Vanguard Magazine

One of Canada's largest shipbuilders sees a bright future for robotics technology in the marine ves- sel and has invested in a Vancouver-based collab- orative robotics systems company. Novarc Technologies recently announced that it will now be able to scale commercially, thanks to a $1 million investment it secured from Sea- span ULC. BDC Capital participated in the round via its Venture Acceleration Program for seed-stage ven- tures that graduate from select Canadian accel- erators. These include B.C.'s Foresight Cleantech Accelerator program, which Novarc successfully completed. Novarc builds advanced custom robots for niche applications using advanced control tech- niques and computation to solve challenging au- tomation problems. It specializes in building col- laborative robots, welding robots, and long-reach manipulation technology to allow pipe welding to be performed more precisely and economically. Seaspan ULC is primarily involved in coastal marine and deep-sea transportation, bunker fuel- ling, ship repair and shipbuilding services on the West Coast of North America. Seaspan invests in B.C. robotics firm Novarc Lockheed Martin Canada shortlisted for Finnish Navy corvette program "This is a very exciting time for Novarc Technol- ogies," said Soroush Karimzadeh, chief executive officer of Novarc. "Seaspan's support of our pipe- welding technology, used as a key solution in the shipbuilding industry, reinforces their drive to in- novate in shipbuilding services and their leader- ship in the marine transportation industry." He said the money will allow his company to commercially scale its Spool Welding Robot (SWR). The SWR is a collaborative welding robot designed for high-mix, low volume production. Because of the funding, Novarc can now also 10 APRIL/MAY 2017 www.vanguardcanada.com s sIt REP expand its sales and marketing efforts in North America and continued investment in research and development. "Innovation and technology are critical compo- nents of Seaspan's vision of developing and grow- ing a shipbuilding centre of excellence on the West Coast of Canada," said Jonathan Whitworth, CEO of Seaspan. "We are thrilled to partner with Novarc Technologies, invest in the future of the marine transportation industry and take another step closer to creating a brighter future for thousands of British Columbians and their families." "This investment demonstrates how the Na- tional Shipbuilding Strategy can drive innova- tion and help firms like Novarc commercialize and market their technologies so that they can continue to strengthen Canadian shipbuilding," he said. The investment is a result of Seaspan's value- proposition obligations under the National Ship- building Strategy (NSS). As part of this agree- ment, Seaspan is committed to spending 0.5 per cent of each resulting NSS contract to contribute to the development of a sustainable marine in- dustry in Canada. The Finnish Defence Forces have picked Lock- heed Martin Canada as one of the three defence companies shortlisted for the competition to build a battle system for the Finnish Navy's new corvette program, known as Squadron 2020. The navy's current complement of six surface combatants will reach their end-of-life cycle by the mid-2020's. The Squadron 2020 program aims to replace the Finnish Rauma-class fast-attack missile boats and Hämeenmaa-class minelayers with four ice-capable corvettes. The new ships are expected to carry out territorial integrity surveil- lance, securing vital sea lines of communication and deterring attacks from the sea. The two other companies considered as candi- dates for building the battle system of the Squad- ron 2020 ships are Atlas Elektronik GmbH, of Ger- many, and Sweden's Saab Ab. The battle system to be delivered will consist of weapons, sensors, and command and control systems and their integration, according to navy Capt. Veli-Pekka Heinonen of the Finnish Defence Forces' Logistics Command. Rosemary Chapdelaine, vice-president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Canada, said being shortlisted for the program was a "fantas- tic testament" to the integration capability of her company's Canadian-developed CMS 330 combat management system. "This is also another exciting export opportu- nity, not only for us but for our Canadian suppliers who will support our combat management sys- tem and integration delivery efforts, should we win," said Chapdelaine. "This program would be performed in our Kanata, Montreal, and Halifax lo- cations – including manufacturing of the combat management system hardware in our production facility in Ottawa, as well as software and sys- tems development, integrated systems testing and trials in our Montreal and Halifax facilities."

• Cover