of inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, chronic pain, and central nervous system (CNS) disease.

His other work includes Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he was responsible for target identification and the mechanism of action study of the company’s lead anti-inflammatory compounds; participating in evaluating and recruiting technologies from Adprotech, a British biotech company; Kinetek Pharmaceuticals Inc., working on validating kinases as targets for developing drugs to treat diseases such as cancer and inflammation.

“I received my Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, Chinese Academy of Science,” he says, “and received my post-doctoral training in the department of biochemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle.”

Staying at the forefront
Creating products known for high performance, quality, and purity, SignalChem remains at the forefront of developing innovative products for the life sciences industry. One of the company’s key innovations is the development of a unique line of recombinant cell signalling proteins, used by researchers worldwide for their studies on cancer, apoptosis, and autophagy, among other areas of research.

SignalChem has also developed high-performance, quality, and purity CRISPR Cas Enzymes used globally both in gene editing and molecular diagnostics settings, and developed a range of highly specific antibodies that have high affinity and selectivity for their targets, which have become critical reagents for the scientific community.

The company’s commitment to quality, innovation and customer satisfaction has led to its recognition as one of Canada’s Top 10 Contract Research Organizations (CROs). SignalChem has a proven track record of providing high-quality products and services to its customers, including its recombinant proteins, antibodies, and assay development services.

“SignalChem’s team of experienced scientists, engineers, and customer support staff work closely with clients to understand their unique needs and deliver tailored solutions that meet or exceed their expectations,” says De Martino.

“Additionally, SignalChem’s state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technologies, and rigorous quality control standards ensure that all products and services meet the highest industry standards. The recognition as one of Canada’s Top 10 CROs is a testament to SignalChem’s dedication to excellence and its commitment to advancing the field of life sciences.”

The post Writing the Book on Novel, Targeted Therapies<p class="company">SignalChem Lifesciences</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

The launch of the City’s new brand—one which draws inspiration from the land and waterway that shapes its past and energizes its present and also sparks curiosity for an ambitious, smart, and thriving future—arrives on June 15, just as Welland gears up to manage further growth over the next decade or two in its commercial and residential property markets. With a range of about 25,000 new dwelling units in the cards for development, it has plenty of space for new arrivals. As it is, population estimates for the same period are projected at around 40,000—a significant expansion considering where Welland was in the 1990s.

The City achieves its success through forward-thinking initiatives, progressive and time-saving development approvals, and handsome financial incentives that make relocating here a no-brainer for big business.

As a result, prosperity is once again afoot in the City of Welland. With the imminent arrival of the world-famous automotive supplier, Linamar, providing new employment for around 200 people, the latest specialized electric vehicle technology will soon find a home here. The groundbreaking new fabrication facility features massive high-pressure-die-casting equipment said to be unique to this auto manufacturer and unmatched by any other fabricator in the United States or the European Union. Linamar will open the doors to this next-generation, 300,000-square-foot facility on 59 Canal Bank Street, Welland in February 2025.

As new businesses move into town, the City has started welcoming a new era of progress after a historic economic downturn toward the end of the 1970s. A similar trend followed again early in the new millennium when four major fabricators moved out in just two years, bringing dark days as big tag manufacturers closed down their facilities in the region. This turned what was once one of the country’s wealthiest manufacturing areas into one struggling for employment opportunities for many years. Nearly 10,000 former positions were gone.

Today, the John Deere plant, one of the factories that closed a decade and a half ago, belongs to a prestigious development firm that is turning the former fabrication facility into a residential property comprising around 2,500 living units. So far, every phase has sold out in what has become yet another dazzling success story.

“When I arrived here as a consultant nine years ago, the forecast was not as promising as what we’re seeing today. What we did in working with council in the past three terms was change our culture. We changed the way we looked at how we process development applications; we wanted it to become business-friendly,” says Steve Zorbas, Chief Administrative Officer, underscoring his belief in stamping out bureaucracy and taking people’s time seriously. “We never take ‘no’ as an answer; we find ways to achieve desired outcomes,” he continues. “That is why we have been successful, and why all these things are happening in the City of Welland.”

This proactive leader’s enthusiasm helped create the slipstream necessary for change. And the changes are tangible: building permit approvals for complete applications are available within the legislated timelines (10 days for residential permits, 14 days for small buildings, and 30 days for complex buildings). This is a significant win over some other local municipalities that take months to do the same work. The City management’s commitment and outstanding work ethic are evident in the sheer volume of work it took to prepare and sell the industrial sites needed to help bring back prosperity and return Welland to its former glory. To date, it has sold seven industrial parks, with an eighth sale pending.

Indeed, since around 2013, Welland has seen a gradual upturn in its fortunes as it established over 1.5 million square feet of industrial land where big manufacturers could settle. Then, the first wave of significant economic recovery came with the arrival of General Electric Company around 2018. Today, the City’s economic developers and urban planners aim to grow this footprint with an estimated 3 million square feet, making the area especially favourable for even more employment.

