Tag Archives: Canada

News

International deal paves the way for Goodfellow’s scientific industry expansion

One of the UK’s leading manufacturers of specialist metals and materials has signed a new commercial agreement with Advanced Energy Minerals (AEM) to support its growing order book in the academic and research sectors.

Goodfellow Ltd, which recently delivered materials to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough that shook the world, will work with the Canadian company to build high purity alumina powders into its growing range.

The transatlantic deal gives the Huntingdon-based firm exclusivity for sales denominations of up to 20kg per line, covering nine high purity alumina powders, 5 gamma powders and 4 alpha powders.

Mark Fenton, Goodfellow’s Chief Operating Officer, commented: “This agreement will provide access to new materials, whilst also strengthening our portfolio for 6000+ customers that are always interested in high-quality chemicals.

“The scientific sector is a core market for our business and there is plenty of potential there for us to grow if we can continue to offer the highest purity of materials.”

He continued: “We hit the headlines last month through our close partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on the Nuclear Fusion experiment, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Goodfellow has also supplied materials for the particle accelerators and detectors used by CERN, whilst our expertise has also been channelled into European Spallation Source (ESS) projects.”

Michael Adams, CEO of Advanced Energy Minerals, added his support: “We are delighted to extend our presence in the academic sector thanks to the agreement signed with our partner Goodfellow.

“The deal, which will extend our global reach with scientists, universities and research institutions, also meets AEM’s ambition to become the preferred producer of premium alumina and other aluminium derivatives for the scientific community.”

Goodfellow is a leading global supplier of metals, alloys, ceramics, glasses, polymers, compounds, composites and other materials to meet the research, development and specialist production requirements of science and industry.

Located on Ermine Business Park in Huntingdon, the company has an extensive range of 150,000 catalogue products in multiple forms available off the shelf, most subject to free delivery within 48 hours and with no minimum order quantities.

It also offers a comprehensive range of bespoke processing services, effectively operating as an extension of a customer’s production team to develop custom-fabricated components in any quantity required.

Mark concluded: “Our in-house team comprises fellow scientists and engineers with extensive knowledge of materials and processing. Through their technical expertise, and a supporting range of specification tools, we have built an unrivalled reputation for finding solutions to the most challenging of research problems.”

Fintech, News

Leatherback fully regulated for global transactions

Not restricted by the many regulatory requirements expected of traditional banks, fintechs have leveraged their position as disruptors in the market, promoting their ability to offer more agile services at lower prices.

But, says Ibrahim Toyeeb, CEO of global payments and collections company, Leatherback, while there is no doubt that fintechs have disrupted the financial services market, the word ‘disruption’ has been over-used in the fintech field.

“Technology, innovation, regulation and experience should go side-by-side. It should not be a matter of one or the other. The ability of fintechs to sidestep regulation has created distrust amongst consumers, who are increasingly voicing their need to be assured that their money is safe.

“That is why – when we started Leatherback – we decided to view regulation as our friend, rather than our enemy. From the beginning, our model was always to get licenses in the countries we operate in,” he says.

Leatherback’s licensing approach is rooted in the understanding that getting directly licensed helps build trust with clients, and provides them with the peace of mind that comes with knowing they are dealing with a fully regulated entity.

Leatherback commenced the licensing process in the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada. “Notably, we are licensed with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, which is the highest regulatory body in the world. This means we are held to extremely high standards. We benchmark all our processes against the FCA and our systems are structured to adhere to all FCA requirements.”

Despite the onerous processes involved in obtaining licenses, Toyeeb says Leatherback is also Electronic Money Institution (EMI)-licensed in the UK, which allows it to offer electronic money services in the country.

“At the same time, we obtained a license in Canada as a money service business, a move that was aimed at making our Canadian clients feel comfortable with our platform and providing them with the same level of comfort they get from their banks and other financial services providers,” he adds

Leatherback is currently licensed – or in the process of being licensed – in 13 other countries it operates in. “Every regulator expects us to meet specific technological requirements and partnership standards. We are going through all of these regulatory processes and applications to make sure when consumers hear the name Leatherback, they feel comfortable hearing it. They know they are working with a properly structured and fully regulated organisation that will keep their money safe and give them the best possible service,” says Toyeeb.

