YEAR IN REVIEW - York Link

BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND ECOSYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS2019 YEAR IN REVIEW CISCO PARTNER COMPLETELY MANAGEDLAUNCHED IIoT NETWORK DISCOVERYAND ASSESSMENT PLATFORMIT World Canada NewmarketGOOD VIBRATIONS ENGINEERING ANDTELEDYNE OPTEC RECEIVE R&D FUNDINGFROM CANADIAN SPACE AGENCYSpaceQ King / VaughanThe Canadian Space Agency (CSA) awardedover 15 million in funding to 25 companiesfor its Space Technology Development Program(STDP). Two York Region-based companiesreceived STDP contracts: Good VibrationsEngineering in King for its robotic equipmentused on the Lunar Gateway to work with heavypayloads and operate in harsh conditions; and,Teledyne Optec Inc. in Vaughan for its study onhow combining smaller, lighter components ina new way develops a more powerful, compact3D imaging system for use in future spaceexploration missions.ISIGN MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ANDHARDWARE: POWERING THE GROWINGOMNI VEIL DIGITAL PLATFORM IN NEVADAGlobe Newswire Richmond HilliSIGN Media Solutions, a leading provider ofinteractive mobile proximity marketing andpublic security alert solutions, announced thedetails of its partner, Hi-Tek Media’s, launchof the Omni Veil Digital Platform, designedto create a new and unique method forcommunication. Omni Veil is powered entirelyby iSIGN technology and exclusively utilizesiSIGN’s hardware units, provides commercialand security alert messaging to mobile devicesthroughout Nevada on a 24/7 basis.SKYX PARTNERS WITH TEXAS COMPANY TOMONITOR PIPELINES IN AFRICAPR Newswire VaughanSkyX, an aerial monitoring solutions provider,partnered with Texas-based Aerial ProjectAnalytics (APA). Through the partnership, SkyXand APA will implement a comprehensivesolution that solves complex challenges forassets in remote areas and harsh environments.The frst contract under this partnership, amultimillion-dollar agreement, will inspect andmonitor hundreds of miles of pipelines for amajor energy corporation in Africa.10TURF TECH IN GEORGINATown of Georgina GeorginaBrouwer Kesmac, located in Georgina, is oneof the largest turf equipment companiesspecializing in equipment for turf farmsglobally. The company was started morethan 50 years ago when Gerry Brouwerrevolutionized the way sod was harvested.His vision changed the industry from cuttingsod with a Ryan sod cutter and stacking it ontopallets or trucks by hand, to a Brouwer sodharvester that cut sod, transferred it onto aconveyor, rolled it and put the rolls on a pallet— all in one operation.Producers were able to reduce labor (by six toeight workers) when they switched from theRyan sod cutter to the Brouwer sod harvester.In some operations, Brouwer harvesters havereplaced as many as 25 workers. The improvedmodels were a response to the growing trendtoward automation and a cost efective, laboursaving unit.Over the years, the acceptance of theirmachines globally and the recognition ofthe Brouwer name for quality and simplicityallowed for development of more advancedsod harvesters and other turf-relatedequipment, including truck-mounted forklifts,mowers, vacuums, rollers and installers.Brouwer Kesmac’s continued investment ininnovation and utilization of GPS, remotediagnostics and telematic platforms provideadditional managerial and service capabilitiesand frmly position the company as atechnology leader in its feld.EDSBY TO COVER ALL OF NEW ZEALAND’SSCHOOLS AFTER LANDMARK DEALYorkregion.com Richmond HillRichmond Hill-based Edsby, developer of acloud-based education social networkingservice and app, ofcially announced alandmark deal with New Zealand’s Ministryof Education to cover all of the country’s K-12students, about 800,000 children.MAYOR FRANK SCARPITTI CELEBRATESOPENING OF AWARD-WINNING WELLNESSTECH COMPANY BOOK4TIMEMarkham Innovates MarkhamMarkham Mayor, Frank Scarpitti was on handto cut the ribbon at the grand opening ofBook4Time’s new 20,000 square foot ofcespace. Book4Time experienced phenomenalgrowth in 2018 and has doubled the size ofits workspace in 2019 to accommodate anever-expanding team. The company has alsocelebrated the opening of a new ofce inManila, Philippines.BYD OPENS FIRST CANADIAN ELECTRIC BUSASSEMBLY PLANT IN NEWMARKETBYD NewmarketBYD (Build Your Dreams) expanded its NorthAmerican operations