In 2022 alone, Welland approved over 1,300 residential building permits. “We don’t see [growth] dropping any time soon,” shares Zorbas. “It is a matter of planning and preparing for it. With all that, we offer existing and new residents excellent quality of life.”

Perhaps the city’s most coveted crown jewel, the Welland Recreational Canal, means that locals and visitors can enjoy spending unparalleled time in nature while being close to the comfort of urban surroundings. “We are blessed to have a pristine, recreational waterfront,” Zorbas says. Alongside this, 70 kilometers of cycling, walkways, and trails offer even more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. Plus, with notably shorter winters and longer summers than nearby Toronto, most residents would agree that living here is worth the distance from the big-city lights.

The Welland Shipping Canal is a modernized canal that links Lake Ontario with Lake Erie across 44.4 km of waterway affectionately referred to locally as the industrial highway. As a major route in the St. Lawrence Seaway, the canal was initially constructed in 1829. It remains a main artery for the thousands of cargo vessels that pass through the Niagara Region annually.

“The City of Welland is rich in opportunity across the board—recreational, commercial, industrial, retail, you name it. The city has positioned itself as the premier location in Niagara,” says Marc MacDonald, Corporate Communications Manager. After several years of hard work drawing new investors and some of the Golden Horseshoe’s best developers, the City’s commitment is paying dividends in meaningful ways.

“Everything we are doing right now is very progressive in its approach. We are not going with the status quo or the way [things] have always been done,” MacDonald continues. The City prides itself on practicing what it preaches, rehabilitating brownfield sites in the same way it motivates developers to do. To this end, the new fire station was a finalist in the 2022 Brownie Awards for being a redeveloped former brownfield site that now benefits local communities.

This is also a city that functions well. For those dependent on public transport, its infrastructure is in top shape. “We have a fully-fledged regional transit system, and we endeavour to play our part in any way we can to continue to improve [it],” says MacDonald. This goes above and beyond transporting commuters in and around the city itself; the system reaches beyond the City’s perimeter, traveling to local amenities and attractions like the surrounding lakes and other places of interest like Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, and more.

The area also boasts good schools and parents are assured of quality education available at institutions like Niagara College Canada, which offers more than 130 qualifications and currently educates around 15,000 people—and is growing. In addition, Brock University is a stone’s throw away in St. Catharines and provides over 100 programs for students to choose from.

The Empire Sportsplex is another one of the city’s proud establishments. Opening its doors to the public for the first time last year, this facility was long in the making and recently received the Parks and Recreation Ontario award for exceptional design of a recreational facility. Generously equipped for pickleball, basketball, tennis, and beach volleyball, this Empire Communities development will serve local communities for decades to come.

Welland’s local farmers market started in 1907 and, as such, has been a favourite weekend attraction for generations. Alive with stallholders and visitors alike, the market is the Saturday-morning heartbeat of a community that loves to get together to enjoy local produce and just an occasional touch of fanfare in summer. The market even has its own song by @gralbr on YouTube honouring its heritage. Summer music concerts are also popular in the area.

Despite initial appearances, however, not everything here is about economics. Welland’s people are also resourceful and wonderfully creative. For instance, not many cities have their own—and award-winning—community podcast or children’s book. The City of Welland does; the podcast has already aired 75 episodes in under two years and the book is ready for print in the near future. Aimed at igniting the city’s magic for young and old, the book will encourage community involvement for existing and new residents in fresh and unusual ways. As one of the City’s capstone projects to wrap up the rebrand, the book promises to engage those deep and wise thinkers among us who still see life through the magical lens of narrative, namely kids.

“A move at a young age can be incredibly intimidating, scary, and unsettling. So, we try to tell the [City’s] story through a young character who has moved [here] and does not know anything about it,” says MacDonald. To reach as wide an audience as possible, print and digital versions will be available in French and English. With a 365-day angle on everything there is to do and enjoy here, adults and kids are in for a treat with this innovative and fun publication, entirely produced by a team of talented local contributors. Another beautiful part of its own creation tale is that the book was entirely sponsored by local developers committed to continuously investing in Welland’s future.

With this view in mind, the local council seeks to further develop its skills as a trailblazing force locally and further afield—a vision that the whole team fully supports. “We are all just catching our breath and trying to work with the growth, preparing and planning for what is coming our way. There is no better place to locate than Welland,” Zorbas says.

Once all is said and done, the mainstay of the City’s evolution remains its enduring quality of life that comes at a fair price alongside easily accessible services and ample educational and economic opportunities. From here, there is indeed only one direction for this city of tenacious dreamers. And that is full speed ahead.

The post Shaping New Stories<p class="company">City of Welland, Ontario</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

But Arizona is not resting on its laurels. As the state’s unified voice advocating for responsible economic development, AAED is still hard at work. AAED accomplishes its economic development goals through professional education, public policy, and collaboration. “Our organization is where everybody comes to play nice,” Kelly says. “We all work together, and everyone can share ideas and best practices.”

