Feds award contract to IONICS

April 22, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
Innovation is important, and the federal government is celebrating that.
Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson was in Bolton recently to announce a contract has been entered into with IONICS Mass Spectrometry Group Inc.
The contract is for $590,233, and has been awarded under the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP).
Tilson was making the announcement on behalf of Public Works and Government Services Minister Diane Finley.
“Amazing things can happen when you do things differently,” Tilson observed. “That’s what innovation is all about.”
He said BCIP was created in 2012 to help small and medium-sized businesses, which he said are the backbone of the economy. Tilson observed that these businesses provide about 90 per cent of Canadian jobs. He added their output is huge, with some $150 billion in exports in 2011. That accounts for about 41 per cent of Canadian exports
IONICS develops and produces innovative mass spectrometers, which detect trace amounts of chemicals present in samples. The company has received the BCIP contract for its product, the 3Q 320 (Tilson was quick to dub it Marvin), which isolates and identifies early signs of disease in patients’ biological samples, such as blood, skin or hair, with up to 10 times more sensitivity than the industry standard.
Tilson stressed the investment he was announcing was neither a subsidy or a grant. In facilitating production of this device, he said that will leave openings for feedback and evaluation. This is useful to business and helps with improvements to products.
He added it will be tested through the National Research Council.
Dr. Reza Javahery, president and CEO of IONICS, expressed his appreciation, commenting the company was lucky to be part of the program and to be in Bolton.
He added such a commitment to technology is the “exact recipe for success,” adding the contract will allow their technology to be tested in the real world.
He also thanked other members of the IONICS team.
“You’re doing a great job,” Tilson replied. “Keep it up.”

Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson and “Marvin” were joined by IONICS Head of Research and Development Chuck Jolliffe, Vice-President of Business and Technology Dr. Lisa Cousins and President and CEO Dr. Reza Javahery.
Photo by Bill Rea