Manufacturing

Ending plastic pollution while bringing to the world pristine Canadian spring water

Saawan Logan was the youngest of 3 siblings was born in Fiji and moved to Canada from Australia. She is the woman who makes it all happen. She turns dreams into reality, with persistence, drive and her supercharged energy. Her sense of adventure spans globally for both work and leisure. She has worked across Asia Pacific, Australia and more recently, Canada. In her travels, the only thing she never came across was Canadian water on international shelves. After spending the majority of her career in oil and gas she ventured into entrepreneurship and started North Water. North Water is a pledge to end plastic pollution while bringing to the world pristine, Canadian spring water.

North Water went operational in 2020 and has since expanded its distribution network across Canada. North Water is sourced from the Canadian Rockies and is naturally high in alkaline. North Water is currently carried in 5-star hotels, private jets, major retailers like Whole Foods Canada and more recently on movie production sets. The company is ready to expand overseas where it can showcase the great-tasting water Canada has to offer.

Amongst Saawan’s many favourite things to do, spending time in nature, travelling, and cooking top the charts. Saawan is involved in the community and is always looking at taking on volunteer initiatives where she can make a difference. She believes in hearing everyone out and providing meaningful opportunities for everyone.


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Purush Cannane is the king of upcycle, the bigger sister to recycling

Purushothaman Cannane (Purush) creatively combined his engineering skill, passion for solving environmental problems, and his drive to help vulnerable communities when he founded Greenii to create paper bags from clean waste papers such as newsprints, magazines, flyers, and brochures. Avoiding post-consumer paper in order to bypass the need for additional environmentally unfriendly chemicals and processes, he sources high-quality paper wastes from libraries, corporate offices, paper mills, flyer distributors, universities, and printing presses, offers employment to recently immigrated women or refugees, and has now sold thousands of carrier bags in Canada and the USA to replace single-use plastic bags.

Not stopping yet, Purush has gone on to invent equipment (Semi-automatic assembly, first in the world to swiftly process newsprints, and magazines into paper bags) to facilitate growth in production volumes, and is expanding into box packaging as well. While handmade bags may continue to form a part of the product offering, it is the raw materials used that ensure bags will always remain unique. He even affords customers the opportunity to convert their unused, expired marketing materials and paper products into new packaging products for use by themselves or another environmentally conscious and creative business.


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It takes more than one to get something off the ground

Maciej Jastrzebski innovator and entrepreneur with 15 years of experience in new technology development, project implementation, and technology commercialization in the metals and mining industries. He is co-founder and CEO of Li-Metal and is a\the named inventor on 15 patent families. Li-Metal has is addressing the growing need in advanced batteries to deliver lithium metal anodes cost effectively at scale.


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Unlocking New Opportunities For Expansion

For the past 32 years, Duane Hertzer, President and Founder of Optima Manufacturing Inc., has led the Calgary-based organization to become an industry leader in the manufacturing of precision machine products and assemblies for a variety of industries across North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Mr. Hertzer’s success can be accredited to his devotion to challenging the status quo through impactful partnerships and groundbreaking technology.

Mr. Hertzer’s pioneering nature, keen listening skills and focus on developing relationships has made him a force in the manufacturing space. Holding a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Calgary, he has consistently demonstrated his unparalleled skillset in business development and executive management.

Mr. Hertzer’s approach to cultivating an efficacious operation is rooted in establishing a workplace that is progressive and instills confidence to produce precise results. The foundation of his business is people and technology partnering in manufacturing solutions, and he achieves this by creating meaningful, close relationships with both his team and clients alike. Mr. Hertzer’s passion for growth extends to that of his team where he celebrates individual accomplishments while ensuring an equitable team environment. He is steadfast in his belief that people are the most valuable resource to a business, fostering a culture built on respect and innovation.


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If it has to do with Facility Maintenance or Utility Data Management, Wayne Beamish is your go-to!

