Tag Archives: NanoTech Security Corp

Canadian company, Nanotech Security Corp. hopes to purchase Fortress Optical Features

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Nanotech Security Corp. started life as a spin-off company from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. A  Jan. 17, 2011 posting and a followup Sept. 29, 2011 posting will probably give you more information about the technology and the company’s beginnings than you every thought you’d want.

For those interested in the company’s current expectations, an Aug. 27, 2014 news item on Nanotechnology Now describes Nanotech Security Corp.’s plan to purchase another business (also Canadian with the parent company [which is not being purchased] headquartered in North Vancouver},

Nanotech Security Corp. (TSXV:NTS) (OTCQX:NTSFF) (“Nanotech” or “the Company”) today announces an agreement with Fortress Global Securities Sarl, a subsidiary of TSX listed Fortress Paper Ltd. (“Fortress Paper”), to purchase 100% of Fortress Optical Features Ltd. (“Fortress Optical Features”), a producer of optical thin film (“OTF”) used as security threads in banknotes in several countries. The definitive share and loan purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) provides for Nanotech to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding securities of Fortress Optical Features for consideration of up to $17.5 million, of which 3 million Nanotech shares (up to $4.5 million) is contingent on the future operating performance of Fortress Optical Features. Nanotech has also entered into an agreement with Canaccord Genuity Corp. (“Canaccord Genuity”) to act as sole lead manager and book-runner, and including Craig-Hallum Capital Group, in respect of a private placement of subscription receipts of the Company convertible into Nanotech common shares (“Shares”) and Share purchase warrants (“Warrants”) in a targeted range of $9.0 million to $16.0 million as more fully described below. To date, subscription agreements in excess of $8.0 million have been received which is an amount sufficient to pay the cash portion of the acquisition under the Purchase Agreement. All monetary amounts are in Canadian dollars.

An Aug. 26, 2014 Nanotech Security Corp. news release, which originated the news item, provides additional details,

The acquisition of Fortress Optical Features will serve as a platform to accelerate commercialization of Nanotech’s KolourOptik technology by integrating it into Fortress Optical Features’ product line as an addition of KolourOptik images to the OTF threads.

Nanotech will acquire Fortress Optical Features’ state-of-the-art building and vacuum metal deposition equipment, located near Ottawa.

The transaction combines complementary businesses that can leverage established banknote customer relationships to accelerate market entry and leapfrog competitive technologies. To date, Fortress Optical Features’ technology has been utilized by 11 international currencies.

Fortress Optical Features’ CEO Igi LeRoux, and COO, Ron Ridley, will be integrated into the Company’s senior management.

Fortress has the right to appoint one director to the Nanotech board and Nanotech will appoint a director to a Fortress affiliate concerned with security paper production.
Cash portion of the purchase price to be funded by a subscription receipts offering at $1.50, each convertible into a Share and one-half Warrant as fully described below.
Concurrent financing and acquisition closings are scheduled for September 10, 2014.

“We believe this will be a transformational transaction for Nanotech”, stated Doug Blakeway, President and CEO of Nanotech. “By layering our KolourOptik nanotechnology onto Fortress Optical Features’ security threads which are currently used in numerous currencies, we will create a next-generation product for the banknote industry”.

Mr. Blakeway added, “Additionally, the transaction will expand Nanotech’s current IP portfolio for optical security features to include Fortress Optical Features’ 14 current patent applications which should enhance our ability to compete in other commercial spaces such as passports as well as product branding and authentication”.

Fortress Optical Features’ core business is optical thin film material used in security threads incorporated in banknotes in several countries. Originally developed by the Bank of Canada, and subsequently sold to Fortress Optical Features in 2011, this technology was deployed on Canadian banknotes from 1989 until 2011 as well as ten other international currencies. In the twelve month period ending December 31, 2013 Fortress Optical Features generated approximately $2.3 million in revenue and its existing plant could service production of about eight times the level of production which generated this revenue.

