deep interest in analyzing
data and how the results
could drive sales. "The
transformational power of
metrics in an operational
system is what inspired
me," says Krywulak. He
moved iQmetrix to Van-
couver in 2010, to attract
more talent, and has been
expanding the business
ever since.
Today, iQmetrix has
more than 300 employees
and has been lining up cli-
ents both in and outside the
wireless business, includ-
ing brands such as Under
Armour, Samsung, Verizon
and Glentel. Gross revenues
increased by 25 per cent
to $108 million in 2014, up
from $62.6 million in 2011,
and the company has no
debt and no outside inves-
tors. Krywulak says part of
his business success stems
from the discipline he
developed as a world-class
martial artist and captain of
the Canadian National Tae-
kwondo Team in 2004 and
2006. That includes tactics
to conserve ener«y, as well
as problem-solving under
pressure. "When you're in
the ring, you push yourself
physically and mentally to
an edge. It's a developmen-
tal skill that I can then take
into business."
—Brenda Bouw
H
arvey Tremblay was a carpenter building work camps
for mineral exploration companies in the 1980s when he
decided to give drilling a try. He got hooked on the new
trade and fascinated by the equipment used to poke
holes in the earth. But he also saw deficiencies in the drill–so he
designed his own. Tremblay says nobody was asking for a new
drill, "but I could see that if we could build something lighter and
stronger, that had more capacity and was more mobile, it would
have an advantage." Since he founded Smithers, B.C.-based
Hy-Tech Drilling Ltd. in 1991, the company has seen annual sales
grow from $100,000 to $60 million by 2011, with its proprietary
Tech 5000 drill used by mining companies across Canada and
Western Europe. Business has slowed somewhat in recent years–
the result of a slump in commodity prices–but Hy-Tech is diversify-
ing into U.S. markets to maintain much of its momentum. –B.B.
R U N N E R † U P
h a r v e y t r e m b l a y
[ P R E S I D E N T A N D C E O , H Y†T E C H D R I L L I N G LT D . ]
BCBUSINESS.CA OCTOBER 2015 BCBusiness 53
R U N N E R † U P
d e l n a B h e s a n i a +
b a r r y w a r d
[ F O U N D E R S , B A R D E L E N T E R TA I N M E N T ]
D
elna Bhesania
knows it sounds
"aky, but it was
a visualization
seminar she took in her
early 20s in Vancouver
that spawned the idea to
start her own animation
studio. Her soon-to-be
husband, Barry Ward,
was skeptical of the idea
at ¡rst but agreed to get
on board and leverage his
past experience in Toronto
and Montreal with large
animation companies such
as Nelvana. In 1987, the
pair opened Bardel Enter-
tainment in Vancouver. It
started as a family busi-
ness making handcrafted
animation and quickly
evolved into a digital
studio with facilities across
B.C. and big-name clients
such as Nickelodeon,
Disney, Cartoon Network,
DreamWorks and Warner
Brothers. "We've been
lucky to get work from all
of them," says Bhesania,
highlighting major pro-
ductions such as Nick-
elodeon's long-running
animated series Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles and
the Cartoon Networks'
primetime series Ricky and
Morty. Over the past two
years, Bardel has grown
from 150 employees to
over 600, while operating
revenues have tripled in
each year. —B.B.