with the opening of itsfrst bus assembly plant in Canada. “We arededicated to partnering with municipalitiesacross Canada, and we are passionate aboutour mission to create a cleaner environmenthere in North America and across the globe,”said BYD Canada President, Stella Li.There are dozens of tools for inventoryingand monitoring corporate networks, butindustrial networks aren’t as well served.The Newmarket, York Region-basedcompany Completely Managed took abig step to remedy that situation when itunveiled its industrial Internet of Things(IIoT) network discovery and assessmentplatform, LANAware, bridging the gapbetween IT (information technology) andOT (operational technology).Partners Cisco Canada, Gerrie Electric, JMPSolutions, and Tech Data Canada joined inthe celebration and the ceremonial ribboncutting by Newmarket mayor John Taylor atCompletely Managed’s ofces.Completely Managed founder, presidentand CEO Rod Scotland said, “Security ispart and parcel and should be consideredthrough the lens of every acquisition,purchase decision and network deployment.This is where LANAware focuses – it isa platform to assess and recommend.LANAware helps GERRIE Electric,Completely Managed, and partners tounderstand, assess, and then producethe documentation that helps therecommendation to be understood. Theinterface has been written not for IT, it isvery focused on industrial applications. Ouropportunity to help is in industrial; we dofocus on and solve IT problems as well on aneveryday basis.”While the Newmarket facility is BYD’s frstCanadian assembly plant, the company isalready active in the Canadian market withbuses in Toronto, Victoria, Longeuil, St. Albert,and Grand Prairie. The new plant will frst focuson assembling buses for the Toronto TransitCommission, the country’s largest transitoperator. “We’re proud to establish a homein Canada; it re-afrms our commitment as acompany to be rooted in this country and inthis province,” said Ted Dowling, Vice President,BYD Canada. “We look forward to creating newpartnerships across the nation.”WANT MORE YORK REGIONBUSINESS COMMUNITY NEWS?Head to yorklink.ca/news where you cansee news and highlights from York Region’sthriving business community or follow YorkLink on our social media channels.11

2019 YEAR IN REVIEW BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND ECOSYSTEM HIGHLIGHTSSCOTIABANK ANNOUNCED AS NEW TENANT IN PWC-YMCA TOWER AT THE VAUGHANMETROPOLITAN CENTREGlobe Newswire VaughanSmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust announced a 10-year lease transaction withScotiabank in the PwC-YMCA Tower at SmartCentres Place at the Vaughan MetropolitanCentre (VMC).The PwC-YMCA Tower will be a 220,000-square-foot mixed-use ofce tower in the heart ofthe VMC, adjacent to the VMC subway station and bus terminal. It will house a77,000-square-foot PwC ofce, a 100,000-square-foot fagship YMCA with child care, ftnessfacilities and a 20,000-square-foot public library and studio space.Scotiabank will occupy 26,500-square-foot, with 23,000-square-foot of ofce space onthe eighth foor of the Tower, with the balance for a retail branch in the lobby. “With theaddition of Scotiabank to our tenant roster, 100% of the ofce space we have constructedin SmartCentres Place is now fully leased,” said Mitchell Goldhar, Executive Chairman ofSmartCentres. “With proximity to the new TTC subway and bus terminal, expansive openspaces and civic facilities, SmartCentres Place is designed as a people frst, pedestrian friendly,urban city centre.”WOLF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY LISTEDAS ONE OF CANADA’S FASTEST GROWINGCOMPANIES BY GROWTH 500Yorkegion.com Whitchurch-StoufvilleCanadian Business and Maclean’s ranked WolfAdvanced Technology (WOLF) No.181 on theannual Growth 500, the defnitive ranking ofCanada’s Fastest-Growing Companies. WOLFmade the 2019 Growth 500 list with fve-yearrevenue growth of 506%. WOLF designs,develops and manufactures military-graderugged modules for video capture, process,encode and display.12IN THE RACE FOR 5G, TERAGO AHEAD OFBIG PLAYERSThe Globe & Mail MarkhamTeraGo, which has traditionally catered to thebusiness market by selling connectivity anddata-centre services, announced its intentionto enter the residential segment with a plan todeliver high-speed broadband to a handful ofurban high-rises