BCBusiness

September/October - Entrepreneur of the Year

With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.

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ON THE RADAR ( the informer ) TANYA GOEHRING A t the height of the worldwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) last year, out- door gear specialist Mustang Survival realized it could help. Mustang makes the majority of its flotation devices and water- proof clothing overseas. But the Burnaby-based company manufactures its most techni- cal products—like dry suits for search-and-rescue crews—at its B.C. factory. A Level 3 surgical gown requires the same seam- sealing technology as a dry suit. "We realized we're a unique manufacturer," recalls presi- dent Jason Leggatt. "We are one of the very few companies still running sewing machines in the Lower Mainland." By the end of March 2020, Mustang was sewing gowns for Vancouver Coastal Health and the federal government. That provided a welcome income stream during COVID-19 lockdown, and the company saw the potential to diversify into improving PPE. A year later, that enthusiasm is gone. The medical commu- nity pushed back at the cost of domestic manufacturing, health care's rigorous regula- tions were burdensome, and Mustang's core market was "on fire," Leggatt says. When the company finished its PPE con- tract with the federal govern- ment this March, it exited the medical equipment industry. Mustang's experience is typical for businesses that tried a similar pivot in the pandemic, says Nancy Paris, director of Make+, a design and innovation lab at BCIT that helps compa- nies bring medical devices to market. Although medical is a challenging industry to enter, Paris explains, it offers plenty of opportunities, particularly in B.C. and especially now. "It's a good business to be in," she says. "It's not as susceptible to downturns as a lot of other industries, and there's huge money." Roll of the Device The pandemic ignited an already strong medical equipment industry in B.C.—but entering the sector didn't get any easier by Ryan Stuart H E A LT H C A R E SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 BCBUSINESS 15 MAKING A GO OF IT The medical device business can be challenging and lucrative, says Nancy Paris, director of BCIT's Make+ design and innovation lab LIFE IS GOOD B.C. was home to about 2,050 life sciences companies in 2018, of which 1,120 had employees The sector paid some $1.2 billion in wages in 2018, g 10.7% YoY, the highest growth rate in the country and well above the national average of 8.8% 93%, or $88 million, of B.C.'s medical instruments exports for 2018 went to the U.S. With 83% and 81%, respectively, of total market share that year, B.C. was Canada's top exporter of ultraviolet/infrared ray equipment and artificial body parts SOURCE: BC LIFE SCIENCES UPDATE 2021, LIFE SCIENCES BC AND GREATER VANCOUVER BOARD OF TRADE ■ RESEARCH, TESTING AND MEDICAL LABORATORIES ■ MEDICAL DEVICES AND EQUIPMENT ■ DRUGS AND PHARMACEUTICALS Numbers do not total 100 due to rounding 58% 12% 31%

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