Emphasis on education
AAED’s The Academy of Arizona educates and certifies the state’s economic development professionals. “We recently just refreshed that program,” says Kelly. “It has seven courses in a variety of different topics.” Courses give an introductory overview of economic development in Arizona as well as in-depth studies in business retention and expansion, taxation, finance and incentives, entrepreneurship and small business development, marketing, and workforce development. Professionals who complete the six core courses and one elective within a three-year period will earn AZED Pro certification. Kelly also emphasizes the program is not just for economic developers. “It is important to AAED that all of our partners have a great grasp of economic development principles and how those play out in Arizona.”

In addition, a new mentoring program is helping to hone the skills of young economic development professionals. “We are pairing up people who are thirty-five and under, or who have been in the profession for less than five years, with an economic development professional,” Kelly says. “They’re spending a year getting to know them, getting to ask whatever questions they want to build up their relationships in the economic development community. We had a pilot program last year and we’re getting ready to launch the full program.”

The pilot garnered enthusiastic, positive feedback. “We had a group of five mentors and five mentees and they really enjoyed the program, so we’re excited to launch it on a larger scale this year. We’re hoping that helps to further develop the talents we have here in Arizona as economic developers.”

Advocating for good policy
In addition to education, AAED actively advocates for the best economic development policies. “Another pillar of our organization is advocacy and we have ramped up our policy efforts,” Kelly says. “I’m a registered lobbyist and we work with Dorn Policy Group as well.”

With the support of this Arizona-based lobbying firm and their partners, AAED works at both the state and federal levels to protect and advance the state’s economic development interests. Sometimes this means thinking outside of the box. For instance, “in the last year, we spent a lot of time on advocating for the film tax credit program as well as the reauthorization of the Arizona Commission on the Arts and arts funding,” Kelly shares. “They received a historic amount of funding—$5 million! That was exciting to build up those two sectors of Arizona’s economy that people don’t necessarily think of when they think economic development. They play such a huge role in the economy of Arizona that it was important for us to advocate for those.”

AAED also successfully lobbied for transportation funding and workforce development funding this past session. “We had a lot of really wonderful success last year in the policy realm.”

Another out of the box focus has been on affordable housing. “There’s been such a shift in the economic development profession,” Kelly says. Traditionally, affordable housing “was not something that was our focus. But as house prices rose, we couldn’t attract the workforce that we needed without affordable housing in communities. So it suddenly became something under our purview in economic development. [It] is that quality of life piece and that workforce development piece.”

In January of this year, AAED hosted the Arizona Rural Housing Symposium and is already planning a follow-up for later this year. The symposium brings together Arizona citizens, elected officials, nonprofits, developers, partners, and other stakeholders to learn about rural housing challenges and to develop solutions. “There’s been great collaboration,” Kelly says. “[There are] a variety of things that, as economic developers, we hope to develop into policy over the next couple of years to keep that focus on workforce housing and creating better communities.”

Drawing a crowd
Tourism is a major industry in Arizona, and therefore another key focus for AAED, which works closely with the state’s tourism agencies and associations to support the sector. “It’s a lively sector that really drives a lot of the economies in our rural communities,” Kelly says. “That’s their bread and butter.”

Indeed, the industry managed to stay strong throughout the COVID shutdown. “What we saw through the pandemic was this pent-up need to travel, to get out and do a day trip. Rural communities around Arizona really got hit in a good way with the tourism bug that people had built up over the pandemic.”

Tourists are drawn to Arizona’s remarkable range of natural wonders, from sky islands, high mountains, and pine forests to stunning rock formations, saguaro-filled landscapes and of course, that behemoth of tourist attractions, the Grand Canyon. “You can go through three different seasons in a day in Arizona depending on where you are,” says Kelly. “There is so much variety. You can be in the mountains with the pines, you can be down with the cactuses. There is a wide range of places you can choose from in Arizona.”

This wide range of attractions is drawing a wide range of people to stay permanently. “It’s really appealing to executives [and] to workers who want to come live here,” Kelly says. “We’ve had an influx of people from the northwest and from California and a lot of different states.” These new employees are needed since an increasing number of employers are choosing to relocate to Arizona. “We’ve had a lot of new businesses come in and so [we need] to have all these workers as well.”

Focusing on the future
Looking ahead, AAED is eager to continue bringing diverse stakeholders together to promote economic development. “We have a widely coordinated, strategic plan for our organization,” Kelly says, a plan that takes into account the rapidly evolving landscape of economic development. “There are so many things that economic developers are focused on that we haven’t been in the past.”

This includes a heightened focus on rural areas in the future. “We’ve had so much success in the state in greater Phoenix and greater Tucson and we don’t want our rural communities to be left out,” Kelly says. “We want them to be able to grow in whatever way they want to grow. So we’re really focusing on those rural communities and putting policies in place that protect them, help them attract investment. It’s going to be a priority for us in the next year.”

One growth strategy will be to build on the state’s success in the tech sector. “We’ve had such great success in the tech and innovation and entrepreneurial field,” Kelly says. The next step is “getting some of that out to the rural communities, driving some of that innovation outward from greater Phoenix and Tucson and really helping build up the rural communities in that way.”