Fortress Optical Features recently invested $4.2 million to renovate its existing production facility and added $1.0 million in new equipment over the past few years. As part of the transaction, Nanotech will acquire Fortress Optical Features’ state-of-the-art production facility and high technology OTF production equipment. Fortress Optical Features is currently pursuing business in some of the world’s largest countries and sees potential new opportunities internationally. According to Secura Monde International, the top five banknote producing economies include China, India, the European Union, the United States and Indonesia.

TRANSACTION DETAILS AND CLOSING CONDITIONS

Under the terms of the Purchase Agreement, Nanotech will pay up to $17.5 million to be satisfied by a combination of $7 million cash, 5 million common shares of Nanotech and a secured vendor take-back note of $3 million with an interest rate of 4% per annum. Of this consideration 2 million shares will have a four month hold period from closing and 3 million shares will be escrowed and shall be released based on certain specific performance milestones based on sales of product to new customers over up to 5 years. Shares may be released early in the event of a sale of the business or change of control of Nanotech. Contingent shares not released after 5 years will be cancelled. Details of the share release formula will be found in the Purchase Agreement to be filed at www.sedar.com.

All Shares have a deemed value of $1.50 and the acquisition and financing transactions do not constitute a change of business nor a change of control for Nanotech but will be treated under TSX Venture Exchange policies as a fundamental acquisition.

Completion of the transaction will be subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of all regulatory approvals of the TSXV as well as the listing of the common shares issuable in connection with the transaction, including those underlying the subscription receipts. If Nanotech elects to terminate the acquisition in reliance on an allowable condition, a $600,000 break fee payable in Shares is due to Fortress Paper. Nanotech and Fortress Optical Features anticipate the transaction and financing will close on or about September 10, 2014.

RELATED AGREEMENT DETAILS

As part of Nanotech’s acquisition of Fortress Optical Features, the parties and/or their affiliates have entered into certain ancillary agreements. These include a supply agreement under which Fortress Optical Features will continue to supply OTF security threads to Fortress Paper’s Swiss-based Landqart specialty paper division. Landqart will enjoy favoured customer status subject to certain minimum purchase obligations. Under a lease and related shared services agreement, a Fortress Paper affiliate will lease approximately 2/3 of the 100,000 sq ft building being acquired as part of Fortress Optical Features assets and the parties will share the costs of steam production, electrical power, security, and administration services. The $3 million note is fully secured against Fortress Optical Features shares and assets.

SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPT OFFERING

Nanotech has entered into an agreement with Canaccord Genuity, acting as sole lead manager and sole bookrunner, and including Craig-Hallum Capital Group, to sell on a best-efforts marketed private placement basis, up to approximately 10,667,000 subscription receipts of the Company (the “Subscription Receipts”) at a price of $1.50 per Subscription Receipt (the “Subscription Price”), for gross proceeds to Nanotech of up to $16.0 million.

The Subscription Receipts will automatically convert, without additional payment, into one common share and one-half of a common share purchase warrant of the Company for each Subscription Receipt upon completion of the transaction. Subject to certain conditions, each whole purchase warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share of Nanotech at a price of $1.90 for a period of one year from issuance. The warrants are subject to accelerated expiry in the event that the common shares of Nanotech trade on the TSX Venture Exchange at $2.25 or more for a ten consecutive day period after the four month resale restricted period applicable to the Shares in Canada expires. Completion of the Subscription Receipt offering is subject to certain conditions, including receipt of the approval of the TSXV and all other necessary regulatory approvals.

Net proceeds from the Subscription Receipt offering will be used by the Company to partially fund the purchase price payable for Fortress Optical Features and for general corporate purposes.

The Subscription Price represents a discount of approximately 6% to the closing price of $1.60 per common share of Nanotech on the TSXV on August 25, 2014 and a discount of approximately 7% over the 30-trading day volume-weighted average price of $ 1.61 per common share of Nanotech on the TSXV, up to and including August 25, 2014.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

####

About Nanotech Security Corp.

