We have a local company, Genieo, a spin-off from the University of Moncton, that has developed some interesting products over the past decade or so. Their business model has evolved over time, but the organization has had to rely partially on government financial subsidization. One of the services that the company offers is rapid prototyping of machined parts using an expensive 3D modelling tool.
As I said, the company has had some challenges becoming profitable in the long term, in spite of some satisfied clients and a strong team of scientists and engineers. Now, along comes some innovation south of the border, that extends Genieo’s model just a little bit, and takes advantage of the internet. It’s called eMachine Shop.
Given that Genieo is co-located with the National Research Council’s Institute for Information Technology (IIT), why didn’t a similar idea come from Canada? Some of the IIT’s stated core competencies are in 3D digitizing & visualization and e-business. In hindsight it sure looks logical to combine the access that the internet provides with the capability for 3-D modelling that Genieo has. Maybe it’s not too late.
