Mining Mars: CMA Norm Lavalle helps directs bright ideas at Northern Ontario's high tech business incubator. (Profile).

As the final frontier, space holds a lot of possibilities for Canadians -- and Canadian firms. Canadian companies have made a dramatic impact on space exploration, in large and small ways: astronaut training on Devin Island in the Arctic, technology in satellite systems and space station robotics, and the high-profile contribution of the space arm technology.

Now a Sudbury not-for-profit development firm is proposing to take Canadian technology all the way to the soil and hard rock of the red planet. Northern Centre for Advanced Technology Inc. (NORCAT) is promoting mining technology for drilling core samples on Mars as part of a mission that is slated for launch in seven years.

Taking on the daunting task of creating a drill for Mars "just makes sense," says NORCAT business manager and CMA Norm Lavallee.

"After all, who knows more about hard rock drilling than the mining industry in Sudbury?" he asks. "And who knows more about technology development as it applies to earth science?"

And who knows more about the business side of northern technology than Lavallee? Indeed, Lavallee, who has been a part of NORCAT's technology development focus since November 1999, believes the future belongs to companies like NORCAT and the firms it assists -- companies that take good ideas and use to them to mine their own vein of gold.

Mining ideas

Lavallee, who earned his CMA designation in 1987, has developed his own niche in business matters at NORCAT, where the focus is on diversity.

The company has three major divisions: prototype development and technology transfer, occupational health and safety (with a focus on health and safety training), and Internet and specialized training for a range of clients, many of them local small-and medium-sized enterprises. Its aim is to assist companies and entrepreneurs in mining and other sectors to develop, adapt and test new technologies and equipment.

Since its inception, the organization has helped clients in 30 countries develop 140 prototypes in areas ranging from electric motor technology to underground communications and underwater search and retrieval; 70% have been commercialized or otherwise deployed while others are still in the testing stage.

Canada's Space Agency got on board the Mars drilling project recently with the announcement by astronaut and Space Agency president Marc Garneau of a $625,000 contract to NORCAT to pursue a feasibility study into the "CanaDrill." Light, powerful, and loaded with advanced Canadian-generated technology, the drill would be capable of pounding its way into Martian rock to provide a window on the red planet's geological record.

"A lot of drilling technology operates on hydraulic pressure and since you can't bring water to Mars, dry drilling techniques are essential," says Lavallee. "That's where NORCAT's expertise comes in."

Diverse dimensions

For Lavallee, the Mars project is one of several that are helping to establish NORCAT's international profile. The organization, founded in 1995, has 31 employees and a board of directors that represent the mining industry, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, labour, government education and the research community. Additionally, the organization draws on up to 50 specialized professionals who bring a range of expertise to the table.

The company is headquartered in a 32,000-square-foot complex at Cambrian College, and also operates an underground facility in the town of Onaping Falls, north of Sudbury. "NORCAT is a very diverse organization," says Lavallee. "For a CMA, it brings with it a challenging role from the business management perspective. We have two major divisions with two categories on either side that at the surface don't seem to have a lot of synergies, so keeping track of everything that goes on inside is a challenge in itself.

"NORCAT was modelled after other technology centres situated around the world and is really focused on taking technology and adapting it for other uses. We are really there to help small- and medium-sized enterprises -- especially those in the Sudbury community -- move forward."

Moving sound business technology ideas forward is a key component in NORCAT's mandate.

"We've done a number of projects with local business and a lot of what we do is to take projects on where our clients don't necessarily have the resources or the expertise to adapt the processes that they have developed to boost competitiveness," says Lavallee. "You don't find that in larger places like Toronto or Ottawa, where the resources are generally there. This is more common in smaller centres in the province, like Sudbury, where the expertise is sometimes harder to find."

NORCAT brings together key partners; on the Mars project, for instance, the organization involved the U.S.-based Los Alamos National Labs, the University of New Brunswick and Laurentian University Mining Automation Lab.

"We're taking known technology that exists in the mining industry and adapting it for space exploration," says Lavallee. This is a unique event. "Normally, it's the reverse -- companies take technology that has been developed first for space and look at adapting it for use on Earth."

The project has been underway for four years, and Lavallee says it has engendered a lot of healthy competition with other firms jockeying to develop similar technology. It is set for inclusion on the Mars mission in 2009.

Encouraging the D in R&D

Lavallee's own mission within NORCAT ranges from corporate management to corporate development. With a job that includes finance, treasury and accounting functions, he handles everything from national responsibilities to risk management strategies and negotiating contracts.

"I look at and develop values for intellectual properties and especially look at future projects that can come out of the work that we are doing," he says. "We examine future use with some of our corporate partners, whether it's in Internet-based training or other aspects of the business. I'm also heavily involved in strategic planning, marketing and keeping track of market demands. Overall, it is to maintain the thrust of NORCAT's commitment to excellent service and promoting that service to the marketplace."

The CMA training was a perfect fir for Lavallee's role. A 1983 graduate of the University of Waterloo with a degree in mathematics, Lavallee built on the analytical skills of mathematics by entering the CMA program.

"It's great because it's such a varied business," he says. "We're not doing just one thing -- each division has its own special business. The skills that you learn as a CMA give you the ability to analyze the key factors that support making a decision in the workplace. Added to that are the marketing and human resource skills. I find that all of those skills are necessary, and applicable, within each division in NORCAT. This is certainly the most diverse group I've ever worked with.

"Universities do research very well but there's a lack on the development side. We are taking research and developing it into the products that will have a market in the long term. It's great to be a part of that process."

A Sudbury native, Lavallee worked for Spectrum 2000 Communications Group Inc. as general manager, where he was responsible for registering and implementing the ISO9001-94 quality system and oversaw technical branches in six of the organization's offices, before joining NORCAT. Prior to that, he held posts as controller for Northern Communications Services Ltd., Science North and Manitoulin Transport.

Altogether, Lavallee has been able to effectively blend a keen interest in technology with his business and math backgrounds. "I've always had a love for technology -- everything from control systems to prototypes to software designs. It's being exposed to new ideas and applications that make the job interesting and fun."

Married with two daughters, Julia, 12, and Amanda, 10, Lavallee has served on the board of CMA Canada Ontario, on its finance and program and management committees and is active in the local United Way. His family activities include travelling and, of course, thinking about ways to bring greater success to NORCAT and its clients.

"A lot of what we are doing now in planning sessions is looking at how we support SMEs locally and how we promote ourselves to these SMEs," he says. "It's really a growth area that we want to tap into. Much of it involves continuing to look at the development side. Politically, we need to work on convincing the federal government of the need for its recently announced innovation strategy to look at the development side of technology.

"We have a role to play in raising awareness. Some people might say, 'What does Sudbury know about space?' But we can take advantage of our geography and expertise to train personnel and develop products that have extensive applications, here on earth and elsewhere."

And maybe, a few years hence, the technicians and scientists behind a drill bit whirring its way into Martian soil will have NORCAT to thank for extending the range of human knowledge and experience.

John Cooper ([e-mail]) is a Whitby, Ont.-based freelance writer.