AAED’s focus on the arts will continue to complement the focus on tourism. “Having the success that we’ve had in recognizing the arts is really bringing in the idea of the creative industries and the tourism industry as a driving force in Arizona,” Kelly explains. “Properly funding those agencies and those entities to do that work is important for the future of Arizona as well.”

And of course, education will continue to be a primary focus for AAED. The team wants to keep offering “high-quality events, high-quality educational opportunities to our members, to the general public, creating that awareness of what economic development is and what it will be in the future.” Whatever the future entails, it is sure to be positive for a state with such a wealth of opportunities and talent, bolstered by an economic development association committed to moving the state forward.

The post Building Arizona’s Economy<p class="company">Arizona Association for Economic Development</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

At the beginning of the pandemic, leaders and administrators in Windsor came together to chart a course through unfamiliar COVID waters. Seventeen different programs were introduced to support local businesses and the result was even better business.

It was anything but business as usual for Windsor’s economic development team, who fielded a record number of inquiries from business prospects. Economic development staff received 1,177 prospects from 2011 to 2021. The town attracted and expanded several businesses over that time period, resulting in the creation of 3,042 jobs, $176 million in total payroll, and over $640 million invested in the community.

There’s a definite buzz around the Town of Windsor that comes from it being a welcoming, business-friendly community, and there’s no doubt it’s a fabulous place to call home. This reputation has contributed to business growth, population growth, and the need to grow services and infrastructure.

“We are at over 40,000 people right now. With houses we have plotted out, just as of today, if we built what was approved, we’d be over 60,000 in population and we have the capacity to go to 100,000,” says Director of Economic Development, Stacy Miller.

Miller notes that, January through June, Windsor approved 311 single-family home permits, as well as 46 multifamily permits totaling 362 units and 26 commercial permits. From a residential standpoint, one must look no further than the Raindance development to get a sense of how quickly growth is taking place.

The 2,800-home Raindance subdivision was planned to be built out in fifteen years, but it was completed in five. It’s home to the town’s fourth golf course, Raindance National, designed by PGA golfer Fred Funk, drawing residents and visitors alike.

Windsor is certainly a place for athletes. In addition to golf and outdoor amenities galore, a major draw is the Future Legends Sports Complex, opening later this year, though it has already started welcoming guests and holding some events.

The 118-acre complex boasts multiple baseball diamonds, multi-purpose fields, an indoor bubble sports arena, and a 6,500 seat stadium that will be home to two professional sports teams, the Northern Colorado Owlz and the Northern Colorado Hailstorm. Retail and lodging will be available to support the expected increase in sports tourism.

Tourism is a relatively new sector in Windsor but a gratifying one. As Miller says, “We consider tourism a cleaner dollar because people come in, spend their money, and go home,” strengthening the tax base without added costs.

To support this growth in tourism—and population—Miller has worked to attract and create retail opportunities to encourage people to spend locally. In particular, the town has done a great job of attracting new restaurants. Over the last ten years, the food and beverage industry in Windsor has acquired or built 160,000 square feet of space, which represents over $33 million in investment, 300 new jobs, and $5.55 million in payroll.

Some of the newer restaurants that now call Windsor home are Betta Gumbo, Howlers and Growlers Taphouse and Eatery, Cacciatore at Heller’s Kitchen, Hearth Wood Fire Pub, The Windsor Mill Tavern, Fuzzy’s Taco, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburger and Cancun Mexican Grill & Cantina.

“From a retail perspective, they’re starting to realize that our community’s growing. There is wealth and a lack of existing services—a trifecta for retailers,” Miller says.

Another untapped asset Miller would love to see leveraged is the interchange where Interstate 25 meets Highway 392.

From a development standpoint, Windsor is ideally located in the center of the Loveland / Fort Collins / Greeley triangle in Northern Colorado, affording it access to Interstate 25, the Northern Colorado Regional Airport, rail infrastructure, and the people and goods that use these infrastructural assets.

As Miller says, “We have the land and the ability to build and we’re also in the center of this perfect core of mobility, with I-25, U.S. Highway 34, Highway 257, and Highway 392, so all the corridors north, south, east and west allow for movement of the workforce, as well as products and services.”

Building on these logistical advantages, the Town of Windsor has maintained a focus on industrial and commercial growth. The area offers a spread of fourteen business parks, a number that’s sure to grow as spaces fill up in existing parks.

Great Western Industrial Park alone is home to Vestas Blades, Front Range Energy, Halliburton, Owens Illinois, Norfolk Iron & Metal, Metal Container Corp, and Intersand, as well as Lineage Logistics and Gotham Greens, two newer additions that are expected to have a large economic impact locally.

Lineage Logistics, the world’s largest temperature-controlled industrial REIT and logistics solutions provider, will add to its global network of over 400 strategically located facilities. These total over 2 billion cubic feet of capacity with the newly added 200,000 square-foot facility in the Great West Industrial Park, leveraging its location and rail access.