Nanotech has been a leading innovator in the design and commercialization of advanced security products using nano-optical devices. Nanotech’s KolourOptik™ and Plasmogram™ optically variable devices (“OVD”s) are nanotechnology based product platforms originally inspired by the unique optical properties of the iridescent wings of the Blue Morpho butterfly. Nanotech OVD images produce intense, high definition images that are ideal for brand authentication and for distinguishing currency, documents, personal identification, consumer electronics, etc. from fakes. Nanotech’s KolourOptik OVD platform creates unique, easy to authenticate images through interaction of light with nano-sized (billionth of a meter) arrays of surface indentation structures imbedded through algorithms and electron beams into various substrates. These nanostructures create vivid colour images, activated by a simple tilt or rotation, and achieve higher resolutions than the best LED-displays currently available, as well as having optical properties not achievable with holograms.

Additional information about Nanotech and its technologies can be found on its website www.nanosecurity.ca or the Canadian disclosure filings website www.sedar.com or the OTCMarkets disclosure filings website www.otcmarkets.com

ABOUT FORTRESS OPTICAL FEATURES

Fortress Optical Features produces optically variable thin film security material for the security threads contained in certain previous Canadian banknotes and various other international currency denominations. The film is a unique combination of layered or ‘stacked’ thin film materials to produce a predictable colour replay. Additional features of the film include differing optical features or colors which appear when the banknote is tilted. The material was developed by the Bank of Canada in coordination with the National Research Council of Canada in the early 1980s and was first used as a patch on Bank of Canada $20, $50, $100 and $1,000 denominations of Birds of Canada series issued from 1988-1993 and also used on all Canadian Journey denominations issued from 2004 –2011. Fortress Optical Features’ high security products are marketed to security paper manufacturers throughout the world.

Additional information about Fortress Optical Features and its technologies can be found on its website www.fortresspaper.com/company/optical-security-features

…

This News Release contains forward-looking statements about the proposed acquisition by Nanotech of all of the issued and outstanding securities of Fortress Optical Features and the related offering of Subscription Receipts. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “potential”, “targeted” “plans”, “possible” and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results “will”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur or be achieved.

These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements about our market opportunities, strategies, competition, and the Company’s views that its nano-optical technology will continue to show promise for mass production and commercial application. The principal risks related to these forward-looking statements are that the Company’s intellectual property claims will not prove sufficiently broad or enforceable to provide the necessary commercial protection and to attract the necessary capital and/or that the Company’s products will not be able to displace entrenched hologram, metalized strip tagging, and other conventional anti-counterfeiting technologies sufficiently to allow for profitability.

There can be no assurance that the transaction will occur or that the anticipated strategic benefits and operational synergies will be realized. The transaction is subject to the successful closing of the Subscription Receipt offering and to various regulatory approvals, including approvals by the TSXV, and the fulfilment of certain conditions, and there can be no assurance that any such approvals will be obtained and/or any such conditions will be met. The transaction and the Subscription Receipt offering could be modified, restructured or terminated.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect Nanotech’s expectations only as of the date of this News Release. Nanotech disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

This News Release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities described in this News Release have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of such laws.

This News Release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities described in this News Release have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of such laws.

So there you have it. No one is responsible for anything but they hope for the best.

Xerox Research Centre Canada, authentic currency, etc. and a ‘nano’ deal with Authentix

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An April 1, 2014 news item on labcanada.com describes a recently signed deal which may turn up the competition in Canada’s currency authentication business sector,

The Xerox Research Centre Canada [XRCC] says it has signed a multi-year materials research services agreement with Dallas-based Authentix, a provider of anti-counterfeiting, brand protection and program integrity solutions for the oil and gas industry; currency, branded products and tax stamp markets.

“Working with companies like Authentix adds to the value our scientists bring to the research world,” said Paul Smith, vice president and director of the Xerox Research Centre Canada. “Not only do we continue to strengthen our scientific role in Canadian innovation, we are now bringing valuable research capabilities to other companies globally.”

Given that Xerox is a US company with a Canadian branch, I’m not sure how signing a deal with another US company aids Canadian innovation. On the plus side, it does give some Canadian scientists a job.

I also noted the reference to “currency authentication”, which suggests that Authentix could be in direct competition with the Canadian company, Nanotech Security Corp. (I have written about Nanotech Security Corp. previously with the two most recent being a Jan. 31, 2014 posting about the company’s presentation at an Optical Document Security Conference and a March 17, 2014 posting about the company’s first commercial client, TED.) Perhaps Xerox plans to spur Canadian innovation by providing more competition for our technology companies.

