The Cutting Edge: A History of Technology and Richmond
07 December 2010
Who were Richmond’s industrial pioneers? Were they the “geeks” of yesterday upon which today’s hi-tech industry is built? The Cutting Edge: A History of Technology and Richmond, a new exhibition about Richmond’s hi-tech companies and the industrial pioneers who have led them, opens Tuesday, December 14, at 7:00 p.m. at the Richmond Museum.
Featured in the exhibit are an array of objects on loan from some of Richmond’s most notable hi-tech companies. From satellite dishes, to a WWII aircraft engine and automated YVR kiosk, there is plenty for visitors to learn about. A selection of intriguing technology from the Richmond Museum’s permanent collection, such as the impressive 1900s linotype machine, decades old computers and consumer technology from the past, will surely spark visitor imaginations, and, so too, will the interactive hi-tech components.
The Cutting Edge is a story of evolving technologies and their impact on our everyday lives as consumers. It takes us from Richmond’s small-town roots to the global technological gateway it has become today.
From its early beginnings, Richmond has been a centre of industry, first attracting commercial enterprises in fishing, canning and agriculture. Since then, innovation and technological advancement have brought new and diverse industries and products. From huge corporations to small but creative businesses, Richmond’s hi-tech history has cut a wide swath through various sectors: aerospace and aviation, data and communications, digital and new media.
A few industrial pioneers, like Helmut and Hugo Eppich (The Ebco Group), John MacDonald and Werner Dettwiler (MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates), have been at the forefront of Richmond’s hi-tech success over the past 50 years. As business leaders, their work in precision manufacturing, robotics and computers has launched Richmond into the space age, literally, and spawned nearly 20 companies.
One of the defining factors of Richmond, as the city continues to move into the 21st century, is this mix of current and long-standing creative industrial enterprises and entrepreneurs. If there is one thing they hold in common – it’s innovation. One of the exhibits’ prime “geek” stories comes from Norsat founder, Rod Wheeler, who developed a workable consumer satellite prototype from his cabin in Whitehorse, using tinfoil and chicken wire. “Innovation – it’s the fuel of technology,” says Amiee Chan, President and CEO, Norsat International Ltd., currently headquartered in Richmond.
The exhibit runs from December 14, 2010 – June 23, 2011.
