News Releases
- Local tech company lures top tech talent to Victoria [+]Information Bulletin
For Immediate Release
February 6, 2012Local tech company lures top tech talent to Victoria
Forest Technology Systems expands management team
Forest Technology Systems (FTS), is pleased to welcome Keith Campden to the position of Director of Engineering.
Mr. Campden brings considerable valuable expertise to FTS’ management team, with over 30 years of engineering experience and over 15 years of senior engineering management experience. Prior to his recent move to FTS, Mr. Campden was employed with global commercial sonar specialists Kongsberg Mesotech at their facility in Port Coquitlam. Mr. Campden also brings considerable expertise in wireless communications and high-tech products as the former Director of Product Development at Sierra Wireless and VP of Wireless Products at Cypress Solutions inc. of Burnaby, BC. Campden has long had an interest in environmental monitoring, partly born through his long-time involvement with BC Search and Rescue.
“At the growth rate we’ve experienced in the past two years, and the growth we are seeing this year, it’s important for us to recruit and retain top-notch talent” said David Illing, FTS CEO. “With factors such as climate change increasing the need for our products, our plans to expand our customer base to Asia and other markets that require our specialized technology will be greatly helped by Keith joining us.”
Coinciding with Mr. Campden’s recruitment, Philip Bartlett, who joined FTS in 1994, has been appointed to the position of Chief Technology Officer. As FTS’ first Chief Technology Officer, Bartlett will spearhead various research and development projects aimed at bringing further innovations to the growing FTS product line. Bartlett’s major accomplishments include the development of FTS’ market-leading satellite transmitter and the innovative touch-screen technology introduced to the Axiom datalogger weather monitoring systems.
Finally, Chris Barteaux has been appointed to the position of Director of Sales where he will oversee FTS’ established and dominant re weather division and the smaller but rapidly growing hydrology and meteorology divisions. Barteaux joined FTS ten years ago as a member of the sales team, cultivating a strong connection to the wild land fire community and eventually leading the fire weather division of the company.
FTS is the world’s leading provider of equipment and technology for fire weather monitoring to 100% of the top 50 forest management agencies in North America. FTS also develops equipment and software that measures, records, and analyzes changes in watersheds, national forests, nation-wide weather system networks, supply streams for drinking water reservoirs, and many other environments.
Customers include federal, provincial and municipal government agencies in the United States, Canada and Mexico, all demanding the highest levels of reliability, accuracy, and operational effectiveness. FTS’ headquarters, research and design lab, and factory are located in Victoria, British Columbia, with a branch office in Blaine, Washington.-30-
For more information, contact: Robin Cook, Acumen Communications Group Inc. 250 727-7464 (office) or 604 312-2376 (mobile) robin@acumenpr.ca - FTS wins multi-year contract with Environment Canada [+]Media Release
For Immediate Release
September 20, 2011FTS wins multi-year contract with Environment Canada
Victoria tech company provides rugged weather monitoring systems around the world
Victoria, BC – Forest Technology Systems (FTS) is pleased to announce that they have won the bid to be the primary supplier of data loggers – systems that measure, record, analyze and transmit critical data from streams, rivers and drinking water reservoirs – to The Water Survey of Canada, a division of Environment Canada.
“This contract win is a significant milestone for FTS' Hydrology division" said CEO David Illing. "Our efforts to focus on the most environmentally hardened equipment available, and to really listen to our customers when it comes to product design are paying off."
The contract is valued at $1.7 million and names FTS as the primary supplier for all three categories of water-monitoring equipment, for which bids from several major manufacturers were solicited.
"We welcome this chance to work closely with the Canadian government" continued Illing, CEO. "The Water Survey of Canada values reliability and accuracy, and we're certain each system shipped over the next few years will live up to the expectations of extreme ruggedness and simple operation which were demonstrated during their rigorous evaluation.”
Historically, FTS has focused on developing cutting-edge fire weather monitoring systems that measure, record, analyze and transmit critical weather data from very harsh, remote environments. This equipment forms the backbone of some of the worlds most sophisticated and demanding environment monitoring networks.
“We supply gear to every one of the North American top 50 forest management agencies,” explained Illing. “So when you see a fire danger rating sign at the side of the road, that was computed based on data from one of our stations. This critical data saves lives and help predict, prevent and control wildfires, with extremely accurate weather data.”
FTS is a technology success story in operation for over 30 years—and profitable for the past 15 years in a row. Last year alone FTS achieved 68% growth in sales despite the strengthening Canadian dollar and U.S. budget cuts. As a result, FTS has experienced significant growth, hiring approximately 12 new employees over the past year and plans to add eight more this year.
Since inception, FTS has deployed close to 4,000 environmental fire weather monitoring stations throughout North America and prides itself on designing and manufacturing the world’s most reliable, easy to use, and simplest to maintain systems.
“There is little doubt that global warming has contributed to an increase in extreme weather and forest fires around the world,” continued Illing. “In May, during the Slave Lake forest fire in Northern Alberta, data from our equipment was used to formulate fire response plans including the development of fire fighting strategies and evacuation planning.”
Recently, massive forest fires were burning through acres of land in Oklahoma and Texas. FTS has 55 fixed-remote access weather stations in the area which are monitoring the weather and providing data that predicts the movements of the fires. What’s more, more than 50 portable weather stations were purchased by the National Interagency Fire Center and most or all have likely been loaned out to agencies in the states specifically for battling wildfires.
For over 30 years, FTS weather and water monitoring stations have proven themselves under the most demanding conditions - from the most remote northern regions of arctic Canada to the sun-beaten, wind-blown salt and sand of the Mexican coast. Working with government agencies in North America, South America, Asia, and Europe, FTS is Victoria’s best kept technology secret. For more information about FTS, visit www.ftsenvironmental.com.-30-
For more information, contact: Robin Cook, Acumen Communications Group Inc. 250 727-7464 (office) or 604 312-2376 (mobile) robin@acumenpr.ca
