The new technology is expected to reduce diagnosis time from up to three days to a mere 30 minutes. Faster results will allow doctors to prescribe the right antibiotics at the point of diagnosis, thereby improving patient outcome, reducing treatment cost and decreasing antibiotic resistance, the release said.

Centrally located in Greater Toronto, York Region is home to a cluster of more than 250 Life Sciences companies, three of Canada’s fastest-growing hospitals and Ontario’s largest Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) that serves more than 1.7 million people. Among the leading bio-pharma and medical technology companies located in York Region are Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Apotex, Smiths Medical, Drager Medical, PerkinElmer, Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Abbott Canada.

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Startup Canada’s national entrepreneurship tour is making a stop in York Region May 24.

Startup Canada is a six-month National Tour to ignite, inspire and celebrate entrepreneurship across the country. The tour is happening from March to September, 2012 and aims to engage 25,000 Canadians and 250 partner organizations across the country through 30 public Town Halls and more than 100 Fringe Events.

The Tour’s first stop in York Region is a Town Hall in Markham, co-hosted by ventureLAB, York Region’s non-profit innovation and business acceleration centre. The event will brainstorm community-driven ideas for supporting local entrepreneurship.

Following the Markham stop Startup Canada joins the York Technology Alliance for its Leadership Awards Luncheon, and then wraps up the day with a York Region Town Hall at the “Business & Bandwidth” conference in King City.

Comprised of nine vibrant municipalities, York Region earned a reputation as a premier business location and technology centre in Canada, including major operations of 14 Fortune 100 companies, four of Canada’s Top 10 corporate R&D spenders, and the country’s 2nd largest ICT industry cluster.

More on Startup Canada

York Region is home to over 3,500 ICT companies, the industry’s highest concentration inCanada relative to pupulation size, and 2nd highest overall. Among the global ICT companies located in York Region are IBM Canada, AMD, Alcatel Lucent, Apple, Avaya, Huawei, Oracle, Motorola Solutions, Redline Communications, Compugen, CGI, ADC and CA Technologies.

York Region companies on the 2012 Branham300 top Canadian ICT companies:

For Full Branham300 ICT List

Novo Plastics Inc. manufactures engineered plastic parts and assemblies for the automotive and consumer/commercial industries. Created in 2006, Novo is based in Markham, York Region, but has strategic alliances in the United States, Germany, India and South Korea.

Compared to traditional metal systems, the plastic muffler technology is lighter, stronger, longer-lasting and cheaper to produce. This product will also help transportation industry manufacturers go green, as it helps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve fuel efficiency.

Novo Plastics is looking to expand its Markham facility and buy new equipment, geared at producing the plastic muffler system to meet varied transportation industry client needs. The expansion will also create high-quality local jobs, as the company secures production contracts.

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Research at IBM Canada’s new centre will focus on:

• Data management for health care, such as technology that can help doctors detect life threatening conditions in premature babies 24 hours earlier
• Water conservation and management, such as reducing pollution in water systems by monitoring sewer systems and spotting problems in a pipeline before a leak
• Energy management, such as finding better ways to track how hydro flows, reducing waste and saving customers money, and
• Rapid urbanization and aging infrastructure in our cities, such as managing traffic lights to improve traffic flow.

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Magna E-Car Systems, a subsidiary of Magna International of Aurora, York Region, partnered with Hyundai Heavy Industries to develop battery cells and battery packs for electric and hybrid cars.

The partnership will see the creation of a new company, 60 per cent of which owned by Magna E-Car and the remainder owned by the South Korean company.

The two companies will jointly conduct engineering, design, development and testing activities on battery cells and packs for use in electric and hybrid vehicles in both York Region and South Korea.

Frank Stronach, founder and chairman of Magna E-Car said the venture’s developments will help grow the emerging electric and hybrid vehicle markets. “We are pleased to move forward together as partners with HHI to advance next generation cell and battery pack technology to support the growth of the electric and hybrid electric vehicle markets,” he said.

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Reasons to attend:

• Connect with representatives from across the life science ecosystem; buyers, influencers, government, solution developers;
• Learn how to break through the maze and understand the gaps and opportunities within Ontario’s medical technology industry;
• Interact with York Region’s world class hospitals and healthcare providers and how to maneuver through the complex landscape;
• Discover a sampling of local bio-medical innovative technologies being showcased;
• Hear about successful collaborations from last year’s MedEdge.

MedEdge will be attended with over 200 industry professionals; gain insight into the complex technology acquisition landscape of the medical device industry and interact with buyers, technology developers and service providers.

