| Facing
an inevitable reduction of auto
industry business, a Windsor high-tech
company is seeking new niche markets
in other manufacturing sectors
as well as in government and institutional.
Dave Fortin, president of DataRealm
Inc., said Ford of Canada used
to be his company's major customer.
"In fact, they supplied
about 100 per cent of our business
when we started up -- but now
they're less than 50 per cent.
"Our business, like many
others, is transitioning from
dependence upon the auto sector
into other areas," said
Fortin. "We're a niche
business and we're seeking new
niches in order to continue
growing."
Founded in 2002, DataRealm
now has 12 employees and serves
clients in Ontario and across
the U.S. Midwest. All 12 employees
are university graduates with
degrees in either computer science
or electrical engineering, said
Fortin.
|
The
company handles downtime analysis,
parts tracking and real-time monitoring
of electrical market prices so
that power plant operators can
stay informed should the market
price approach or exceed their
target price for their plants.
Essentially, DataRealm's software
collects data from different
stages in the manufacturing
process, tracking such issues
as downtime, faults, hours in
use, serial numbers of various
parts, torque levels and productivity.
It reports that data so the
information can be used to understand
bottlenecks in production and
streamline the process.
Branching out into other sectors,
said Fortin, will enable the
company to offer asset and maintenance
management systems, including
paper document management, to
municipalities and institutions
such as hospitals.
DataRealm recently entered
into a technical alliance with
Cogep, a Quebec-based company
which makes asset management
software.
|
"We
integrate it and sell it for them,"
said Fortin, who added that technical
alliances are very important in
this business.
Cogep's software enables organizations
to manage requisitions, plan
and execute corrective and preventive
tasks, manage purchasing and
inventories, track bar codes
and organize allocation of human
resources.
The company also has a strategic
alliance agreement with ATS
International B.V., a global
independent solution provider
to users of industrial, process
automation and manufacturing
information technology.
Established in 1986, ATS also
services clients throughout
Europe and Australia.
After working out of two different
sites during its first three
years of operation, DataRealm
is now located at 420 Devonshire
Rd.
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