BCTIA Announces Winners of 2006 Technology Impact Awards
Teligence Communications Inc. took top honours at the BC Technology Industries Association’s (BC TIA) 2006 awards gala held this evening at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. Person of the year went to former Class Software Solutions CEO and an industry mainstay, Ralph Turfus, who was recognized for his outstanding mentoring contributions. Teligence was named Company of the Year for its significant contribution to British Columbia’s economy.
Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) June 12, 2006
Teligence Communications Inc. took top honours at the BC Technology Industries Association’s (BC TIA) 2006 awards gala held this evening at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. Person of the year went to former Class Software Solutions CEO and an industry mainstay, Ralph Turfus, who was recognized for his outstanding mentoring contributions. Teligence was named Company of the Year for its significant contribution to British Columbia’s economy.
Teligence is North America’s leading developer of voice-enabled services for social networking and entertainment, with 37 percent annual compound revenue growth and 54 percent market share.
Burnaby’s Delta-Q Technologies was named Emerging Company of the Year for its success as a key supplier of power conversion and power management products to electric drive and hybrid vehicle manufacturers around the world. Delta-Q was one of an unprecedented number of environmental technology companies that competed for awards.
This marks the thirteenth year for the Technology Impact Awards or TIAs (pronounced “tee-ahs”), which are considered the mark of distinction for outstanding leadership, innovation, and technological excellence within BC’s diverse technology community. More than 800 members of BC’s technology and business community came together to recognize the province’s top technologies, companies and individuals.
TIAs are broken into three distinct groups: Technology, Company and Personal Recognition Awards. Winners and Finalists are selected by a judging panel of 12 representatives from the technology, finance, legal, accounting, government and education sectors.
Other winners of the 2006 Technology Impact Awards are as follows:
Most Promising Pre-Commercial Technology
TIR Systems Ltd. – Preparing solid-state lighting for the mass market.
Excellence in Product Innovation
Paradigm Environmental Technologies Inc. -- Reducing the impact of wastewater biosolids.
Best Application of Technology
MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates Ltd -- Improving aeronautical maneuvers with 3D modeling.
Most Promising Start-up
EQO Communications Inc. – Skype™ for mobile phones.
Team of the Year
EDS Advanced Solutions, Revenue Services Team -- Improving service delivery
Through outsourcing.
Leadership in Social Responsibility
IBM Canada Ltd. – Making a difference in the community.
“Congratulations to all our winners and finalists. With so many world-class companies and talented entrepreneurs competing, selecting the winners was no easy task for the judges,” said Rob Cruickshank, President, BC TIA.
BCTIA received more than 83 applications from technology companies in all parts of British Columbia, including Kelowna, Victoria and Vancouver The companies ranged from under 10 employees to several hundred employees in size.
“Each year we see more and more technology companies submitting award applications and this is clear evidence that BC’s technology industry is thriving,” Cruikshank added. “Our organization remains committed to developing a positive business environment where existing technology companies will continue to succeed and where new technology companies can grow.”
For more information on the awards, the finalists and the winners, please visit: http://www. bctia. org/awards (http://www. bctia. org/awards)
For further information please contact:
Ken Gikunda
Marketing and Communications Director
P: 604.602.5231
Backgrounder
BC Technology Industries Association (BC TIA) is a not-for-profit, member-funded organization that represents start-ups to established technology companies, including those that service the industry, across the province. Incorporated in 1993, after the amalgamation of the Electronic Manufacturers’ Association of British Columbia (EMABC) and the Information Technology Association of Canada, BC Chapter (ITAC-BC), the BC TIA has served the province’s technology industry for over a decade and today is recognized locally, provincially and nationally as the voice of BC’s technology industry.
BC TIA advocates issues that enable the continued growth, prosperity and sustainability of our industry and economy. The association also delivers opportunities for members to learn, get connected and grow their businesses in BC. www. bctia. org/ (http://www. bctia. org/ )
About Ralph Turfus – Person of the Year
Ralph Turfus is someone who’s truly made a difference in BC’s technology community by leading by example, both at his own company and at other organizations, where he has given countless time and expertise to help technology companies succeed. Ralph is the founder and former CEO of Class Software Solutions Ltd. Prior to selling Class in October 2004 to California-based, The Active Network, Inc., Ralph’s strong leadership led the company to grow at a rate of over 30% annually. By 2004 Class had over 140 employees, more than 700 clients worldwide and revenues of nearly $20 million.
