As a child Nathan Wren would break apart old electronics, read everything he could and spend hours doodling. This fascination with understanding how things work has stayed with him his entire life.
Nathan was hired as a Mechanical Engineer in 2012 by Daniels Electronics, just weeks before its acquisition by Codan Radio Communications. He’s actually gone from breaking radios in his parents’ garage to designing them for a living in one of the most beautiful settings, Fisherman’s Wharf. Given his childhood fascination you’d think he’d know his path right away, instead he first earned a degree in Psychology before making the switch to Mechanical Engineering.
Nathan hasn’t looked back since and has had some impressive moments in his career.
“It was a great pleasure and honor to spend several months on a work term at the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics; the level of talent in that group is truly something else,” commented Nathan. Another moment he will never forget is watching Codan’s new Stratus Repeater product get chucked off a 3-4m rooftop, hit the cement, and still power up and function properly.
Codan just launched a brand new suite of transportable products, anchored by the Stratus Repeater, that links conventional radio systems to the current cellular networks. This opens up a whole new range of uses for Codan’s transportable products, and is generating some real excitement in the market according to Nathan.
“I was lucky enough to see the mechanical design of the core repeater product from start to finish, and to work with a really talented and nimble design team. As for current projects, we’ve always got something on the burner… stay tuned.”
For the past several months, Nathan has also helped breathe new life into the Advanced Manufacturing Roundtable for VIATEC. This month’s event was held at Codan’s headquarters where members heard from Charlie Stuff, President of Codan, and received a site tour through their 30,000 square foot manufacturing facility.
Nathan has been having a blast so far with the roundtable and is looking forward to future meetups. “There are a lot of interesting companies and great product design going on in Victoria, and no shortage of topics to discuss.”
When Nathan isn’t working, you will find him, well… still working. He’s inspired by complex systems and hairy design challenges. “Whether it’s a wonky political debate, a challenging thermal design, or the arcane rules of a card or board game, if you can take it apart and figure it out, I’m there.”
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