April 30, 1997
(Industry, Trade and Technology)

Premier announces three joint ventures

Premier Brian Tobin announced three joint ventures today between companies in Newfoundland and Scotland on his visit to Aberdeen.

"As a result of a significant amount of work that has been undertaken in the last 18 months on both sides under the Memorandum of Understanding, three partnerships have been established," says Tobin. "These companies will open new markets for each other and provide direct economic benefits to their regions. I am confident that these partnerships will prove to be a model for future collaborations and I look forward to other such alliances."

The first joint venture is between A. Harvey and Company Limited of St. John's and Consolidated Supply Management of Aberdeen. The new company, Harvey CSM, combines the wealth of North Sea and international experience of CSM in logistics and supply chain management with the first class facilities, resources and local reputation of A. Harvey and Company. The company will provide an integrated logistics/supply chain support service to the emerging oil, gas and mining industries in Atlantic Canada and worldwide.

The second partnership is between Specialist Solutions Limited of St. John's and Simul8 Limited of Aberdeen. The new venture, Trans Atlantic Medical Limited, will undertake software research and development projects to capture specific market niches in medical diagnostic imaging. Specialist Solutions develops clinical information systems for physicians and medical specialists. Simul8 is a leader in the development of 3-dimensional imaging systems for the games software industry, the offshore oil industry and medical applications. The company's software will be designed for use by radiologists and other medical specialists and will enable the transmission and "rendering" of medical images over existing computer networks. The company's approach to Tele-Radiology will provide access to critical patient data in an inexpensive, unique and user friendly format. Trans Atlantic Medical Limited will be headquartered in St. John's with a satellite office in Aberdeen.

Net.f/x Marketing Technologies of Mount Pearl and ACS Design and Telematics of Banff, Scotland have formed a strategic alliance to develop a virtual trade zone to facilitate communication and trade between the two regions.

Net.f/x have recently launched the Big Kahoona, an Internet web site for Newfoundland which contains data on accommodations, restaurants, art, and tourism. The third joint venture, Grampian Big Kahoona, will be modeled after its North American counterpart.

The joint ventures are closely associated with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with North East Scotland which was signed on June 20, 1995. The purpose of the MOU was to stimulate greater economic activity between the two regions. Areas of specific interest included energy resources, offshore business, marine industries, environmental technologies and information industries.

Contact: Heidi Bonnell, Director of Communications, Premier's Office, (709) 729-3564; or John Doody, Director of Communications Industry, Trade and Technology, (709) 729-0050.