Here’s more from the March 31, 2014 Xerox news release, which originated the news item about the deal with Authentix,

Scientists at XRCC specialize in the design and development of electronic materials and specialty components; environmentally-friendly processes; coatings, applied nanotechnology; polymer science, engineering and pilot plant scale-up. [emphasis mine]

“Materials science research makes it possible to bring new levels of security, accuracy and efficiency to product authentication,” said Jeff Conroy, chief technology officer of Authentix.  “Leveraging the core competencies of Xerox’s materials lab in Canada expands and accelerates our ability to bring innovative solutions to the authentication market.”

Located near Toronto, XRCC is part of the global Xerox Innovation Group made up of researchers and engineers in five world-renowned research centers. Each center leverages XRCC’s unique, integrated, global materials research and development mandate.

You can find out more about Authentix here.

Getting back to XRCC, they had a longstanding relationship with Canada’s National Institute of Nanotechnology (NINT) having signed a 2007 contract with NINT and the Government of Alberta, from a Xerox Innovation Story,

In Canada’s first major public-private nanotechnology research partnership, the Xerox Research Centre of Canada (XRCC), NRC National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) and Government of Alberta will provide approximately $4.5 million for research and development of materials-based nanotechnology over the next three years.

The three partners will invest funds, human resources, and available infrastructures to create a research program and teams focused on developing commercially successful nanotechnology-based discoveries. Personnel from NINT and XRCC will collaborate on research projects at NINT in Edmonton, Alberta, and at XRCC in Mississauga, Ontario.

The funds will contribute to the hiring of eight to 10 scientists who will investigate materials-based nanotechnologies, including document- and display-related technologies. The research program, co-managed by XRCC and NINT, will allow access to Xerox’s experience in successfully commercializing technology to facilitate the market application of resulting inventions.

“This level of public and private sector partnership helps fuel the type of innovation that will keep Alberta, and Canada as a whole, strong and competitive in an increasingly global, knowledge-based economy,” said Doug Horner, minister for Advanced Education and Technology, Government of Alberta. “The investments from the Government of Alberta, Xerox and NINT will build a world-class nanotechnology research program that embraces the spirit of innovation, but also that of commercialization.”

I find the references to Xerox and innovation and commercialization amusing since the company is famous for its innovation missteps. For example, the company owned the photocopying business from the 1960s into the 1970s due to its patent rights but once those rights ran out (there’s usually a time limit on a patent) the company was poorly equipped to compete. My guess is that they didn’t know how in an environment where they no longer held a monopoly. The other famous story concerns the mouse and the graphical user interface both of which were developed at Xerox but the company never pursued those innovations leaving Stephen Jobs and his colleagues to found Apple.

At any rate, Xerox survived those missteps so perhaps they learned something and they really do mean it when they talk about spurring innovation. Although, given the business model for most Canadian technology companies, I expect Nanotech Security Corp. to get purchased by Authentix or one of its competitors with the consequence that Canadian taxpayers have helped to pay, yet again, for innovation that will be purchased by a corporate entity with headquarters in another country and much less interest in maintaining a business presence in Canada. If you think I’m being cynical about another country’s corporate interests in Canada, take a look at this excerpt from Derrick Penner’s March 28, 2014 article for the Vancouver Sun about Vancouver’s recent Globe 2014 conference,

Globe, the biannual conference on sustainable development [March 26 – 28, 2014], is as much about doing business as it is about discussing bright ideas for reducing the impact of industry on the environment.

And a new twist for European delegates, such as Roumeas [Vincent Roumeas, a business development manager for the Paris Region Economic Development Agency], is the prospect of Canada Europe Free Trade.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, last October, signed an agreement in principal, which commits the two sides to finalizing a full agreement giving each other tariff-free access to each others’ markets.

Roumeas said it is too soon to tell how much of a draw EU free trade will be because he is working on developing immediate prospects within the next 18 months, which would be before any benefits from free trade would kick in, if the deal is concluded.

However, his colleague Jeremy Bernard Orawiec, a trade adviser for UbiFrance, does see the agreement as an attraction for French firms interested the American market.

