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Richmond businesses were honoured Wednesday November 17, 2010 at the 32nd annual Business Excellence Awards.  Presented by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the City of Richmond, this Sold Out event took place at the Executive Airport Hotel & Conference Centre.  Awards were handed out in eleven categories. Click here to view more photos. 

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Master of Ceremonies - Rob Akimow

The Richmond Review

Director, Richmond Chamber of Commerce 

 

It is almost impossible to summarize the story of this great Richmond Company. Rising from a single truck back in 1965, Progressive has created a body of work in this city which is unequalled. From the huge percentage of the civil infrastructure that we all depend on for water, storm and sanitary drainage and to drive our cars on, to the homes many of us live in, Progressive has, in the truest sense, built this City.  The employees at Progressive have benefitted from the company’s success. While many claim to treat their employees as family, few do so to the degree that Progressive has. The trips to Las Vegas, boat cruises and lunches are fun, but the genuine concern for the well being of the staff is the real story. How many companies offer every employee a head to toe MRI scan?  And then follow up with assistance in treating issues discovered through that scan? Some employees literally owe their life to the caring nature of this company. The construction industry is not known for looking after its employees well, Progressive is a glowing exception. Every employee has a pension plan, benefits and encouragement to grow with the company.

Progressive has done exceeding well doing business in Richmond, but Richmond has benefitted from that success in so many ways. The charitable activities of this company stand as an example to all businesses; from the many organizations that Progressive supports to the generous donations to institutions, through the Milan and Maureen Ilich Foundation, the lives of every Richmond citizen have been improved. The Diagnostic Imaging centre at Richmond Hospital, Richmond Caring Place, Rosewood Manor Care Foundation, Minoru Seniors’ Centre, the Richmond Food Bank, our schools and our community centres have all benefitted from the incredible corporate citizenship this company demonstrates.

Perhaps the greatest asset that Progressive has is its outstanding reputation for the highest business ethics. Fair, reasonable and honest are all terms commonly used in describing the company. Perhaps we should all look at the example that Progressive has set: caring for your staff, giving back to the community in which you work, participating in making your City a better place can all lead to greater business success. Perhaps the lesson we can all learn from this Richmond company is that nice guys really do finish FIRST.
 

Sponsored & Presented by: Richmond Chamber of Commerce & The City of Richmond

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Nancy Schick Skinner, Notary Public, takes great pride in her practice. Born and raised in Richmond, she opened her business in the heart of downtown Richmond in 1982. Specializing in conveyancing, mortgages, wills, powers of attorney and notarizations has earned her a reputation for delivering efficient and excellent service to her clients. Her extensive experience, education and knowledge combined with the constant caring shown by herself and dedicated staff attribute to the success of the business. A long list of awards recognize Nancy’s outstanding customer and community service, including Rotary International’s Paul Harris Award, the Notary Society’s President’s Award  “For devoted community service“ , and consistent top place  in the Richmond News Reader’s Choice Awards and the Richmond Review’s Best of Richmond Award. Efficient office operation combined with Nancy Schick Skinner’s zest for life and contagious smile ensures clients leave her office satisfied and with a smile.

Finalists: Bashir's Auto Cosmetics & OK Bottle Depot

Sponsored & Presented by:  Scotiabank 

Dillon Consulting is a professional consulting organization of 750 people operating from 18 offices across Canada.  In Richmond since 1994 –there are 30 employees working from new offices in the BCIT Aerospace campus. While the Dillon market brand is very strong, the employer brand as a progressive, employee-owned consultancy is even stronger.  They know the value of good people in their industry. Attracting some of the best graduates from a diversity of disciplines, Dillon invests heavily in their development. Dillon Consulting challenges, supports and rewards success. The workplace is vibrant, creative and productive.  In addition to delivering award -winning work and earning the accolades of their clients, they simply enjoy working together.  Thriving on shared energy and passions with their community through volunteering, supporting local charities, and being leaders in sustainable environmental activities.  They work hard, have fun and deliver with pride of excellence.

