by
ANDREW
FINDLAY
jULY/AUGUST 2018 BCBusiness 43
HAR
BOUR
ING
AMBITIONS
nanaimo has quietly reinvented itself as a destination
for innovative startups. The Vancouver Island port town
may not become a tech mecca anytime soon, but it's
thriving despite city hall squabbles that critics say
have thwarted economic development
T
alby Mckay, founder and president of Northern Biomass
Consulting, folds heavily tattooed forearms over his chest
and gazes at a scale model of an industrial facility that he
hopes to break ground on this summer in Nanaimo. At full
capacity, the joint venture between Northern Biomass and
Colorado-based Biochar Now will produce roughly 70,000
kilograms of biochar a day at its six-hectare site. Known
mostly as a soil conditioner, this material has other appli-
cations, from clothing insulation to water •ltration.
by ANDREW FINDL AY por traits by NIK W E ST