He added that the U.S. is viewed as a tough market to crack, so Canada is looked at as an easier-accessed entry point to all of North America.

“It’s really positive to see Canada able to make an agreement before the U.S.,” Orawiec said. “It gives us a time frame so (companies) can come here [Canada] and explore the whole American market.” [emphases mine]

It’s not clear from his comments but I suspect Orawiec is unaware that Mexico is part of North America. In any event, Canada as a market place or as an innovation centre is not important in and of itself. One can criticize Orawiec for making those comments but I’d like to thank him as he has expressed an attitude that I believe is widely held.

Nano-enabled conference ID badge for TED 2014

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Apparently Nanotech Security Corp. (I last wrote about the company in a Jan. 31, 2014 posting) was selected to produce a high tech security component for the TED 2014 conference. From a Mar. 17, 2014 news item in the Wall Street Journal,

Nanotech Security Corp. (TSX-V: NTS) (OTCQX: NTSFF) is pleased to announce that it has been selected to design and produce an exclusive event access ID and branding solution for the TED2014 and TEDActive 2014 conferences. Nanotech’s next-generation KolourOptik(R) nanotechnology will be integrated as a security feature on each participant’s ID badge for both events.

The March 17, 2014 news item can also be found on TechVibes,

The public company’s KolourOptik nanotechnology will be integrated as a security feature on each participant’s ID badge for both events; the feature is a combination of TED’s iconic logo and ultra-high resolution lettering recognizing TED’s 30-year milestone delivering “Ideas Worth Spreading.”

KolourOptik technology produces intense optically variable images that can be applied to virtually any surface for anti-counterfeit and branding purposes. These fully customizable images result from billions of nano-scale surface holes per square centimeter which capture and reformulate light waves into brilliant colours without use of any pigment or dye. The commercial terms of the contract were not announced.

I think that in addition to the obvious branding aspect of this badge, there is the high tech nature of a nanotechnology-enabled security feature enhancing TED’s brand as a place where you’ll find new ideas and things. More than one fellow introduced a new piece of software or hardware today.

ETA March 24, 2014: There’s a bit more information about KolourOptik’s technology in a March 18, 2014 news article on securing.com,

The approach using an electron beam to drill holes smaller than the wavelength of light into a material so – when light catches the holes at the right angle – a bright, flickering image is revealed. The KolourOptik technology requires no pigment or dye, said the British Columbia-based company.

For TED, the security feature (pictured [on the securing.com site]) shows the organisation’s logo and high resolution (50,000 dpi) lettering “recognising TED’s 30-year milestone delivering ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’,” it added.

The article also notes the TED is the company’s first commercial client.

Cambridge University wants to take its flexible opals to market

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Structural colour due to nanoscale structures such as those found on Morpho butterfly wings, jewel beetles, opals, and elsewhere is fascinating to me (Feb. 7, 2013 posting). It would seem many scientists share my fascination  including these groups at the UK’s University of Cambridge and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute, from the May 30, 2013 University of Cambridge news release (also on EurekAlert),

Instead of through pigments, these ‘polymer opals’ get their colour from their internal structure alone, resulting in pure colour which does not run or fade. The materials could be used to replace the toxic dyes used in the textile industry, or as a security application, making banknotes harder to forge. Additionally, the thin, flexible material changes colour when force is exerted on it, which could have potential use in sensing applications by indicating the amount of strain placed on the material.

The most intense colours in nature – such as those in butterfly wings, peacock feathers and opals – result from structural colour. While most of nature gets its colour through pigments, items displaying structural colour reflect light very strongly at certain wavelengths, resulting in colours which do not fade over time.

In collaboration with the DKI (now Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability) in Germany, researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed a synthetic material which has the same intensity of colour as a hard opal, but in a thin, flexible film.

