NLIS 1
October 8, 2002
(Industry, Trade and Rural Development)

 

Minister congratulates Lotek Wireless Inc. on receiving national export award

Lotek Wireless Inc. received the Canada Export Award for Innovation and Technology last night topping the list of Canadian high-tech innovators recognized at the annual convention of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. The awards were handed out at the Canada Export Awards in Vancouver. Lotek Wireless Inc., a world leader in the design and manufacture of electronic fish and wildlife tracking and monitoring systems, has offices in St. John�s, Newfoundland and Labrador and Newmarket, Ontario.

Lotek started its St. John�s operation in 1995 and was one of the first companies granted EDGE status. Industry, Trade and Rural Development Minister Kelvin Parsons attended the awards ceremony and congratulated the company at the event.

"Lotek Wireless is recognized as one of the finest companies in North America in its field and joins a very prestigious group of firms in winning a Canada Export Award," said Minister Parsons. "On behalf of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, I congratulate the company and its employees for this outstanding achievement and recognition."

The Canadian Innovation Award for Technology recognizes innovative excellence in the development of new technology or the adoption and application of new technology in process or new product development. Lotek�s nomination centered around its oceans based business that is managed from its St. John�s office.

"Lotek�s win in this particular category reinforces that our emerging high tech companies in Newfoundland and Labrador are truly cutting edge firms that can compete with the very best in bringing their products and services to the world. Good things are happening in Newfoundland and Labrador and Lotek Wireless is a great example of a local company that is making it happen," said Minister Parsons.

Lotek Wireless Inc. employs 30 people in St. John�s. Exports represent more than 90 per cent of the company�s sales and its tracking devices are used in over 35 countries. The company manufactures acoustic and radio signal transmitters, as well as satellite tracking systems using GPS (Global Positioning System). One example of a product manufactured in Newfoundland and Labrador is a GPS device that can be attached to manatee (an endangered sea mammal resident in Florida) so that researchers can track them for conservation purposes.

Pierre S. Pettigrew, International Trade Minister, presented the annual Canada Export Awards to a select number of Canadian firms, chosen by a panel of prominent business people from across Canada. Canadian companies that receive these awards are acclaimed for their outstanding export sales performance, for introducing new products and/or services abroad and for penetrating new markets.

Over 600 people from across Canada attended the Canada Export Awards event in Vancouver, including the 22 finalists. Finalists for 2002 included many well recognized corporate names, such as General Motors Defense of London; Maple Leaf Foods International of Toronto; and SMART Technologies Inc. of Calgary.

The 2002 Canada Export Awards ceremony was organized in conjunction with the Annual Convention of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.

Media contact:

Tracy Kenney
Industry, Trade and Rural Development
(709)729-2257

Keith Stoodley
Lotek Wireless Inc.
(709)726-3899

 

Backgrounder
Release from Lotek Wireless

Lotek Wireless Wins 2002 Canada Export Award
Wildlife tracking company tops the list of Canadian high-tech innovators

Vancouver, B.C. - Lotek Wireless Inc. has been awarded the 2002 Canada Export Award for Innovation and Technology by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. International Trade Minister Pierre S. Pettigrew presented the prestigious award to Lotek CEO Jim Lotimer at the Annual Convention of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters in Vancouver last night. The Hon. Kelvin Parsons, Minister of Industry, Trade and Rural Development for Newfoundland , was also on hand to congratulate Lotek at the awards ceremony. Lotek has manufacturing plants in St. John's, Newfoundland as well as in Newmarket, Ontario.

Founded in 1984, Lotek Wireless designs and manufactures wireless biotelemetry systems used by scientists to gather detailed information about the movements and physiology of fish and wildlife in their natural habitats. Many of the creatures monitored are threatened or endangered species.

"Our craft is technology, but our passion is the environment," said Mr. Lotimer. "Lotek systems are ultimately designed to help us better understand and care for our planet. To receive an award of this stature is a tribute to the dedication and perseverance of all our employees."

The company's tracking devices are now in use in over 35 countries � "on every continent and in every ocean," as Lotimer puts it. Exports represent over 90% of the Canadian company's annual revenues.

Lotek systems are used for a wide variety of environmental and economic reasons, from protecting endangered elephants in Africa to monitoring the safe passage of salmon through hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River. Examples of species being tracked with Lotek devices include salmon, sturgeon, tuna, turtles, whales, seals, crabs, penguins, moose, caribou, wolves and elephants.

Keith Stoodley, Lotek's Oceans Director, says that winning the 2002 Canada Export Award is a significant recognition of Lotek's commitment to designing innovative technology.

"12 to 15% of our revenue goes back into research and development each year," he says. "This allows us to keep meeting our scientific partners' needs for increasingly unobtrusive ways to follow smaller and smaller creatures deeper and deeper into the wild."

To meet those demands, Lotek offers a wide array of radio, acoustic, data storage and satellite tracking devices, some of which are used in combination to provide unique solutions to the challenges of tracking animals in difficult habitats.

Many of Lotek's innovations have resulted from efforts to overcome traditional tracking limitations. For example, the company's digitally encoded radio tags remove the previous "one animal per frequency" barrier, allowing today's researchers to detect over 200 unique signals on a single radio frequency. Similarly, the company's combined acoustic-radio tags allow the continuous, single-device tracking of a fish through both fresh and salt water habitats for the first time.

"We've been able to contribute volumes of new knowledge to science about dozens of species occupying space on this earth, and in our rivers, seas and oceans," Mr. Lotimer says. "At the same time, we're helping governments, businesses, and public utilities to better manage their resources and co-exist with nature.

"It's very rewarding work, with constant new incentives to improve upon what we do."

Media contact:

Keith Stoodley, Oceans Director, Lotek Wireless Inc.
Tel. 709-726-3899 / Fax 709-726-5324
Email: kstoodley@lotek.com Web site:
//www.lotek.com

2002 10 08                                       11:05 a.m.


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