Wayne Beamish is a problem solver. As an Army Brat born in Marville, France, Wayne is no stranger to transition. His family moved a few times during his upbringing, but desiring his own adventure, ended up in Banff, Alberta after high school. Wayne worked in the booming restaurant/industry for a stint and ended up soon after in Lake Tahoe, California where became a Certified Millwright, husband and father. He then moved to Ottawa, Ontario, working in the cabinetmaking/millworking industry for over 10 years. In 2001, after energy deregulation occurred in Ontario, one of his clients asked him if he could prepare a white paper on the impact deregulation will have on the industry. Wayne researched, studied, and read up on the issue, yielding a document that landed him his first client. Powerhouse Management was born. It began as a consultancy firm, now it’s a facility maintenance and data utility management company with multiple national clients (Rexa ll, Staples, SmartCentres).

Wayne is a member of ConnexFM, a multi-site Facilities Management network bringing together FM’s as well as supplier professionals in North America. Wayne has contributed to their publications through articles and has been part of their ‘Daily Grind’ program.


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How to control brands, products and everything from the manufacturing to the end-users

Rob Hatch is currently living in Ladysmith BC on a small hobby farm with his family. For Rob, Living on the west coast is the best of both worlds with being a short distance from both the mountains and the ocean. The west coast is what inspired Rob to start his company Big Venture Sales and continues to inspire his brands Crave Stevia and Aromatic Creation. Rob has been working on his businesses for over 30 years and is constantly learning and adapting to the ever-changing world as his business continues to grow.


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Joel Sherlock is Co-Founder of Vitalis Extraction, a Global Manufacturing Giant in Extraction

A serial entrepreneur and business leader, Joel Sherlock is a born connector who has been building great teams and delivering the expertise to execute. Joel has been at the helm of 9 successful start-ups and corporate exits, including one of BC’s top private real estate brokerages, a national first action sports e-commerce company, a successful corporate consulting firm and a few private equity funds. Joel’s time is now focused on Kelowna, BC-based Vitalis Extraction Technology, an industry leader in manufacturing industrial supercritical CO2 extraction equipment, where he is Chairman and Co-Founder, as well as on Spectrum Asset Leasing and Doventi Capital. Doventi Capital in Vancouver is the private equity fund he co-founded to support professionals in the growing legal cannabis market. Spectrum Leasing in Toronto is an asset backed lender designed to support entrepreneurs and manufacturers in the world’s fastest growing market. Born in Winnipeg Manitoba, Joel’s early years were on the farm, that all seems a far cry from studying finance at UBC and Harvard Business School and offices in Vancouver, Kelowna and Toronto. Joel still loves to balance all this travel with a few days on the farm, with no phone or internet.

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Depuis le début de la pandémie, Sean Tassé s’est lancé dans le monde de l’entrepreneuriat en créant deux entreprises : Bien Aller et SquareFeet.ai

Diplômé d’un baccalauréat en ingénierie de l’École de technologie supérieure et diplômé d’un baccalauréat en droit de l’Université du Québec à Montréal, Sean Tassé est aussi membre de l’Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ). Grâce à sa formation en génie de la construction, il a eu l’opportunité d’acquérir une solide expérience en gestion de projets en réalisant des projets d’envergure pour de grands développeurs immobiliers de Montréal. Il a aussi travaillé comme conseiller en réclamation pour l’un des cabinets d’experts les plus renommés au Canada. Depuis le début de la pandémie, Sean s’est lancé dans le monde de l’entrepreneuriat en créant une première entreprise nommée Bien Aller spécialisée dans la confection de masques réutilisables. Suite au succès de cette première entreprise, Sean et ses partenaires ont décidé de continuer à travailler ensemble pour créer SquareFeet.ai, un logiciel dédié à définir et à optimiser les prix de vente des nouveaux projets de développements résidentiels. Sean a utilisé ses expériences professionnelles et son expertise académique pour l’aider à créer ces entreprises et le guider dans le monde de l’entrepreneuriat.

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Canada’s Podcast Alumni Connor Curran Returns to Update Us On Local Laundry, a Clothing Company

Connor Curran is Co-Founder and “Chief Laundry Folder” for Local Laundry in Calgary, a Canadian clothing manufacturer.

Visit https://www.ebay.ca/upandrunning to open your online shop.

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