March 4, 2009
Media contact: Kim Lawrence
Cell: 604-302-6257
Office: 604-864-4611
kim.lawrence@ufv.ca
UFV Chair helps BC companies succeed in India
Sidney’s Quester Tangent wins major contract with Indian Navy
Bill Collins is a happy man. As chairman of Quester Tangent, a privately owned electronics manufacturer in Sidney, B.C., Collins is celebrating a $3 million+ contract award his company recently won to deliver sea-floor mapping to the Indian Navy. His advice for others wanting to do business in India? Don’t go it alone.
Speaking at a March 4 luncheon sponsored in part by the Canada-India Business Council, the Fraser Valley Indo-Canadian Business Association, RBC, the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), and the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies at UFV, Collins explained that the contract is for software to support the Indian Navy’s extensive seabed charting operations in the Indian Ocean. “The technology will be used on six new vessels being built in India,” he said, “and will bring to 14 the number of Indian Navy vessels using Quester Tangent products.”
The software allows the Indian Navy Hydrographic Office to collect data on water depth and seabed material type over its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) — data that is used to support safe navigation in Indian waters. The first product shipments are scheduled for the end of March 2009 and will continue into 2010.
Collins is working closely with DJ Sandhu, a UFV business professor who also holds the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Canada-India Business and Economic Development, to advance his business further in India. The chair is mandated to help businesses in the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland region take advantage of the opportunities offered by the huge Indian market.
“This contract is an excellent example of teamwork with our local partners at UFV, RBC, and Export Development Canada, as well as our partner in India: Pan India Electromech,” said Collins. “This is another ‘made-in-BC’ success story of taking homegrown technology and selling it worldwide.”
“Other BC companies should view this as a great example of how to gain access to a niche market in India,” noted Sandhu, who teamed up with Collins at the luncheon to present an overview of business opportunities in India. “Quester Tangent’s success also demonstrates how RBC sponsorship of the chair’s speaking series can connect its business clients with opportunities in India.” Sandhu and Collins were introduced by RBC.
Quester Tangent is an electronics manufacturer servicing the rail passenger and marine sea floor environmental marketplace. Learn more at www.questertangent.com or contact Bill Collins at 250.656.6677.
BC companies interested in exploring the Indian market can contact the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Canada-India Business and Economic Development at 604-557-4030 or canadaindiachair@ufv.ca . The chair is one of 20 leadership chairs and nine regional innovation chairs across BC supported by the province through the Leading Edge Endowment Fund (LEEF).
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