October 20, 2002
Sensor Technology Limited
Eswar and Shashi Prasad are engineers trained in India. They came to Collingwood as part of Blue Mountain Pottery’s experiment with diversification in use of ceramic materials as tranducers. Subsequently, they incorporated Sensor Technology and B M HiTech as a wholly owned subsidiary in 1983 and have been producing sonar, depth sounder, communication, and related piezo electric materials and products with defence, industry, medical and research applications.
The business has grown steadily, establishing its position in the market as a premiere supplier of piezoelectric products and materials. The business is Canada’s largest manufacturer of piezoelectric ceramic products. In 2001, Sensor Tech expanded one of its two buildings, adding more state-of-the-art production and testing equipment and hiring more staff.
The company’s existing customer base includes industrial firms, government laboratories, universities, and small R&D firms. The work is varied. They have done a contract for the U.S. Navy to develop lead magnesium niobate ceramics for naval operations. The Canadian Space Agency (SCA) awarded Sensor Tech a phase II contract to develop “Shapecons,” an autonomous parabolic reflector system for space applications. Sensor Tech has also introduced products aimed at an exciting new area – the emerging technology of “smart structures.” Smart structures are devices, structures and buildings that can sense, and respond to, a changing environment. An example is an airplane wing that senses vibration and actively dampens it using piezo actuators.
The company is always looking at new ideas in the business world. Online activity has grown considerably in the past three years. The company website is www.sensortech.ca
The business now employs 32 people. The Corporation loaned $75,000 to the business which was satisfactorily repaid in 1997. The Corporation provided further funding of $125,000 in 1999 for their expansion, which is being repaid satisfactorily.
Eswar Prasad
Sensor Technology Limited
P.O. Box 97, 20 Stewart Road
Collingwood, Ontario
L9Y 3Z4
705-444-1440