JBS is a leading global food company that will benefit from expanded blast freezing and storage capacity. Its new fully automated facility will serve as a strategic distribution hub for JBS customers on the West Coast and will have a $102.9 million, ten-year net fiscal benefit, including 80 new permanent jobs in Windsor.

Gotham Greens is another example of strong growth in Windsor, and the Great Western Industrial Park in particular. The operator of year-round, commercial-scale agricultural greenhouses, which serve local and regional markets with fresh, nutrient-dense produce, has begun construction on a new facility in the park, with plans to grow.

The facility will begin with 140,000 square feet, with plans to take it to 400,000 square feet over the next three to five years. It’s expected to bring 55 new permanent full-time jobs and will have an economic impact of more than $15 million.

What makes this project unique is that in a time of heightened focus on water sustainability, Gotham Greens leverages data-driven, climate-controlled facilities equipped with advanced hydroponic irrigation systems to produce high yields using 95 percent less water and 97 percent less land than conventional farms.

With economic achievements of this magnitude, it’s clear that opportunity in the Town of Windsor is robust and many companies and people are taking full advantage of it. Best of all, Miller and her growing team are geared up to sustain the growth while welcoming new opportunities. Always something exciting in the pipeline, it seems.

For Miller, the goal continues to be, “How do we build on that economy? How do we maintain and absorb that growth while maintaining the close-knit community, good amenities, and high level of service that we offer?” The aim of the crew at Windsor is to elevate those experiences in the interest of a healthy and vibrant economy and community for the long term.

Sidebar:
Meet the Economic Development Council of Colorado
When Stacy Miller is not serving as the Director of Economic Development for Windsor or winning awards like last year’s Women of Distinction Award in the Government category, she is also working to advance the state economy as Chair of the Economic Development Council of Colorado (EDCC).

The EDCC is a state-wide non-profit economic development organization that is dedicated to working with economic developers across the state by providing educational resources and support to private and public entities, helping them capitalize on all opportunities to grow.

To learn more, visit www.edcconline.org.

The post Where People and Businesses Grow Together<p class="company">Town of Windsor, Colorado</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Established in 1994, the firm employs more than 200 architects in offices in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Denver, with a variety of projects that include the National September 11 Memorial, The House at Cornell Tech, urban infrastructure and master planning projects, high-density mixed-use developments, multi-family projects across all incomes, hotels, corporate headquarters, and buildings for non-profit, institutional, and educational clients all over the world.

It is Handel Architects’ work in the Passive House field, however, that has helped the company make its mark. More than just energy-efficient structures, buildings certified as “Passive House” use up to 60 percent less total energy, and up to 85 percent less dedicated heating and cooling energy, than conventional structures.

Passive House buildings offer a better interior environment and superior indoor air quality via fresh, filtered ventilation to every livable room around the clock, and quieter interior conditions due to a heavily insulated and tight façade. Additionally, they improve the longevity of building materials and offer outstanding thermal comfort.

For Handel, its focus on the Passive House sector took shape in 2013 when the company teamed up with two developers, Hudson Companies and Related Companies, to present concepts for new student residences to Cornell Tech.

“We had a whole slew of sustainability ideas in that proposal, one of which was Passive House,” says Principal Deborah Moelis. “Everyone was interested in Passive House, so it was somewhat of a perfect storm in that the client was extremely interested and they really wanted to execute it.”

One of the most energy-efficient buildings in the world and the biggest and tallest residential structure ever constructed to Passive House principles, The House at Cornell Tech is part of the 2.1 million-square-foot technological campus recently built on Roosevelt Island in New York City. The campus’ residential building, The House, was built in accordance with Passive House Institute (PHI) guidelines, which significantly lowers energy use while fostering a healthier and more comfortable living environment for a fraction of the energy expenses of conventional buildings.

As Handel’s Director of Sustainable Design, Louis Koehl, explains, “The goals of Passive House design offer a great parallel to Handel’s sustainable design approach. Passive house looks to optimize the whole building to achieve verifiable occupant comfort and energy reduction outcomes. Our sustainable design approach is similarly outcome-based. We look at our whole practice to identify opportunities to improve the performance of our work and allow us to create the healthiest, most sustainable homes and buildings for the broadest range of people.”

With this approach in mind, Handel is also intensely invested in affordable housing, exemplified in the groundbreaking Sendero Verde project. Offering inhabitants of East Harlem a “community of opportunity,” Sendero Verde, a mixed-use multi-building project in East Harlem, New York City, was chosen under the City’s SustainNYC program, which aims to develop highly sustainable, affordable housing for New Yorkers without sacrificing design quality.

The project will include large amounts of community space, retail space, and outdoor gardens in addition to 709 designated affordable Passive House units.

“What’s unique about that project is it’s 100 percent affordable, and it’s 100 percent Passive House,” says Moelis. “It’s almost done, and when it comes online, the whole world will see that this is feasible on a large scale for low-income multifamily housing.”

