Vanguard Magazine

Vanguard OctNov 2015

Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR

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T TECHNOLOGY WATCH 44 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 www.vanguardcanada.com (approximately 68 meters in length) out of aluminum in Canada. NorCan found- er, Russell Compton, who comes from a long history in the offshore oil and gas industry, explained that this enhanced design will dramatically reduce carbon footprint and improve lifecycle costs for its clients. Benefits include reduced char- ter costs due to its speed and multipur- pose design; reduced fuel consumption; reduced crew change costs; enhanced search and rescue (SAR) capabilities; emergency towing and oil spill response capabilities. NorCan is slated to build up to 20 vessels in the next six years, with strong interest and buy-in from key clients in the oil and gas industry. And, despite potentially significantly higher costs in Canada, the company is currently evalu- ating a full "Built in Canada" solution. If you're a Canadian supplier, make sure you check in with us at OMX as soon as possible to respond to one of the re- quirements (RFIs) that are currently be- ing posted by NorCan. We are expecting big things from this PEI business. And by "big things" I mean R&D and work on a global scale to deliver this unique technology within the coming two years. As we are all too keenly aware, we have talked a lot about ITBs in the industry (anyone sick of that acronym yet?!). Since the announcement of NSPS, the discus- sion on ITBs has centered on requiring local content in shipbuilding projects un- der the NSPS umbrella. The policy that has long been in place — but recently en- hanced — incentivizes global companies to invest in Canadian technologies, per- form R&D and bring those supply chain partners alongside on global contracts. Davie and NorCan are two great examples of Canadian companies with global com- mercial business or Canadian government business that are establishing themselves in Canada and investing in local technology without direct ITB obligations. At OMX, we announced an exciting partnership with Statistics Canada a few months ago to develop unique custom economic impact multipliers to more ac- curately calculate long-term, downstream economic impacts to Canada as a result of particular activities. We have multiple studies on the go at the moment, to be completed by the end of this calendar year, which could be made public at our clients' discretion. I personally believe in having data tell a story over verbose language; verified data is simply a more powerful and credible storyteller. In this case, for these two Canadian companies, the story is just beginning. As we all know, the initial spark of any major program in Canada, generates a flow of activities downstream of the initial rush. Activities that involve partnering with Canadian companies (SMEs in particular) and academic institutes to perform R&D, technical developments and, most impor- tantly, partnering on commercialization efforts. We hope the trickledown reaches right down into ultra-innovative micro- SMEs, such as Maritime Way Scientific. One thing is for sure, it is tough not to feel that flutter of Canadian patriotism when hearing about companies commit- ting to investing in Canadian technol- ogy. If the possibility of generating ITBs is what spurs those decisions, then even better. Project Resolve Proposed Tier 1 Suppliers. NorCan 222 Emergency Response Rescue & Support Vessel.

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