2000 Winner: Industrial Research
SRW Technologies develops and applies novel abrasion-resistant materials for use in the oil sands and mining industries. The company recently acquired advanced robotic machinery from Germany to create a unique plasma transferred arc welding system (SRW’s two machines are the only ones in North America) that can extend wear resistance of certain tools by as much as six times.
This technology is invaluable to the resource industry in which losses due to wear total hundreds of millions of dollars annually. To advance this technology for new applications and markets, SRW has developed an active research program with engineering staff at the Masters and Doctorate levels, and has undertaken several collaborative research programs with the University of Alberta. The prize will be used to partially finance the hiring of a graduate level engineer to further these efforts.