The technology company is being licensed in developed and frontier markets. While regulators in some of these markets may not be up to date, Leatherback has liaised with regulators to ensure that it offers the best services to its clients.

By becoming licensed, Leatherback does not have to leverage third party providers. “Because we are licensed, we can tap directly into the local infrastructure in every country, which means we are able to offer first-layer services to our clients. This means not having to look to a local party, with its own layer of pricing. Licensing helps us offer more affordable services to our clients, which is why our global accounts are free. Nobody does that in the market today,” notes Toyeeb.

Leatherback has, however, joined hands with recognised and reliable solutions providers such as Currency Cloud, which provides account solutions in the United States and parts of Europe, ClearBank, one of the largest banks in the UK. It has also partnered with 4Stop, a Know Your Customer (KYC), compliance and anti-fraud solution provider, and Yes Bank in India. Today, Leatherback has more than 40 partners globally, and partnerships with about three banks in each country it operates in.

Ensuring it operates within regulatory confines does not mean Leatherback has compromised on innovation. “We are committed to providing our clients with a unique financial technology experience that helps them explore different opportunities, while at the same time not erring on the wrong side of regulation.

“We understand that regulation, in one way or another, has to catch up with innovation, but we are happy to help play a meaningful role in bridging the gap with various regulators in the sector,” concludes Toyeeb.

News

BlackBerry delivers first-of-its kind autonomous flood protection innovation to curb impact of climate change and extreme weather events

BlackBerry Launches First-of-its-Kind Flood Risk and Clean Water Monitoring Solution

Based on BlackBerry AtHoc, the autonomous and intelligent solution has helped a municipality save nearly $1 million in operating expenses

BlackBerry Limited today announced a first-of-its-kind flood risk and clean water monitoring solution. Based on BlackBerry® AtHoc®, a critical event management platform, the innovative technology provides autonomous year-round monitoring and an intelligent early warning system, collecting and processing large amounts of sensor data, and generating alerts based on the data insights.

BlackBerry has partnered with the University of Windsor to deploy the solution in Canada, where Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately impacted by these issues. Its proven benefits include its ability to identify seasonal and unseasonal water related risks, and generate significant cost savings for governments, utility companies and local communities.  Using the solution, local municipalities could each save up to $1,000,000 or more annually in operating expenses, in addition to the environmental, safety, health, and other benefits of early warning flood mitigation and clean water

“BlackBerry is pleased to deliver this critical innovation, based on BlackBerry AtHoc, as the climate change crisis escalates.  Climate change is one of the most pressing threats to our everyday lives, and tackling it requires the urgent and combined effort of governments, organisations, and individuals,” said Neelam Sandhu, Senior Vice President & Chief Elite Customer Success Officer.  “BlackBerry is committed to delivering advanced technologies, that turn real-time data into intelligence and leverage our leadership in communications, to enable the safety and security of people around the world.  Furthermore, we are on-track to be carbon neutral this year.”

“Globally, societies must increasingly rely on the autonomous monitoring of air and water to inform our understanding of the environment and to alert us to impending danger.  The BlackBerry solution announced today delivers on this need,” said Mike McKay, Executive Director, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor.  “Autonomous early-warnings and real-time monitoring are critical to provide enough time to address the risks communities around the world are currently facing. We are proud to have partnered with BlackBerry on this important and unique technology.”

Over two billion people globally lack access to clean water, with the lives of children under the age of five most threatened.  Almost one and a half billion of the world’s population faces a flood risk.  Both issues are exacerbated by climate change. To learn about BlackBerry’s commitment to be carbon neutral in 2021 click here.

For more information on BlackBerry AtHoc click here.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including over 195M vehicles.  Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security, endpoint management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry’s vision is clear – to secure a connected future you can trust.

For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.

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