October 13, 2010 — Ottawa, Ontario
The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, today recognized Moncton-based Nanoptix as a Canadian Innovation Leader for linking scientific research to commercialization, jobs and economic growth through its cutting-edge approach in developing small-footprint thermal printers that are used in portable and retail applications like theatre or lottery tickets.
"Our government is investing in science and technology to create jobs, strengthen the economy and improve Canadians’ quality of life,” said Minister Clement. “Our ideas, innovation and inventiveness ensure our long-term economic competitiveness. Today, I am proud to recognize Nanoptix, a successful Canadian firm, as a Canadian Innovation Leader.”
Nanoptix is a global provider of thermal direct printers. To build on its earlier success supporting the lottery ticket industry, Nanoptix has expanded its market and is currently developing a new electronic design for a line of small thermal printers using digital signal processing chipsets for faster printing. The new printer product line will also allow use of a new rewriteable paper product.
A Canadian Innovation Leader is a small- or medium-sized enterprise that demonstrates specific advances in research and development within its industrial sector. The National Research Council of Canada created the Canadian Innovation Leader Certificate Program to recognize Canadian firms that have successfully developed and applied innovative technologies.
"Investing in science and technology is critical for developing highly skilled people and improving the long-term competitiveness of Canadian firms," said NRC President John McDougall. "That's why the NRC Industrial Research Assistance program (NRC-IRAP) is helping innovative Canadian businesses like Nanoptix grow stronger, faster and bigger."
“Our company is known for its engineering strengths in the sector and we have invested a lot of energy into research and development. Non-recurring innovation costs are a big part of our budget and without the help of the National Research Council of Canada, Nanoptix could not stay competitive in the industry. Since the beginning, NRC has supported and helped us with numerous projects and we will forever be grateful for the help they have provided. We greatly value a relationship that has been crucial to our success" Daniel Vienneau, President at Nanoptix.
The Industrial Research Assistance Program provides a range of both technical and business-oriented advisory services along with necessary financial support to qualified innovative small- and medium-sized enterprises in Canada.
The program is delivered by a field staff of 240 professionals in more than 100 communities across Canada. The National Research Council of Canada is committed to working with small- and medium-sized enterprises while they realize their full potential, turning knowledge and innovation into strategic opportunities, jobs and prosperity for all Canadians.
Canada’s Economic Action Plan provided new resources of $200 million to the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program over two years to support innovative Canadian firms. To learn more, visit Canada’s Economic Action Plan website.
National Research Council Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program
National Research Council Canada’s (NRC) main outreach to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is through its Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), which provides support to innovative companies in Canada undertaking research and technology development projects for commercial purposes.
NRC-IRAP provides a range of both technical and business-oriented advisory services along with necessary financial support to qualified innovative SME’s in Canada. The program is delivered by a field staff of 240 business and technology experts in more than 100 communities across Canada. Working directly with SME’s, NRC-IRAP supports innovative research and development and helps companies become commercialization-ready with their new products and services.
While the program operates three separate contribution programs — contribution to firms, contribution to organizations and the Youth Employment Program — NRC-IRAP’s main contribution component is in the form of a non-repayable contribution that reimburses the labour costs of a research and development project directly to firms.
Science at work for Canada
NRC-IRAP received an incremental investment of $200 million over two years through Canada’s Economic Action Plan. NRC-IRAP is committed to using this new funding to help the government build a competitive advantage for Canada based on excellence in science and technology (S&T).
The funding includes $170 million to double NRC-IRAP’s contributions to firms and $30 million to help hire more than 1000 new post-secondary graduates via its Youth Employment Program.
The commitment in Canada’s Economic Action Plan reinforces NRC-IRAP’s mandate to help SMEs develop technologies and successfully commercialize them in a global marketplace. It also broadens NRC-IRAP’s ability to provide S&T expertise to SMEs. NRC-IRAP estimates that this new money will allow it to support approximately 1400 additional SMEs beyond its existing base over two years.
Canadian Innovation Leader (CIL) Certificate
A Canadian Innovation Leader is an SME that demonstrated a specific advance in research and development within its industrial sector. This advance has contributed to the wealth of the country, from a corporate growth perspective, through job creation or through a particular investment in research and development that has improved the lives of Canadians. NRC created the Canadian Innovation Leader Certificate Program to recognize Canadian firms that have successfully developed and applied innovative technologies, linking scientific research to commercialization, jobs and economic growth.
About Nanoptix
Nanoptix is a global provider of thermal direct printers, which are ideal for portable and retail applications like theatre or lottery tickets. To build on their earlier success supporting the lottery ticket industry, Nanoptix has expanded their market and is currently developing a new electronic design for a line of small thermal printers using digital signal processing chipsets for faster printing. This new printer product line not only allows for faster and more accurate processing for thermal printouts, but it also enables the technology to be extended to manage write and erase printing processes on new rewriteable paper medium and supports wireless conection. This innovative and leading edge thermal printer solution is difficult for competitors to replicate in a niche marketplace, thereby providing the company with a unique opportunity in a lucrative sector.
Nanoptix provides a wide variety of solutions for the gaming, lottery, point-of-sale, kiosk and amusement markets, including the Nanoptix Paycheck™ 4 series for ticketing, the Spill Proof series for solving printer breakdowns due to spillage, the High Speed Couponing series specially designed for printing promotional tickets, and the EZ - Tear series, flexible ATM / kiosk printers, among others.
