January 12, 1997
(Executive Council)

Team Canada Highlights - Local Company receives order from Samsung

Ernie Reimer of Canpolar East Inc. of St., John's confirmed a first purchase order with Samsung Inc. of South Korea for a smart-camera technology for automated inspection of electronic parts during production. The sale was negotiated by Canpolar East sales arm, VE Technologies.

Premier Brian Tobin, said he was pleased that the capabilities of Newfoundland companies are being recognized in the global marketplace. "There are real opportunities for our companies in other parts of the world to sell goods, services and technological products which we have developed. The opportunity today stems from transferring specific expertise from one industry sector to another, in this case using advanced camera technology that was developed to monitor the quality of fish fillets. It is now being used in outer space as part of the Canadarm and will soon be applied in other sectors.

Mr. Reimer said he is confident that the sale represents significant business potential in the Asian market and will lead to a larger volume of downstream sales.

Canpolar East is a registered Canadian Engineering Company which specializes in the design, development and delivery of automated industrial sensors. Based on machine vision technology, the company has been providing technological research and development services and fabricated equipment since 1983. Since 1992, Canpolar East has focused its product development efforts in machine vision systems and electro- optic products for commercial-industrial use.

Contact: Cathy Dornan, Director of Communications, Premier's Office, (709) 729-3570.