While Cornell was radical because it was the largest in the world at the time, what’s groundbreaking about the Sendero project is that, as affordable housing sponsored by New York City together with private developers, it will show the whole world future possibilities in the field.

“Handel has really established itself as a leader in this type of design,” Moelis says, which includes other notable projects such as the Passive House dormitory at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and a 1.8-million-square-foot building in Boston—of which the 800,000 square foot office component will comply with Passive House standards—that, once complete, will be the largest Passive House office building in the world.

Together with offering a strong, high-performance enclosure that enables airtightness, windows with extraordinarily low U-Values, continuous insulation, and thermal bridge-free detailing that results in excellent R-Values, Passive Houses also boast high-performance low-energy heating and cooling systems, and bring constant fresh air ventilation with heat recovery, balancing exhaust and supply ventilation within 10 percent of one another.

It all sounds like a win-win—so why isn’t everyone embracing this way of building?

“Like anything else, change is difficult for people, especially in the construction industry,” says Moelis. “Builders are used to doing things the same way and some builders, developers, and owners just don’t embrace change very well.”

Koehl agrees. “Education is the key to change at the scale we need it, and architects have real power here,” he says. “We can educate clients by proposing innovative solutions with verifiable outcomes, educate the construction industry through promotion of new standards and technologies, educate policy-makers on the benefits and hurdles of certain legislation, educate our staff by sharing challenges and successes and by providing opportunities for engagement at all levels. We don’t want to collect expertise in a vault, we want to share what we learn and facilitate a conversation that gets information into the minds of the people who can do the most with it.” To this end, “We are actively involved in several industry organizations focused on decarbonizing buildings, standardizing criteria for healthy materials, addressing embodied carbon, and expanding access to healthy homes in several cities.”

The good news is that codes are changing and becoming so aggressive that industry analysts anticipate that this way of building will soon be business as usual. It’s been amazing, Moelis says, to how websites and product lines have matured since Handel started in 2013.

“That’s only 10 years ago, and we’re seeing more of these products come online,” she adds. “It’s a little more expensive, and it’s not familiar to a lot of the decision-makers on these projects. I think they get uncomfortable when they’re in a position where they don’t really know something new. So we work really closely with our clients to explain what’s going on and show them different comparisons so they can see how it’s different.”

“It’s critical,” says Koehl, “that sustainability be incorporated throughout our design process and not something added at the end. Allowing sustainable design decisions to track the broader project evolution increases opportunities for innovation and education.”

And clients are getting on board. “We’re working on senior housing for a great open-minded client who really wants to make Passive House work for senior housing and be affordable,” she says. “We’re going to do everything we can to make that project work and include Passive House.”

The company’s Passive House work is, says Koehl, “a great example of our effort to be a sustainable design leader—this is an evolving challenge and we are constantly looking to collaborate with clients, communities, and industry organizations to shape the next frontier of sustainable design… Sustainability is not just about zero energy and fossil fuels; it is also about human health and happiness. Sustainable buildings support sustainable lives!”

“It’s a healthier interior environment that contributes to the overall wellness of those who live in a Passive House,” Moelis agrees. “You’re getting fresh-filtered air into each room 24/7. There’s a reduction in allergies, asthma, a number of health conditions. You’re also separated from the exterior from an acoustical standpoint, which is unbelievably obvious and useful, especially in New York City.”

Koehl makes a distinction—and a connection—between the experience of a building and the performance of that building, and believes that both are crucial for sustainability. “Daylight, fresh air, non-toxic materials, a place for quiet—all play as important a role in building a sustainable home as an efficient HVAC system,” he says.

Certainly, Handel Architects boasts a host of LEED awards, from silver to platinum, but Moelis stresses that LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is different from Passive House. While LEED is more of a checklist—and great for buildings overall—Handel likes to employ Passive House for the building and the building systems, and then overlap LEED for homes for the interior or a similar program, which helps make an even better building from the standpoint of materials, and for unit-to-unit separation.

“Passive House looks at the building holistically,” she says. “You can look at your building and your energy model and push and pull as you want; the energy model allows us to deliver a building design that works aesthetically and meets Passive House criteria.”

Passive House isn’t only environmentally beneficial through the reduction of loads and so using less energy, it also provides safety and security during power outages or potential natural disasters.

“If you close your windows in a Passive House, you should be okay for many hours or days, which is very important, especially for the elderly,” Moelis says. “If the grid goes down, you’ll still stay at a nice temperature, so in that sense, it’s quite resilient.” Passive House also protects the actual structure of the building, as no dirt, dust, or bugs are getting in through the walls.

Starting from a place of no experience in Passive House construction to now being responsible for the world’s largest Passive House projects is a huge achievement for Handel. Put it down to dedication, innovation, and getting things to happen.

“Learning about new systems and materials is always challenging,” Moelis says. “We always want to make sure we’re up to speed.”

Being up to speed includes being ready for the upcoming Local Law 97, designed to limit the level of carbon emissions from New York City’s buildings. Going into effect in 2024, the law will serve to penalize builders based on the amount of carbon dioxide a building emits. “We’re all trying to reduce the amount of carbon that’s going into the air, and Local Law 97, once it comes into effect, is going to be a wake-up call for quite a few owners.”

