Ontario Chamber of Commerce webinar talks dual-use defence procurement opportunities
Twenty years ago, Toronto’s Thornhill Medical launched as a spinoff of University Health Network, studying how to make a better oxygen tank for use on the battlefield.
Today, it’s a leading provider of life-saving technology used in extreme environments around the world.
“We’ve grown from a research-driven organization into a global medical device company, and our focus is improving critical care in the world’s most challenging environments,” Tessa Mintz, Thornhill’s chief marketing officer, said during an Aug. 26 webinar about defence procurement opportunities.
Hosted by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Diversity Institute, the event welcomed Mintz and Ted Kirkpatrick, vice-president of business development and government relations at Ontario Shipyards, to talk about how their companies successfully transitioned to become defence sector suppliers.
Among Thornhill Medical’s key innovations is MOVES SLC, a portable, all-in-one, life-saving device that includes an oxygen concentrator, an oxygen-conserving ventilator, suction, and complete vital signs monitoring.
Often used alongside it is the company’s other notable product, the Mobile Anesthesia Delivery Module (MADM), an inline gas anesthesia vaporizer that can be hand-carried to safely and accurately deliver gas anesthesia.
As the nature of war has changed, the ability to set up traditional field hospitals has been limited, Mintz said, and so solutions like Thornhill Medical’s are in demand.
“Our technology allows medical military units to be mobile, agile, self-sufficient, and have the resources they need when nobody is coming with an airplane to evacuate any patients,” she said.
Though the company’s innovation was in direct response to a military need, Mintz said coming up with a viable idea was just the starting point.
Companies aren’t buying tech, she said; they’re buying capability. Manufacturers that want to compete in the defence sector have to prove they are capable of meeting their customers’ needs on a consistent basis.
“Unless we deeply understand that, we can have the best technology in the world, and we will not be adopted,” Mintz said.
“You have to be able to solve this operational problem reliably, repeatedly, and demonstrate that it works in real-world conditions.”
Wendy Cukier, founder and academic director of the Diverse Institute, said companies like Thornhill Medical demonstrate that supplying the defence sector means more than just “bullets and tanks.”
As the military expands its capacity, it will need buildings where people can live, work and go to school; transportation to get them there; and health care to look after their medical needs. There are also opportunities to create advanced manufacturing textiles for use in bulletproof vests or uniforms, or greenhouses to help feed people, Cukier added.
Ontario Shipyards is currently undertaking a $130-million retrofit of the CCGS Terry Fox. Ontario Shipyards/Supplied
With the federal government pledging to spend more than $180 billion on procurement over the next decade, Cukier said there is a massive economic benefit coming down the line for dual-use providers in business opportunities, job creation, exports, and more.
“It’s really important to remind everybody at every opportunity that Canada is a country of entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises,” Cukier said.
“Small and medium enterprises account for most of Canada’s economy and 92 per cent of Canada’s current defence industrial base, as well as 40 per cent of employment.”
Dual-use refers to products or services that have both civilian purposes and military applications. But suppliers need to know they require different requirements and certifications.
“These markets are very, very, very different, and so you can’t just assume it’s like adding some more customers to your existing customer base,” Cukier said. “There’s a lot of requirements that have to be addressed. But very often, a product or service with small adaptations can be used for military purposes.”
Ontario Shipyards, which has shipyards in Hamilton, St. Catharines and Thunder Bay, repairs and builds ships sailing the Great Lakes.
In operation for more than 35 years, the company has, over the last decade, taken on more work with the Canadian Coast Guard, noted Kirkpatrick. Currently, it’s undertaking a $130-million retrofit of the CCGS Terry Fox, Canada’s second largest icebreaker.
With the Canadian Coast Guard transitioning to the Department of Defence from Fisheries and Oceans Canada last year, he said, Ontario Shipyards has officially become part of the federal government’s supply chain.
“We’re very much a company that moves between the commercial world and the defence world, and our people and our processes and our services move relatively seamlessly between those two things,” Kirkpatrick said.
“But … there are different standards, there are different regulations, there are different security requirements that have to be adhered to when you’re working on one versus versus the other.”
Defence industry stakeholders annually gather in Ottawa for CANSEC, an industry trade show focused on networking and learning about leading-edge technologies. Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries/Supplied
Kirkpatrick said companies wanting to subcontract work for Ontario Shipyards will have a better chance of success if they already have or are pursuing required certifications, such as controlled goods or maritime welding.
In addition, he advised companies to look at where services may be lacking and try to fill that gap.
“There might be 100 electrical companies, but there’s only two marine electrical companies, or there might be a variety of companies that do interiors, but only one or two that do maritime interiors,” Kirkpatrick said.
Ontario Shipyards was one of hundreds of Ontario companies to join the Ontario Defence Association when it launched in April, with Kirkpatrick signing on as chair.
Designed to coordinate the defence procurement efforts of companies across the province, its members include dual-use companies that want to get into defence, as well as those that have products and services that are a “natural fit” for defence applications, and those that are already actively engaged in defence, he said.
He encouraged companies interested in getting into defence to make use of its resources, as well as to attend trade shows like CANSEC, a defence industry event where stakeholders gather to network and learn about leading-edge technology.
Kirkpatrick recognized that it’s a risk for companies to try to get into defence, and not every company will succeed, he said. But it’s important for Canadian SMEs to try.
“It’s important that we try because it’s important for our national sovereignty, for the capability of our armed forces, that we have sovereign defence capability both on the manufacturing and on the maintenance side.”