November 1, 2001

David Hines says it’s taken eleven years of effort, but Environmental Recovery Equipment Inc. is poised to become an overnight success.  After 20 years of working in the Alberta oil patch, an idea about working with the oil industry to protect the environment began to form.  At the time, “strategic alliances” was the hot new concept to revitalize Canada’s manufacturing sector.  David did not have a company or a product, but he had an idea.  He linked up with a design engineer and pitched the idea to a fabricating corporation and a well-established industrial contractor; their interest was tentative.  The design for an oil spill recovery skimmer was developed.  Patents were applied for and awarded.  David then discovered there was no quick entry into the oil spill recovery business and the established corporations withdrew.  With the assistance of National Research Council, a working prototype was developed.

A young business always needs financing.  If it succeeds, it needs money to finance growth.  If it stalls, it needs money to sustain operations until the market catches up.  If it runs out of money, the business fails. D avid Hines approached the Port Colborne Wainfleet CDC for bridge financing to cover expenses until NRC financing would arrive.  At the same time, David went beyond his immediate circle of family and friends, but within the legal limits of private corporations, for additional capital.  This was to be the pattern of financing success for ERE.  For over eleven years the company has borrowed and repaid loans on a project by project basis.

Progress was often discouragingly slow.  Big business protects itself by sticking with established suppliers.  Would-be providers have to win their confidence.  Often the key to getting in is getting the right person to open a door.  Networking is a key function of the Chief Executive Officer.  Building on a product that passed every test imposed and contacts in the international oil industry, the company persisted, winning small demonstration orders and gradually earning the respect and trust of major players in the industry, in particular the national oil company of Venezuela.  With five different skimmer models and a rapid refloat system, the company is poised for profitability.  As for lessons learned, David Hines is thoughtful:  “The banks were never interested in working with a startup.  If it hadn’t been for the CDC, we could never have got to where we are.”  ERE has been an experimental research corporation, a fabricator, and is now a designer, marketing and manufacturing coordinator.  Its operational form has had to be adaptable to enable it to stay in business to the point where it can realize its original vision.  The local community run CDC was close enough to the business to stick with it when other more conventional financing sources were unwilling or unable to commit for the long haul.