When: Thursday, June 14, 2012; 8:00 am – 3:30 pm

Where: Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge Street, Town of Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4C 3B7

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“We want to become the leading go-to Regional Innovation Centre in York Region and one of the best in Canada.” says Brigitte Sharpe, ventureLAB’s Communications and Community Outreach Manager. “If we are to do this we need to inform everyone that we are here to help build an innovation ecosystem in the York Region – one measured by the economic impact of our programs and services that target technology based entrepreneurs starting and growing global enterprises.”

To get this done Sharpe is taking ventureLAB on the road with an aggressive outreach to the community. “We feel that not enough people we could help are aware of how ventureLAB could assist them…and we hope to spread the word during this year.

ventureLAB’s goal is to help turn their great ideas into globally competitive products and services. Extensive technology entrepreneur support resources for advanced health tech, digital media, information & communications technology [ICT], green energy, clean tech and advanced materials & manufacturing have already made ventureLAB an ideal go-to centre for York Region entrepreneurs in these sectors. Reaching out to York Region entrepreneurs and innovators is a big undertaking.

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ventrueLAB

Sofina Foods Inc., a private, family-owned Canadian company headquartered in Markham, York Region is known as one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of primary and further processed protein products for both retail and foodservice customers. Sofina Foods currently operates 12 HACCP-approved manufacturing facilities (11 in Canada and one in the northwestern United States), and has over 3,000 employees. Combined operations with Janes Family Foods will supply retail and foodservice customers across Canada and the western United States with 14 primary and further processing operations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Washington State.

Sofina Foods Inc. is one of about 200 food manufacturing companies operating in York Region, one of the largest food processing and manufacturing industry clusters in Ontario and Canada.

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The list, which started in 1993, recognizes Canadian-owned and managed private companies with revenues of more than $10 million that demonstrate business excellence. These leading private organizations, demonstrate business excellence through a rigorous and independent process that evaluates their management capabilities and practices.

York Region has a strong presence amongst the winners for 2011 with five of the top 50 being from the Region itself. York Region’s winners ranged from a Technology Firm to a Power Magnetic Manufacturer and a 75,000 sq. ft. Seafood Wholesaler all of which showcased the Region’s diversity and strength in industry.

2011 Winners will be awarded with the distinction of Canada’s Best Managed Companies at the annual gala and symposium on March 27, 2012 in Toronto.

For More Details

York Region Winners

Delcan Corporation – Markham

Delcan, founded in 1953 and operating globally, is a multidisciplinary, engineering, planning, management and technology firm that provides a broad range of integrated systems and infrastructure solutions within the Rail and Transit, Roads and Highways, Structures, Water, Freight and ITS markets, including a full suite of ITS products. Delcan’s innovative infrastructure and systems solutions are client-centric, combining high-quality with cost-effectiveness.

Mayhew - Markham

Mayhew has 150 employees and is headquartered in Markham, Ontario with offices in Kitchener, Windsor and Stoney Creek. Synonymous with space and interior design ingenuity, Mayhew has designed award winning spaces for Business News Network and the CTV Olympic Digital Lounge among others. With a mission to create and maintain workplaces that work, Mayhew has designed over 22 million square feet of space, successfully moved 300,000 people, and supplied and installed over 100,000 workstations.

Real Matters - Markham

Serving the North American mortgage industry through its Solidifi offering and the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry through its iv3 CUS business, Real Matters creates powerful insights into residential and commercial properties. Leveraging its cloud-based technology platform, redihiveTM, the organization provides its customers with subject matter expertise gathered through partnerships with more than 18,000 field agents. Established in 2004, Real Matters has its Canadian head office in Markham, Ontario and U.S. office in Chicago, Illinois.

Rex Power Magnetics – Vaughan

Rex Power Magnetics, a division of Transfactor Industries, was established in 1972 as a Canadian privately held company, headquartered in Concord, Ontario Canada, within the greater Toronto area. Starting from humble beginnings, REX quickly emerged as a competitive, technically skilled and innovative transformer manufacturer with an ever expanding product line and a growing list of customers from across Canada, the USA and overseas.

Today, with over 230 employees and sales over $50M in 2008, Rex is a leading manufacturer of CSA certified, UL listed and ISO9001 accredited, custom dry type transformers, with a track record of sustained profitable growth driven by technology, innovation, responsiveness and customer service.

Seacore Seafood Inc. – Vaughan

Seacore Seafood Inc. was established in 1987. The company operates a 75,000 sq. ft. state of the art facility in Vaughan Ontario. Seacore Seafood is a wholesaler of quality fresh and frozen seafood products. Seacore Seafood’s products are imported from all over the world. Quality products and excellent service combined with the most competitive pricing have resulted in Seacore Seafood being a leader in the seafood industry in Canada.