Here’s what the researchers’ synthetic opal looks like,

Polymer Opals Credit: Nick Saffel [downloaded from http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/flexible-opals]

Polymer Opals Credit: Nick Saffel [downloaded from http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/flexible-opals]

The news release provides a brief description of naturally occurring opals and contrasts them with the researchers’ polymer opals,

Naturally-occurring opals are formed of silica spheres suspended in water. As the water evaporates, the spheres settle into layers, resulting in a hard, shiny stone. The polymer opals are formed using a similar principle, but instead of silica, they are constructed of spherical nanoparticles bonded to a rubber-like outer shell. When the nanoparticles are bent around a curve, they are pushed into the correct position to make structural colour possible. The shell material forms an elastic matrix and the hard spheres become ordered into a durable, impact-resistant photonic crystal.

“Unlike natural opals, which appear multi-coloured as a result of silica spheres not settling in identical layers, the polymer opals consist of one preferred layer structure and so have a uniform colour,” said Professor Jeremy Baumberg of the Nanophotonics Group at the University’s Cavendish Laboratory, who is leading the development of the material.

Like natural opals, the internal structure of polymer opals causes diffraction of light, resulting in strong structural colour. The exact colour of the material is determined by the size of the spheres. And since the material has a rubbery consistency, when it is twisted and stretched, the spacing between spheres changes, changing the colour of the material. When stretched, the material shifts into the blue range of the spectrum, and when compressed, the colour shifts towards red. When released, the material will return to its original colour.

I find the potential for use in the textile industry a little more interesting than the anti-counterfeiting application. (There’s a Canadian company, Nanotech Security Corp., a spinoff from Simon Fraser University, which capitalizes on the Blue Morpho butterfly wing’s nanoscale structures for an anti-counterfeiting application as per my first posting about the company on Jan. 17, 2011.) There has been at least one other attempt to create a textile that exploits structural colour. Unfortunately Teijin Fibres has stopped production of its morphotex, as per my April 12, 2012 posting.

Here’s what the news release has to say about textiles and the potential importance of structural colour,

The technology could also have important uses in the textile industry. “The World Bank estimates that between 17 and 20 per cent of industrial waste water comes from the textile industry, which uses highly toxic chemicals to produce colour,” said Professor Baumberg. “So other avenues to make colour is something worth exploring.” The polymer opals can be bonded to a polyurethane layer and then onto any fabric. The material can be cut, laminated, welded, stitched, etched, embossed and perforated.

The researchers have recently developed a new method of constructing the material, which offers localised control and potentially different colours in the same material by creating the structure only over defined areas. In the new work, electric fields in a print head are used to line the nanoparticles up forming the opal, and are fixed in position with UV light. The researchers have shown that different colours can be printed from a single ink by changing this electric field strength to change the lattice spacing.

As for wanting to take this research to market, from the news release,

Cambridge Enterprise, the University’s commercialisation arm, is currently looking for a manufacturing partner to further develop the technology and take polymer opal films to market.

For more information, please contact sarah.collins@admin.cam.ac.uk.

The reference to opals reminded me of yet another Canadian company exploring the uses of structural colour, Opalux, as per my Jan. 31, 2011 posting.

Nanotech Security Corp wins British Columbia Technology Industries Association award

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I’ve written about Nanotech Security Corp and its anti-counterfeiting technology based on the nanostructures found on the Blue Morpho butterfly’s wings  before (notably in my Sept. 29, 2011 posting). While it’s a little early to declare the company a winner since it’s the only nominee in its category I’m pretty sure it’s a safe bet to say that it has won the British Columbia Technology Industries Association (BC TIA) 2013 technology impact award for Most Promising Pre-Commercial Technology. From the Apr. 26, 2013 posting on the Techvibes blog,

Today the BC Technology Industry Association announced the finalists for the 2013 Technology Impact Awards.

BCTIA says the 2013 finalists “reaffirm British Columbia’s status as innovators” in a cross-section of technologies including enterprise software, telecommunications, hardware, biotechnology and nanotechnology.

…

Most Promising Pre-Commercial Technology

Nanotech Security Corp

I gather the official announcement will be made at the June 6, 2013 (the 20th anniversary) Technology Impact Awards Gala.

NanoTech Security Corp’s new shim and a few oddities about the company

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The Sept. 29, 2011 news item on Nanowerk announces,

Nanotech Security Corp. has reached a major milestone in authentication and anti-counterfeiting security technology developed by replicating nano-scale structures similar to those found on the wings of the iridescent Morpho Butterfly.

