With over 80 years as a leader in visual solutions worldwide and currently holding 60% of the digital-cinema market share, Christie is no stranger to success. For Waterloo Region, their story is one that is unique and based on a history of continual adaptation to changing market demands. With a broad technology base, Christie has evolved a variety of display technologies including visual solutions for applications ranging from cinema and control rooms to 3D and virtual reality. Christie has had a strong and growing presence in Waterloo Region since 1999, when they acquired the Projection Systems division from a local company, Electrohome Limited.

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Christie’s core technology is data projection, which has evolved from being analog and film based to being entirely digital. Today, a projection system is built around a number of digital display chips that together with prisms and lenses form a light engine that is driven by electronic circuits. To create such a complex system requires expertise in many disciplines, for example image processing, optical design, and software engineering. All of the required disciplines work together to create the high end projectors for which the company is well known.

Having installed over 100,000 projection solutions worldwide, Christie is a leader in providing visual solutions that are built to suit the needs of the end user and that meet a wide range of projection requirements. Examples of their successes include: DLP Cinema® projectors, LCD and DLP® projectors for business and mega events, as well as, cutting edge projection technologies for 3D, virtual reality and simulation. Christie’s products are used at sites such as AT&T Global Network Operations in Bedminster, New Jersey, NASDAQ MarketSite at Times Square, the 120th Anniversary of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, and Industrial Light & Magic in San Francisco, to name a few.

Christie has also recognized the growing Health Informatics sector and has become an active participant by creating a new company, Christie Medical Holdings Inc. Early in 2010, Christie acquired the assets of Luminetx® Corporation - a medical biosciences technology company - including the intellectual property for the market leading vascular imaging system, VeinViewer®. VeinViewer is the first device to utilize patented technologies to locate subcutaneous veins and project a real-time image of their location onto the surface of the skin. “Christie is working to improve people’s lives by focusing its efforts on medical imaging,” said Gerry Remers, President & COO of Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc. “For example, health informatics might include visualizing a hospital environment for training purposes. Using visual technology, it is possible to recreate an immersive 3D stereoscopic environment where students can learn and practice difficult medical procedures using various tools of an operating room environment.”

“Waterloo Region is a fantastic place to live and work,” commented Mr. Remers. “We’d like to see a critical mass of companies established in this Region in the fields of digital media, medical imaging and related sectors.” Christie is taking proactive steps to make that happen. The company is a major partner in Kitchener’s Communitech Hub, a unique facility dedicated to the growth and commercialization of Ontario’s digital media industry.

Christie employs more than 700 people in the manufacturing and advanced engineering facility in Kitchener, so it remains crucial they continue to find the best talent available. “The resources necessary to sustain this type of business are clear - we need world leading talent, especially in the areas of optics, physics, image processing, electronics, software as well as mechanical design. We have that here in the Region,” emphasized Mr. Remers. “We hire from the colleges, Conestoga College obviously, Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Waterloo, as well as a broader base of talent that exists in Southern Ontario.”

“One aspect of our work environment includes the hiring of skilled immigrants,” said Mr. Remers. Christie was recognized in 2010 by the Waterloo Region Immigrant Employment Network (WRIEN), now known as Immigration Partnership, for their hiring practices, and was also named as one of the top companies to work for in Canada. They have figured out a culture that works well.

On another front, Christie has created and implemented programs and policies to become a more environmentally responsible organization within the Region. The company instituted a number of changes, including an employee environmental awareness program, extensive recycling, carbon monitoring and management, reduction of energy and resources, and the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) in its products.

In the words of Gerry Remers, “Innovation is critical to our success. In a competitive, global marketplace, no one should be standing still. We must all continue to invest in innovation, new technologies and bettering our practices.”

Sources:
• Interview Gerry Remers | 2011
• www.christiedigital.com