THIS WEEK IN TECTORIA

A community blog celebrating Victoria's booming tech sector

CONTACT THE TECTORIA BLOG

Got a cool story about technology and creativity in Victoria? Email stories, tips, pictures, links and anything of interest to Tessa Bousfield at: tectoria@viatec.ca

VIATEC Food Bank Challenge Participants!

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Our Tectorians of the Week are: Arpix Media, Avocette, AXYS Technologies, Carmanah Technologies, FTS, Isolation Network, Planet Clean, Red Brick Media, Revenue Wire, Smart Dolphins IT Solutions, Simply Rooted Media, Schneider Electric, StarFish Medical, UNIT4, Vigil Health Solutions and xMatters!

Why? Because they’re all stepping up and raising cash and food donations for the Mustard Seed Food Bank through the VIATEC Food Bank Challenge!

Week 1 of 4 is just wrapping up today and although VIATEC won’t be posting results until Monday, we can tell it’s been a very active week. The announcement that Dan Gunn, CEO of VIATEC, will get a tattoo of the VIATEC logo if $100,000 is raised, may have upped the ante a bit! It even caused Dallas Gislason of the GVDA to raise the stakes by offering to do the same if $110,000 is raised! Arpix Media also submitted $500 on the very first day!

Week 1 was also the launch of the newly introduced weekly photo contest. Participants receive the chance at winning an addition 250 points if their pic is the best of the bunch. It also gives participants a chance to see what their competition is up to…

Red Brick Media went with a video instead of a picture in order to capture the action of their team doing push ups!

  • Want to join the challenge? (It’s not too late)… email kwalker@viatec.ca
  • Want to give a personal donation? Click here and make sure you select “VIATEC Food Bank Challenge” as your reason for giving on the second page
  • Want to donate to one of the participants to help them win? See the company list above or below!
  • Want to just witness all the fun? Search for #VIATECFoodBankChallenge on social media!

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Sounding the alarm: forest fire monitoring with FTS

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Fire monitoring from FTSIn the second of a series of articles dedicated to Victoria success stories in the technology sector, MaryLou Wakefield of Wakefield Communications profiles Forest Technology Systems.

Since1980, Forest Technology Systems (FTS) has produced simple, reliable data collection equipment for forest management agencies that make up the single largest fire weather monitoring network in the world. In the late 1990s, the company expanded with hydrology monitoring systems specifically for harsh environments and remote locations.

“Our mission is to produce products that save lives,” said Eric Embacher, Director of Marketing and Product Management, who attributes a large part of the company’s success to the relationships they’ve developed with customers. “We tend to have old world values and a belief that ‘customer is king’ which permeates the whole organization.”

Customer challenges come in many shapes and sizes in the fire weather monitoring business and FTS works hard at understanding them. Perhaps the most pressing need is to get timely, accurate data in order to make informed decisions. “Our job is to ensure we understand what types of data our customers need, how frequently they need it, and at what level of accuracy. After that, it’s looking for ways to improve on the technology,” said Embacher.

A recent example involves a radio voice transmitter that receives up-to-date weather alerts from portable weather stations around the perimeter of a fire. Working closely with clients to better understand conditions on the ground and how the device could be improved, FTS recently launched ‘AirTalk’ with improved voice clarity and volume, as well as multi-language capabilities.

What do employees say is the best thing about working at FTS? “It’s the culture,” said Embacher. “We work hard and acknowledge work/life balance. We celebrate birthdays and have barbeques in the summer and a kids party at Christmas.” As a nod to the team’s hard work, the company flew its entire workforce (about 50 employees) from Victoria to Seattle via Kenmore Air for a day of fun and team building at the Boeing Manufacturing plant.

Currently FTS employs electronic technologists, research and development, sales and marketing, hardware and software engineers, service technicians, and shipping and receiving. Embacher expects FTS to expand beyond the North American market for fire weather monitoring and grow the hydrology side of its business within North America. ‘We use VIATeC as the hub for finding the right people through networking and posting positions on the VIATeC job board.”

Embacher agrees with the direction VIATeC is moving to ensure the high tech sector continues to grow and develop. “I’d like to see VIATeC have even more of a presence downtown,” he said.

MaryLou Wakefield