2002 Winner: Outstanding Commercial Achievement in Alberta Science and Technology (>25M)
SMART Technologies Inc. is a world-class industry pioneer, and international market leader in developing intuitive and interactive multi-media tools for the office and classroom. Most notably, SMART products are installed in the White House Situation Room, the Los Angeles Lakers locker room and K-12 classrooms. SMART’s developments include the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, as well as new products for the audio-visual market, such as mobile multimedia cabinets, whiteboard cameras and meeting productivity software.
SMART customers can be found in a variety of industries, including the corporate, educational, facility design, legal, government and military sectors. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted SMART six patents on the concepts and technology embodied in the SMART Board interactive whiteboard. In 2002, SMART was awarded a patent from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for the SMART Board interactive whiteboard. Sales are estimated at close to $100 million this fiscal year, with a compound annual growth rate of 53 per cent or more for five years.
Since 1996, SMART sales have increased rapidly by 741 per cent, and export sales by 953 per cent. In fact, exports in the last fiscal year accounted for 96 per cent of SMART’s total revenues. SMART employs over 380 people and occupies 57,000 square feet in Calgary, as well as a 70,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Stittsville, ON. Recent awards include: Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies (1996-2001), Exporter of the Year — 2000 Canada Export Awards, Alberta’s Fastest Growing Companies, Innovative Product Award (2001), Best in Canada Design Competition Award (2001) and CATAAlliance Awards for Innovation and Leadership — Outstanding Product Achievement Finalist (2002). As demand grows for tools that expand the potential for group collaboration, SMART will continue to design products that bring people and ideas together.