Finalists: Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Resort & Misty Mountain Specialties

Sponsored & Presented by: TD  Commercial Banking

 

Richmond International Technology Corp. and the Dr. Battery brand is now one of the most respected brand names in the battery industry. CEO Joshua Huen moved to Richmond from Hong Kong at the age of 16 with his family.  A conversation with his father at the age of 19 led him to a new dedication to schooling and eventually to the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. Upon graduation, Joshua returned to Hong Kong and helped manage the family business which manufactured screws in China. Two years later, he decided to move back to the Vancouver area and start his own new business.  He looked back upon an experience from his days working part-time at a PC store, while he was still in school, where he realized that replacement laptop batteries could be a potential business. He started with 3 employees in 2004 in a 600 sq. ft office and now has moved to a 14,000 sq. ft office and has grown to 30 employees. In 2008 alone, Dr Battery’s sales increased 4.5 times and in 2009 sales increased a further 2.5 times and this year the sales doubled again – wow what a sales record! Dr. Battery provides high quality batteries, battery packs, and AC adapters for a wide array of product offerings to customers worldwide.

Finalists: Amit Sandhu-Am-Pri Group & Thomas Ligocki-Clevest Solutions Inc.

Sponsored & Presented by: Kwantlen Polytechnic University, School of Business

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Corvus commenced commercial operations only in early 2009, but has already grown to over 25 employees with current sales of 3.3 million dollars.  They currently have a tentative contract for 8 Million Dollars that they hope to announce in the first quarter of 2011.
 Corvus Energy is determined to be the best lithium ion battery company in the world. The aim is to bring the technology, reliability and quality of lithium energy to its full potential.  The current 5000 sq. ft. Richmond factory has the ability to produce up to 7500 batteries per year.  The unparalleled energy density and power output of their patent-pending technology is creating a new market for hybrid-electric and full-electric propulsion in heavy industry, and is introducing solutions to significantly reduce diesel consumption and carbon emissions in the transportation market.  The technology enables megawatt power storage and distribution solutions for renewable energy producers and off-grid installations. With a seasoned and professional team of business leaders and engineers with decades of experience in developing and implementing technology on a global scale, Corvus’s engineering team is one of the strongest teams in the world at developing high-power batteries and battery management systems.

Finalists: Herbaland Naturals Inc. & Nurse Next Door (Richmond)

 

Sponsored & Presented by: TD Commercial Banking

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PAVAC Industries Inc. started up in 1998 as the result of the scientific vision of Ralf Edinger, a German scientist who chose Canada as the place to research and develop products with electron beams that is now utilized for welding, machining, drilling, coating and Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD). PAVAC’s Electron Beam Flue Gas Technology (EBFGT) is the latest advance in FGD systems that convert both sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides efficiently and rapidly. EBFGT has low capital requirements while at the same time, allowing facilities to lower fuel costs, reduce maintenance, and downtime while meeting emission permit levels.
 While traditional FGD require a variety of equipment, multiple processes and extensive maintenance to remove multiple pollutants, EBFGT integrates multi-pollution treatment into one installation and design with very low maintenance.  EBFGT also converts the emissions in commercial grade fertilizer components generating additional profits while gaining CO2 offsets. PAVAC also makes the components to be used in a new particle accelerator being built at the TRIUMF lab at University of British Columbia. The new linear accelerator -- called the Advanced Rare Isotope Laboratory (ARIEL) -- will create the radioactive isotopes used in nuclear medicine.