Existing buildings will need to be retrofitted and new buildings will need more innovative ways of reducing their carbon footprint, she says. The first step is not to use gas or oil, and for the United States to clean up the production of electricity, which is still largely done through burning coal and fossil fuels.

“As architects, we can only set up the building to use electricity; whether that electricity is clean or dirty is really up to the government,” Moelis says. “While much of the grid is dirty right now, within the next 30 years we’re hopeful it will become clean. That’s why it’s imperative that we now to convert our buildings to electric in anticipation of clean electricity. It’s the only hope. We know that burning fossil fuels will never be clean, so we’re hoping hydro and solar and geo and wind get us there.”

Education and marketing play a role as well, and while that might be slow to take effect, enacting stricter codes will help speed up a necessary change. As Koehl puts it, “We know a sustainable future requires contribution from every corner of our industry, so there is real value in bringing this conversation with us to any room we are invited to join.”

Talking about and sharing all the aspects of Passive House as much as possible, whether in person or in print, is another way to keep people informed about its many benefits, she says, as Handel continues to work toward being the busiest and biggest multifamily-architecture firm in the world. “We want every client that’s doing a multifamily building to come to us. We’re always striving for that.”

The company is also eager to expand into other geographic markets. While it does a lot of work in New York, Boston, Miami, Florida, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, it’s really looking to push out further to Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, and Houston.

As for milestones, “We do help a lot of developers with feasibility studies and analysis and such,” Moelis adds. “We’re always hoping that the next one comes along.” Handel currently has a senior housing project in the works—another passion for the firm—that is slated to meet Passive House standards.

In the meantime, the company will continue to do what it does best. “What sets us apart? We don’t take no for an answer,” Moelis says. “We’re constantly pushing through barriers and looking for solutions and trying to push the envelope. And we’re actually getting these projects built.”

Although many companies do a lot of research and strive toward greatness, Moelis says Handel is walking the walk. “These places are getting built, and people are living in them,” she says. “We believe we can improve lives through beautiful, innovative, and sustainable architecture. We want to do that through making places healthy and groundbreaking to live.”

The post Beautiful, Innovative, Sustainable<p class="company">Handel Architects</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Although Homestar Inc. was founded in 2002, the company’s roots go back to the mid-90s, when then teenaged Mark Hatfield got a summer job working an eight-hour day installing drywall for $6/hour. “But,” he says, “I’d go home and mow two lawns in two hours and make fifty dollars. I talked to my dad about quitting my job and he agreed that once I had ten lawns, I would be earning more than I was doing drywall and could give my notice. So, I hustled the neighbourhood, got ten lawns, put in my notice—and that was just one day’s work.”

That was only the beginning of Hatfield’s entrepreneurial adventure, as he developed relationships with customers who requested more work around their homes: weeding, taking out trash, cleaning out garages and barns.

“So I diversified, continued my lawn care business, which I named University Venture, got my first truck while I was still in high school, and when I went to Mount Allison University (two hours away in Sackville, NB), I had people at home running my business and I would come on weekends to work.”

In his third year at university, he took an opportunity to sell the business, so when he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 2001, he was debt-free and ready to take on the corporate world. Or so he thought.

Making it happen
Hatfield soon realized that working for a large corporation wasn’t for him, and in 2002 his entrepreneurial spirit drew him back to his roots when he founded Homestar Inc. in the Town of Quispamsis. The company is ideally placed to serve the Greater Saint John area, which, in addition to Quispamsis, includes the City of Saint John and 16 municipalities, including the towns of Rothesay, Hampton, and Norton, and the Kennebecasis River Valley area, with a population of over 126,000.

By 2023 Homestar Inc. had grown to include five divisions. There’s the custom-built home division, and Propertystar, a holding company which owns and manages 50 residential and commercial properties, including apartment buildings and shopping malls. Within the last five years, Huff & Puff, (insulation installation); Homestar Building Supplies, (a Castle Building Supplies dealership); Allstar Heating & Cooling; Outlaw Trucking, (with a fleet of 130 vehicles); and Maverick Electrical have all been added, bringing to fruition Hatfield’s vision of a “one-stop shop”.

In addition, Homestar’s reach has extended to New Brunswick’s two other main cities, Fredericton and Moncton, and across the provincial border to the Town of Amherst, Nova Scotia, with a staff of 135 which includes eight project managers.

But none of this happened overnight. Hatfield slowly and patiently grew the company, surrounding himself with good people, while reinvesting profits to offer more services and remain competitive. As the boss, he says he was always the last to get paid, sometimes going for months without pay.

Johnny-on-the-spot
“I started in 2002 as a niche market, taking care of homes whose owners went south for the winter, and I marketed myself through real estate agencies. On closing day, new owners sometimes couldn’t move in because snow was piled up or there was garbage in the driveway, and I told them, ‘I’m Johnny-on-the-spot’ and I’ll be there in one day and have it ready for the movers, he shares.