Nanotech Security Corp. is pleased to announce its team of researchers have successfully created the world’s first master shim http://www.nanosecurity.ca/press_imagesvideos.php [Note: I was not able to access this site when I tried Sept. 29, 2011, 3:14 pm PST.], or master die, that manufacturers can use to reproduce nano-holes in a variety of materials – including banknotes – in large volumes quickly and cost-effectively without changing the manufacturing process.

Nanotech brings the next generation of authentication technology

“Proving that our technology can be re-created successfully with the use of a master shim was a crucial step in making it available for commercial use to our potential partners,” said Doug Blakeway, CEO and chairman of Nanotech Security Corp.

“This milestone makes our technology accessible and affordable to banknote manufacturers, while allowing them to maintain the highest level of security they require.”

I posted about NanoTech Security Corp earlier this year (January 17, 2011) when the research team who are affiliated with Simon Fraser University (SFU) were in the process of publicizing their work. This is exciting news and I hope do they well. At the same time, I am somewhat puzzled as there are a number of inconsistencies starting with the company’s age.

From the Nanotech Security Corp home page,

NANOTECH Security Corp. has a 20 year history
designing and selling security devices. Devices include
security threads for bank notes and high value documents, communication surveillance and intelligence gathering equipment for the International Defense and Law Enforcement markets.

The news item on Nanowerk states this,

With a rich history in law enforcement and security applications, Nanotech Security Corporation has embarked on a new venture bringing world class nanotechnology from Simon Fraser University to the authentication and anti-counterfeiting market.

Founded in 1985, Nanotech Security has evolved substantially, successfully implementing devices and technology in areas of criminal justice, infrared night-viewing, tracking security and forensics.

The company would be 26 years old if it were founded in 1985. The more digging I do the more confusing it gets. According to the information about NanoTech Security (NTS) Corp listed on the Toronto Stock Exhange’s Infoventure page, the company was incorporated in May 1984 (which would make it 27 years old). [ETA Oct. 3, 2011: It’s highly unlikely the company was called NanoTech Security Corp in 1984 or 1981. Was it called something else? There is no company history on the website to clarify.] NTS has two other companies as subsidiaries (?), Strategic Technologies (address and phone no. identical to NanoTech Security Corp’s listing on its website) and Tactical Technologies in Pennsylvania. [ETA Oct. 3, 2011: Tactical Technologies was formed in 1994]

The NTS website lists Tactical Technologies in its Products category (another oddity),

Tactical Technologies Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of NanoTech Security Corp.
Tactical is engaged in the design, manufacture and supply of sophisticated communications, surveillance, intelligence gathering and forensic equipment for the Law Enforcement and Defense Industries. Tactical works closely with its customer base and has pioneered many unique products and system solutions which surpass the needs of top security, investigative, enforcement, defense and offender detention professionals. Tactical’s core products consist of covert body worn audio transmitters, repeaters, and intelligence kits which include receivers and recording capabilities.  Recently one these products, the Citation V, was featured last March in an episode of CSI: Miami. Other products include custom built surveillance vehicles, mobile/portable surveillance platforms; Cellular/IP based video surveillance systems, agent alert alarm transmitters, and other video surveillance systems. Tactical’s operations are located in Holmes, Pennsylvania; about five miles west of Philadelphia.

www.tti-narctech.com

There’s actually more information about Tactical Technologies’ products on the NSI website than there is on its own company website,

Under the laws of the United States of America,
the dissemination of product information for goods
manufactured by Tactical Technologies Inc. is restricted.

I did finally find the NTS management team page (which includes the two SFU scientists [Bozena Kaminska and Clint Landrock] whose work provides the platform for this company’s products) on the NTS website  in the Press Room area [Note Oct. 3, 2011: Stylistic and grammatical changes made]. The description for Doug Blakeway, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, provides this information,