 

Finalists: Advanced Cyclotron Systems Inc., NewspaperDirect Inc. & Sanduz/Cal-San Enterprises

 

Sponsored & Presented by: Scotiabank

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Business Leadership Award

 

Founded by Ken Johnston, President, over 30 years ago, Novex Couriers is a B.C. owned and operated company, which has been servicing the Lower Mainland's same-day delivery needs. Novex is now one of the largest local same-day couriers in the Lower Mainland, with over 100 delivery vehicles making over 2000 deliveries per day, the company is experienced team of over 115 comprised of drivers, customer service representatives and dispatchers.
 The company has also laid out a strategic plan to become a truly sustainable organization creating a triple bottom line that includes a social, economic and environmental focus. To this end, two initial electric vehicles were recently introduced to the fleet, with many more to come, recognizing their business contributes to the growing environmental problem, and being determined to mitigate this effect. Novex is the first courier of their kind to take their commitment to the earth, to their people and to their communities to this level. Ken Johnston has been active in local politics for several years, and Novex strongly supports a substantial number of local charities

Finalists: Fraser Richmond Soil & Fibre Ltd., Ming Pao Daily News & Organika Health Products Inc.

 

Sponsored & Presented by: Port Metro Vancouver

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Since 1999, HyperCube Technologies Corp. helped many of their local and international customers build very large e-learning solutions. With focus on business-driven success and technical excellence, they assist their clients in implementing and improving the educational experience with technology. With an India-based partner, HyperCube Technologies Corp. has over the years successfully worked with many large businesses - Pearson Education, Prentice Hall, WebCT and Blackboard, to mention a few, and assisted in bringing their online learning solutions to millions of instructors and students world-wide. Just as an illustration, with the traffic of nearly 40 million web pages daily, Hyper Cube helps their customers deliver almost a million assessments EVERY DAY! "It is about business, not technology" is our motto, and if the measure of success is how many lives our business and technology is changing, we are proud to call ourselves successful.”

 

Finalists: Dupuis Langen Financial Management (1985) Ltd., Power-West Industries Ltd. & Richmond Recognition Ltd.

 

Sponsored & Presented by: TD Commercial Banking

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A young and dynamic company founded in Richmond in 2001 with 3 employees. Today Hayden has over 71 employees and owns 70% of the world’s mining and exploration market for diamond coring bits.  With a steady sales growth of 30% per year since 2004 Hayden has become the 2nd largest in the world market as a supplier for diamond related products to the mining industry. Hayden specializes in the design, engineering and manufacturing of diamond coring bits for the world’s exploration industry. Hayden impregnated diamond bits are manufactured using high quality raw materials that are adaptable to the various drilling requirements for optimum drilling performance and long lasting bit life. Using sophisticated, state of the art furnacing techniques and experts in powder metallurgy, has enabled HAYDEN to manufacture a broad range of matrices to achieve the best possible bonds for every day drilling demands. HAYDEN has a continuing commitment to Research and Development.
 Quality control is the assurance of consistent products and is of paramount importance to the manufacturing facility. With every step of the manufacturing process done in-house including quality control, Hayden has garnered a reputation for great reliability and customer’s service with its made-in-Canada product.  Customer service is the #1 priority and HAYDEN ensures the product arrives when and where it is needed.

Finalists: 3S Printers & Shearwater Marine Group

Sponsored & Presented by: BDC - Business Development Bank

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Business of the Year Award 76+ Employees
Ocean Fisheries Ltd.

 

Ocean Fisheries is an old company with lots of new ideas. Constantly changing their product mix to respond to the market has allowed them to continue to grow.  This success can be measured with a steady rise in sales and employees each year. Branching out from a family business of shellfish distribution to restaurants, to a vertically integrated company operating in a broader product mix and marketed worldwide. Continuing to expand to reduce overhead, diversifying products and changing product mix to respond to changing demographics makes this company one to watch!  Engaging their employees in decision making and product development is part of creating great workplace. Ocean is actively involved in promoting and supporting a sustainable fishery and has been a leader in fishery practices. Finding ways to reduce waste, such as producing organic fish fertilizer from byproducts, contributes to a better environment. The “Ocean” Brand is known world-wide and the company continues to expand its markets and prove that the fishing industry does have a future.

Finalists: Kin's Farm Market, Unipharm Wholesale Drugs Ltd. & Urban Impact Recycling Ltd.

Sponsored & Presented by: KPMG 

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Honouring a Business Person who was involved in a newsworthy event in 2009-2010. 

Sponsored & Presented by: RBC Royal Bank

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