“That helped me get established and as time went on, I started buying properties and renovating them. In two months I hired my first employee, Geoff Bryson, who is still with me, and we continued to grow the business, doing more renovations and more landscaping.”

Having Bryson, someone Hatfield could trust, as Project Manager, gave him the freedom to explore other avenues and develop his idea of what a one-stop construction business could look like.

“I had talked to people getting renovations done on their homes and according to them, it was a nightmare. The carpenter would blame delays on the electrician, and the electrician would blame it on the plumber, and if the plumber got delayed, it was the crack-filler’s fault. I saw an opportunity to mitigate that and make the work all flow in a logical manner.”

Having assembled a team that could execute renovations smoothly, Hatfield was ready to begin custom home building, which he says was a juggling act if it meant depending on multiple subcontractors.

“Now when we build a home, the only thing we sub-out is the well and kitchen cabinetry. Everything else is in-house: we excavate the property, put in the ICF (insulated concrete form) foundations, and backfill. We frame and sheathe it, put in the roof, windows and doors, siding, decking, and fencing. We have our own electrical division, plumbing division, drywallers, interior finishers; everything is done in-house, including the interior design.”

David MacMorrough, Project Manager for Homestar’s custom homes (with interiors designed by Sarah Dorcas), notes that they’re built to R2000 standards, come with a 10-year Atlantic Home Warranty, and for two consecutive years have received the Canadian Homebuilders’ Association New Brunswick’s “Best New Home Award”, based on quality, design, and uniqueness.

Hatfield describes MacMorrough as “one of our safety gurus. We had a culture change about eight years ago where we got into being safety focused and worked with keen individuals from WorkSafeNB [please confirm] who came into our shop and helped educate our team. We look at them as an asset. We call them with questions or concerns and they appreciate us doing that because they say we’re the only company that does.”

Next-level safety
MacMorrough, who took on the responsibility of getting COR Certification, says he knew how important it was to the continued success of the company. “I always value safety and I want to see every person go home with their lives and all their digits. I don’t ever want to be the person to make a call to a loved one to say a worker was hurt, hospitalized, or worse.

“The commitment to getting certification was a big step for us, and took me a year, as it was extensive, considering the amount of documentation and training through the NB Construction Association to become the COR Prime.

Once I completed that I revised the safety manuals to ensure all our safe work priorities and job procedures were covered. It was quite a workload, in addition to being the full-time project manager, but I was glad to be able to pull it off.”

Very few workers were at all resistant when the new safety protocols were introduced. “I understand that because I’ve been in this industry since 1992 as a carpenter, and we were walking on 12-foot walls without safety harnesses, wearing shorts and no shirts, and it was a free-for-all.

“But I got with the times because as you get older your perspective changes. Now they understand I want them to go home at the end of the day, and that I’m not doing this to be a nag. A life-changing accident can happen in a split-second, and I want them all to be safe.”

Giving back
Hatfield says community service and giving back to the community is important, and that “we’re always looking for good causes to work together as a team.”

The company provides maintenance services to Hestia House in Saint John, a shelter for women fleeing abusive relationships; maintains two dog parks which it built in Quispamsis and Hampton; works with the Canadian Peace Keepers’ Association to provide storage space at no cost for their equipment—beds, canes, walkers; sponsors baseball and hockey teams; and raises funds for the Saint John Food Bank. Every few weeks the Homestar team gets together and makes over 300 sandwiches, with the food supplied by the company.

One thing which concerns Hatfield about the future of the construction industry (something that company owners across the continent have spoken of to this publication) is an education system that devalues trades, resulting not only in a workforce shortage for companies but often wrong life choices and missed choices for everyone.

“I wouldn’t have thought it possible if someone had told me years ago that there would be a lack of talented, skilled trades along with increasing demands in the industry. But now we’re seeing it,” he says.

“I grew up in an era when going to a trade school was not seriously considered, and you were frowned upon if you didn’t go to university. I look back on it now and I wish I had gone to a trade school. University did prepare me for certain things, but a trade school would have been better. What parents and academic educators don’t understand is that tradespeople can make a very good income—between $80,000 to $100,000, plus they get paid while they’re apprenticing.”

“Better than me”
“I was always mechanically inclined,” Hatfield says, “but from the start, I looked to hire people who could do it better than me and I think that’s where my success comes from. I surround myself with great people, people I trust and rely on, and they give me the freedom to look for new ideas and opportunities and take care of everything behind me while I’m looking ahead.”

Another secret of Homestar’s success is the partnerships he’s formed with companies such as Castle Building Supplies which offers superior products nationally, and the architectural firm Polyline Designs based in Sussex.

“We want to partner with companies that stand behind their products and stand the test of time,” he says, “just as we stand behind our company. Homestar is still a young company and I’m only 44 years old. I still have another 25 years of growing the company and I want those people and companies with me.”

The post From Mowing Lawns to Full-Service Construction<p class="company">Homestar Inc.</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.