Ralph is dedicated to enhancing the growth and development of BC’s technology community through the Premier’s Technology Council, AceTech, the BC TIA, and various other industry groups. In particular, he’s been instrumental in connecting start-up CEOs with community resources through the AceTech Emerging and AceTech Okanagan programs.
Ralph has Masters’ degrees in engineering and business administration combined with over 28 years’ experience in high-tech. In 2002, he was awarded the Citation of Outstanding Achievement by the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association.
About Delta-Q Technologies Corp.
Founded in 1999, Delta-Q Technologies supplies electric drive and hybrid vehicle manufacturers with power conversion and power management products. The company uses innovative power electronics design and digital control to deliver highly efficient, integrated solutions, including battery chargers and DC-DC converters. Delta-Q has high-volume contracts with some of the largest manufacturers of recreational, industrial, hybrid, and specialty electric drive vehicles. Delta-Q is a rapidly growing, privately held company headquartered in Burnaby, BC. For more information, please visit www. delta-q. com
About EDS Advanced Solutions
EDS Advanced Solutions Inc. is a subsidiary of EDS Canada. It was incorporated in May 2004 and is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia. As EDS Canada’s unionized service delivery channel, EDS Advanced Solutions delivers verifiably world class business process and information technology outsourcing services in a professional and labour-friendly environment. The company collaborates with industry-leading partners to provide the best possible solutions for its customers. As of June 2005, EDS Advanced Solutions has headquartered its operations at the Vancouver Island Technology Park, enabling its employees to deliver outstanding services in a state-of-the-art complex. For more information, please visit http://www. edsadvancedsolutions. com/ (http://www. edsadvancedsolutions. com/)
About EQO Communications Inc.
Established in 2003, EQO Communications Inc. aims to develop leading-edge communications solutions that bridge the gap between personal communications technologies and next-generation networks and services. EQO’s feature product is the EQO Mobile Internet Phone Service. Using technologies such as J2ME and Voice-over-IP (VoIP), EQO is able to bridge online identity, calling, and messaging services to more than 150 million J2ME-capable phone handsets already in use worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www. eqo. com/ (http://www. eqo. com/).
About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with over 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across IBM and key Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. For more information please visit http://www. ibm. com (http://www. ibm. com).
About MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA)
MDA provides advanced information solutions that capture and process vast amounts of data, produce essential information, and improve the decision making and operational performance of business and government organizations worldwide. MDA is focused primarily on land - and property-related information solutions for two major market sectors that offer strong repeat business potential, the Financial Services sector and the Surveillance and Intelligence sector. MDA delivers a broad spectrum of information solutions for these markets, including complex operational systems, tailored information services, and electronic information products. The company operates through two reporting units: Information Products and Information Systems. MDA employs over 2,700 people, with offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The company’s common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “MDA.” For more information, please visit http://www. mda. com/ (http://www. mda. com/)
About Paradigm Environmental Technologies Inc.
Paradigm Environmental Technologies is the developer of MicroSludge, a patented technology that significantly enhances the anaerobic digestion process in wastewater treatment plants, reducing operating costs and increasing plant capacity. Affordable and modular, MicroSludge can be easily deployed at existing or new wastewater treatment plant facilities. Using MicroSludge, a wastewater treatment plant can typically reduce the volume of its residual biosolids by 60% or more. Paradigm is concentrating its efforts on the placement of commercial MicroSludge units with initial reference customers serving large urban areas. For more information, please visit http://www. microsludge. com (http://www. microsludge. com)
About Teligence Communications Inc.
Teligence develops and delivers voice-enabled services for social networking and entertainment in North America. Vancouver-based Teligence is a high-tech success story with a decidedly human touch. The company provides the telecommunications network and custom software for telephone social networking services. Teligence ignited the social networking revolution in the 1990s with Livelinks® and expanded its market presence with TangoPersonals®, Interactive Male®, Vibeline®, and Fonochat®. For more information, please visit http://www. teligence. net (http://www. teligence. net)
About TIR Systems Ltd.
TIR Systems Ltd. (TSX: TIR), a world leader in delivering specialty lighting systems, is building the foundations for tomorrow’s lighting. Through sound innovation and proven technical capability, TIR is developing, designing, and marketing the core technologies that will allow solid state lighting (SSL) to move to the forefront of the mainstream lighting market. For more information, please visit http://www. tirsys. com (http://www. tirsys. com)
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