Mark Matiasek, manager of Thompson Unlimited, was at the Thompson Chamber of Commerce Jan. 20 to discuss the economic impact winter and cold weather testing could have on the city of Thompson.
Matiasek talked to the people assembled about how winter weather testing is essential for companies to perform on products to ensure continuous quality improvement. He says many manufacturers have stated that real world testing - going somewhere cold like Thompson instead of testing in a simulated environment - is more efficient and effective.
Matiasek says winter weather testing in Thompson has numerous benefits for corporations - including affordable electricity and an abundance of water; up-to-date local infrastructure; convenient and affordable access to and from the city; the dollar exchange rate; a variety of road surfaces to test on and more.
Matiasek says Thompson Unlimited is taking a unique approach to winter weather testing promotion. He says they will utilize a local facilitator to work with clients; use a winter weather testing committee and the Thompson Unlimited board of directors; a full time development co-ordinator; involvement of the community; out of province travel with global reach; an expanded focus of winter weather testing to include aerospace, off-road and heavy equipment; and contract administration.
Later on in Matiasek's presentation he outlined the number of companies - most of them local - that benefited when an unnamed company purchased goods and services from them during the 2007/2008 winter season. Some of these businesses included Ackland's Grainger, Arctic Sings, Robin's Donuts, the city of Thompson, the Juniper Centre, Nor-Man glass, Tree Suns Towing and more. He says that during that testing season $736,328 was spent locally at 65 different businesses altogether.
According to Matiasek, the company - which he can't name due to a confidentiality agreement - spent a total of $539,400 on hotel room stays, meals and roundtrip airfare between Winnipeg and Thompson.
Thompson Unlimited has come up with an advertisement, called Thompson Unlimited - Sub Zero, that says "If it works here, it works anywhere! Thompson, Manitoba, Canada is the premier winter testing centre for North America. Cold weather, longer season, urban amenities, high tech connections, and great hospitality. It's the best place to get cold and to test your vehicle and components."
Thompson Unlimited has been focusing on winter weather testing for the past few years, and has spread the message of testing in Thompson all around the world. Just last June the company attended the Paris Air Show in France to talk about its winter weather testing initiative. Roxie Binns, development co-ordinator for Thompson Unlimited, was the one who attended the world's largest aviation show, along with a Canadian delegation that included provincial ministers, the National Research Council of Canada and a representative of Canada's aviation industry. Binns says the trip was successful with many meetings arranged with different businesses and organizations.
Winter weather testing began in Thompson in the early 1980s when vehicle manufacturers were testing one or two vehicles a year. Originally, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors testers would park their vehicles in the Mystery Lake Hotel parking lot to do cold soaks - where a vehicle is left outside overnight and is started from cold, measuring engine performance, heater function and interior control function. Other tests include snow ingestion.
By the mid-1990s, a locally formed Cold Weather Testing Association emerged, including local hotel and car dealers who often travelled to the United States to promote winter testing in Thompson. Ford now operates a cold chamber in a former aircraft hanger at the Thompson Airport and a specially built track near the Norplex Pool.
In March 2001, a feasibility study was funded by the federal and provincial governments through the Economic Development Partnership Agreement to look at the cold weather testing industry, the requirements for it to be done in Thompson and what was currently being done in the city.
During mid-April of last year it was announced that a $40-million cold Canadian Environmental Test Research and Education Centre, now called the Environmental Test Research and Educational Centre (EnviroTREC), would be built at Ospwagon Lake and become operational later this year as the world's most advanced large engine cold weather testing research facility. The facility will operate year-round and specialize in supporting engine icing certification and research and development of new aerospace designs. The facility will be managed by the MDS Aero Support Corporation of Ottawa, which is being built by the Global Aerospace Centre for Icing and Environmental Research Inc. (GLACIER). The facility is a result of a new joint venture between Rolls-Royce Canada and Pratt & Whitney.
Honda Canada Inc., a company that has been testing cars in Thompson since 2004, recently subleased space from CMF Holdings at the old heliport facility of the former Canadian Helicopters Ltd. Burntwood Sea Plane Base site on Jasper Drive for cold weather testing.