this year.The company is conducting trials of nextgeneration technology using a trove of licensesit has for frequency bands of spectrum (radiowaves that carry communications signals) thatare emerging as key for 5G services.NEWMARKET OPENS DOOR TO PARTNERSHIPOPPORTUNITIES WITH UKRAINIAN ICTNewmarkettoday.ca NewmarketIn November 2019, the Town of Newmarkethosted a delegation from Ukraine to discusspotential opportunities for partnership onprojects and initiatives in the Information,Communications and Technology (ICT) sector.The Ukrainian business delegation visit, whichtook place at the Medical Arts Building atSouthlake Regional Health Centre, consistedof an information sharing session and anetworking and learning opportunity for16 Ukrainian ICT companies interested inconducting business in Canada.“On behalf of Newmarket council and staf,we are very happy to welcome our Ukrainianfriends to our community,” said NewmarketMayor John Taylor. “Partnering with othernations around the world and expanding ourmarkets beyond our borders is a key part ofNewmarket’s Economic Development Strategythat focuses on innovation, collaboration andurbanization.”The information sharing session includedrepresentatives from the Town of Newmarket,York Region, Southlake Regional Health Centreand local and regional ICT companies, with thegoal of establishing direct business contactsand fnding potential partners with leadingUkrainian technology companies. The meetingallowed all participants to strengthen businessrelationships for long-term cooperation andshare information on Newmarket and YorkRegion’s fourishing ICT sector.Sean Stephens, president and CEO of aNewmarket-based Treefrog Interactive,addressed the audience and spoke aboutNewmarket’s unique business culture.“Newmarket companies work together in aremarkable way — the spirit of collaborationwithin the business community trulydiferentiates Newmarket from othercommunities,” Stephens said. “Ukrainian techcompanies would be well-served to seekpartnerships with local businesses or establisha foothold in Newmarket to ease the transitioninto this market.”NIAGARA UNIVERSITY OPENS SATELLITECAMPUS LOCATION IN VAUGHANCityNews VaughanThe City of Vaughan has opened its doors to itsvery frst university. Mayor Maurizio Bevilacquaofcially announced that Niagara University hasexpanded to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.“It has been my dream to bring a university toVaughan. With focus, discipline and excellentpartners, this dream has come true,” Bevilacquasaid in a release. The 12,000-square-foot spacewill have seven classrooms and welcome over300 students.The school will focus on education programs,with students enrolling in either the Bachelorof Professional Studies in Education or theMaster of Science in Education. Additional MBAprograms were introduced in early 2020.FLEXITY AND GEORGE BROWN COLLEGEANNOUNCE HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGYPARTNERSHIPNewswire Richmond HillFlexITy is evolving its FlexHealth, Powered byFlexITy technology, taking it from the hospitalto the classroom. Through a new partnership,FlexITy will enhance learning opportunities atGeorge Brown’s Sally Horsfall Eaton School ofNursing by infusing new technology into thecollege’s nursing simulation centre – the onlyone in Canada that is accredited by the Societyfor Simulation in Healthcare.UPSTREAM WORKS RECEIVES 2019CUSTOMER MAGAZINE PRODUCT OF THEYEAR AWARDCustomer Magazine VaughanSoftware company Upstream Works receivedthe 2019 CUSTOMER Magazine Product of theYear Award. “[We’re] pleased to be recognizedonce again for our customer experienceinnovation,” said Rob McDougall, Presidentof Upstream Works, “we are committed todelivering innovative solutions that help brandsachieve all their digital transformation goals.”13

BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND ECOSYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS2019 YEAR IN REVIEW FEATURE STORYTHE TECH SECTOR IN THE GREATER TORONTO AREA:A MULTI-MARKET SUCCESS STORYAvison Young York RegionThe Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is a techindustry success story. But there is more to thatstory than the popular conception of fastgrowing downtown startups.The GTA is not a single option, but ratherofers a wide variety of submarkets, givinginformation and communications technology(ICT) frms the range of real estate optionsand concentrations of skilled workers thosefrms require to position themselves for futuregrowth and success.These are some of the key trends noted inAvison Young’s topical report: “The TechnologySector in the Greater Toronto Area: A MultiMarket Success Story”, released May 15, 2019.According to the report, ICT frms aredistributed across the entire GTA – both the 416(Toronto) and 905 (suburban) regions. In fact,as per Statistics Canada 62% of ICT businessesin the GTA are located in those 905 regions.“For some companies and their employees,access to the downtown core and proximity toacademic institutions and other amenities areextremely important,” noted Bill Argeropoulos,Principal and Practice Leader, Research(Canada) for Avison Young. “For others, acampus-style environment or an urban growthcentre in a suburban setting can become ahotbed for talent and stimulate innovation. TheGTA ofers opportunities for both types of frms.In fact, it is worth noting that the proposalsubmitted to Amazon for its HQ2 was aregional collaboration – and nine of the ten siteoptions put forward were outside downtownToronto, in the suburban 905 regions of Halton,Peel, York and Durham.”14The report went on to say that, after the Cityof Toronto, York Region ranks as the Torontoarea’s – and Canada’s – second-largest techhub, as is home to more than 4,300 ICTcompanies. These include global and Canadiantech industry leaders, scaleups and smallertechnology companies across a range ofsectors, mainly enterprise software, IT vendors/services, cloud computing, networking andmicroelectronics.“The recent subway expansionto Vaughan MetropolitanCentre and the proposedextension to Richmond Hillwill play an important rolein the movement of skilledtech labour among the GTA’sregions, allowing workers tofow freely between whereverthey choose to live and work.”- Bill ArgeropoulosPrincipal and Practice Leader, ResearchAvison Young“York Region’s ofce markets contain a mixof urban- and suburban-style product, as wellas a considerable amount of fex space – awide range of assets that can accommodatecompanies at all stages of growth,” saidArgeropoulos. “In addition, while Markhamand Vaughan ofer better-than-averagetransit connections for suburban markets,both still have vacant land available for futureofce development, giving larger tenants theopportunity to customize their ofce solutions.”He added, “The recent subway expansionto Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and theproposed extension to Richmond Hill will playan important role in the movement of skilledtech labour among the GTA’s regions, allowingworkers to fow freely between wherever theychoose to live and work.”The report also identifed some of the diferenttypes of ICT frms operating in the GTA andthe factors that infuenced those companies’choices of where to locate among the variousofce submarkets that make up the Region.Those factors could include what stage ofgrowth a company has reached and theavailability of suitably skilled employees tomeet its needs. In addition, the report providedinsights into current ofce market conditionsacross the GTA and, particularly, in York Region– along with future development plans for twoof its important urban growth centres: VaughanMetropolitan Centre and Markham Centre.Argeropoulos concluded: “The GTA’s ICT sectoris often considered with a narrow focus onstartup activity. Currently, there is a tendencyto view the GTA’s downtown and suburbanregions as being in competition with eachother.There is also a tendency to regard certain frmsas being on the periphery of the GTA. However,the GTA and its ICT sector should be consideredmore holistically if the region’s tech sector isto retain its talent, support its enterprises andserve the public good.”READ AVISON YOUNG’S FULL REPORT:YORKLINK.CA/AY-REPORT15

BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND ECOSYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS2019 YEAR IN REVIEW YORK UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES CLASSES INMARKHAM VIA IBM PARTNERSHIPYorkregion.com MarkhamYork University recently expandedits academic footprint by oferingprogramming for the frst time at IBMCanada’s headquarters in Markham.“York and IBM have a long history ofsupporting innovation, research anddevelopment and we are excited to havethe opportunity to expand experientiallearning for our students through this newinitiative,” said York University Presidentand Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton atthe ofcial launch of the partnership onSeptember 25, 2019.IBM employees will also guest lecturein relevant classes, and discussions arealso underway to expand internshipopportunities for students.TOP DEVELOPERS AND RESEARCHERS COMETOGETHER IN YORK REGION FOR 2019CASCONxEVOKE CONFERENCEIBM MarkhamSTATE-OF-THE-ART LIUNA TRAINING CENTREOPENS WITH ‘INCREASED, ENHANCED’CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMSYorkregion.com Richmond HillA global leader in technology development,IBM partnered with Havas Canada to convenesome of the world’s top developers, engineersand academic researchers for the CASCON xEVOKE Conference: a three-day, deep-divediscussion on the impact of technology onsociety, now and in the future.A new and improved training facility opened inRichmond Hill to bolster the numbers of skilledconstruction workers to meet the growingdemand in the GTA and beyond.The conference was held in November at theHilton Toronto / Markham Suites ConferenceCenter in Markham, York Region.The event featured over 1,500 attendees,500 global university and industry experts,71 development talks, 39 academic talks, 30workshops, keynotes and more.IBM Canada’s Vice President, Enterprise andCommercial, Beth Bell, said partnershipssuch as these “are demonstrative of howcities, education institutions and technologycompanies can come together to shape thelearning experience for students and buildthe skills of tomorrow.”Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti and YorkRegion ofcials confrmed that plans arestill underway to establish a York University/Seneca College campus in Markham Centre.INFINITE JIB A LEADER IN COMMERCIALUNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLESKing Weekly Sentinel KingA little more than a decade ago, Infnite Jib wasone of only four drone manufacturers in NorthAmerica and set the standard for today’s majorplayers.Jef Jackson and his wife Deborah St. Clair areat the controls of Infnite Jib, where they designand manufacture cutting-edge, multi-purposefying robots. Infnite Jib gives cameras wings,sensors and thermal imaging capacity and thecompany serves many industrial, commercial,agricultural and mining applications.WILLOW SPRINGS WINERY PARTNERS WITHLOCAL TECH COMPANIES TO EXPLORE‘SMART’ AGRIGULTURETown of WS Whitchurch-StoufvilleIn 2019, Willow Springs Winery signed an MOUwith Huawei Canada and a number of othertech partners to help explore groundbreaking‘Smart Agriculture’ wireless technologyapplications; examining ways in which5G-enabled tools can transform the agriculturalsector and strengthen economic performance.16IKEA announced the grand opening of its550,000 square foot Customer DistributionCentre in Kleinburg. In partnership with DHL,the new location further enables IKEA tohave its products in the right place, closer toits customers, while also providing increasedcapacity for future growth.“Today’s opening in Kleinburg [Vaughan] is animportant step as IKEA Canada continues itstransformation journey to become the leadingmultichannel home furnishings retailer,” said LizWilson, Country Customer Fulflment Manager,IKEA Canada.Markham is home to Innovation York,located at IBM, and YSpace, which openedin downtown Markham in 2018.Technology incubator ventureLAB, whichsupports tech start-ups, is also locatedin IBM’s headquarters, along with IBMInnovation Space, a hub of over 40 techcompanies.IKEA CANADA EXPANDS DISTRIBUTION WITHGRAND OPENING OF VAUGHAN CUSTOMERDISTRIBUTION CENTREIkea Canada VaughanThe Kleinburg Customer Distribution Centrefocuses on last mile delivery directly tocustomers’ homes and complements theretailer’s four stores and Mississauga CustomerDistribution Centre in the GTA. Customersserved by the new centre may expect to seeshorter delivery lead

sod with a Ryan sod cutter and stacking it onto pallets or trucks by hand, to a Brouwer sod harvester that cut sod, transferred it onto a conveyor, rolled it and put the rolls on a pallet — all in one operation. Producers were able to reduce labor (by six to eight workers) when they switched from the Ryan sod cutter to the Brouwer sod harvester.