The following statement was issued today by Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

I rise in the House today to inform honourable members about the success of a rising local high tech company, Cathexis Innovations Inc. of St. John�s.

Cathexis Innovations recently formed a strategic partnership with Sapago of Florida, which will allow retail shoppers to research products and read product reviews as they shop.

Cathexis produces Radio Frequency Identification pen readers that will be used in conjunction with Sapago�s handheld computer personal shopper systems.

Customers will be able to scan Radio Frequency Identification tags on items, and information on the product will be displayed on the handheld device.

The company�s Radio Frequency Identification readers are being used in other applications as well. In New Hampshire, visitors to an art gallery use the pens together with hand-held computers to learn more about works of art on the walls of the gallery.

Cathexis president Mr. Steve Taylor recently addressed the National Association of Fleet Administrators at the 2005 Fleet Management Institute and Law Enforcement Conference in the United States on the uses of his technology in fleet management.

Cathexis Innovations is a client of the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. We provided the company with $50,000 in seed equity to assist in marketing the company's wireless technologies for real-time tracking of assets and seamless integration with existing IT systems. My department has also provided business counseling service to the company.

Since March 2001, when the company was formed, sales have grown almost 1,700 per cent. The company now employees 16 people.

This is yet another example of the tremendous amount of talent and creativity we possess in Newfoundland and Labrador and is a further illustration of how we can successfully compete in the global marketplace.

I congratulate Cathexis Innovations on this achievement and wish them every success in the future.

2005 05 12                                   1:55 p.m.