Mr. Blakeway is Chairman and CEO of Nanotech Security Corp. (formerly Wireless2 Technologies Inc.), a publicly traded international high level public security corporation which he founded in 1985 and Managing Director for G4S Justice Services (Canada) Inc. [emphases mine] Mr. Blakeway has extensive connections in the security and policing sectors. As an entrepreneur and investor, over the past 40 years, he has founded and operated a number of successful endeavors from service oriented companies to high technology electronic manufacturing. Mr. Blakeway is a proven inventor with a variety of diverse patents for such things as a rotary engine; a portable diamond drill feed, a fluid management system, GPS asset and personnel tracking systems and an infrared night viewing system. As a helicopter pilot, his vision and tenacity resulted in the founding of WM Aviation Inc. – the parent company of Helijet Airways, the first regional helicopter service in B.C. He is presently an entrepreneur in Residence at Simon Fraser University, Venture Connection. He mentors companies and individuals and is a member of the BC Angle Form and an investor in early stage companies. Since 1982, Mr. Blakeway has been a director of a number of public companies on the TSX & Venture Exchange. He is currently a member of the board of directors of Nanotech Security Corp., IDIT Technologies Corp., IDME Development Corp., Legend Power Systems Inc, Tactical Technologies Inc, Wireless Industry Partnership Connector Inc. (WIP), and RFind Systems, Inc. Mr. Blakeway serves on audit, compensation and corporate governance committees and with his knowledge of the policies and procedures for listing Capital Pool Companies (CPC’s) has facilitated the successful qualification of a CPC to a Tier 2 issuer on the TSX Venture Exchange. Mr. Blakeway is a past member of member of British Columbia Securities Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), and member of Simon Fraser University Surrey – Business Advisory Council, Canadian Listed Company Association, The Digital Media and Wireless Association of BC (DigiBC), Wavefront Wireless Innovation Society of BC and The Executive Committee (TEC), an international organization for CEOs.

The reference to Wireless2 Technologies could explain [Note Oct. 3, 2011: This was originally worded as “certainly explains”] why the company can claim a history of 20 years or more and I expect  they are using the association with Tactical Technologies as reason to claim experience in security, surveillance, etc. I was not able to find much information about Wireless2 Technologies.

As well, I’m not clear as to the relationship that Strategic Technologies has with anything and I can’t find much information about it either. Further, I was not able to find mention of Mr. Blakeway on the G4S (Canada) website. Here’s the company history,

G4S Secure Solutions (Canada) Ltd. was founded in October 1966 by retired members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as Canadian Protection Services (CPS).

A recently expanded service offering, which includes all critical areas of the security industry, our Secure Solutions team has nearly 8,000 employees across the country.  We operate in many different markets from Government to Private Energy & Utilities, Condominiums & Residential to Transport & Logistics, Major Corporations to Financial Institutions, Petrochemical to Natural Resources, and Healthcare to Retail & Loss Prevention.

In early 2000, G4S Cash Solutions (Canada) Ltd. entered the Canadian market as Securicor, with the purchase of a number of cash services providers. Through these acquisitions, G4S Cash Solutions gained over 71 years of experience of the Canadian cash services market.

In 2005, expansion continued with the acquisition of Ontario’s largest regional service provider, a move that further ingrained the business in the nation’s largest market. With over 2,500 employees and 55 branches across the country, G4S Cash Solutions continues to operate the largest, market leading coast-to-coast service network in Canada.

As a result of the 2004 merger between Group 4 Falck A/S and Securicor plc, two Canadian security service divisions were united in Canada under a global brand.

With over 10,000 employees across the nation, G4S brings a wealth of security knowledge and expertise to the Canadian marketplace.

In Canada, our complete focus as security experts is to provide innovative and quality security solutions to businesses across the country.

I cannot find a reference to G4S Justice Services (Canada) other than listings in the Yellow Pages, CanPages, and the like. G4S is an international company which was founded in 1901 in Denmark. Its headquarters are currently located in the UK. The Canadian subsidiary is in fact two entities G4S Secure Solutions (Canada) and G4S Case Solutions (Canada). Mr. Blakeway is not included on the website as a member of either management team. As I noted it’s all rather puzzling but that may be due to my ignorance of business structures.

It’s early days yet for NTS and I imagine this is the ‘growing pains’ part of the process and that these inconsistencies will be rectified and, perhaps, some of the more ‘hyped’ terminology regarding the products and the attempts to fuse the company name with the entire field of nanotechnology will be toned down.