DOING BUSINESS IN Markham ’S HIGH-TECH CAPITAL

2015 | ONE

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWS

A new home for Lenovo Lenovo Canada opens a new 37,000-square- foot headquarters in Markham. The facility incorporates a collaborative work environ- ment with state-of-the-art server lab and customer showcase.

Lenovo celebrated the opening of its new Markham home with a donation in support of Habitat for Humanity. In addition to employee participation in a late fall build event, Lenovo took advantage of the grand opening to present Habitat for Humanity with a $40,000 cheque to support its ongo- ing efforts to provide affordable housing. Get in the Games! Markham welcomes the world this summer for the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. Athletes will enovo is a $39-billion global meeting space for the company’s Fortune 500 company and 200 local employees. converge at the brand L a leader in providing inno- The new headquarters also new Markham Pan Am vative consumer, commercial, includes a server lab that can Centre for badminton, and enterprise technology. The replicate customer environments table tennis, para table company’s product portfolio cov- for testing, a data centre with one tennis and water polo; megawatt of power and a Show- ers PCs (including the legendary pro-am golfers will com- case room to feature product Think and multimode YOGA pete at award-winning brands), workstations, servers, innovations for customer Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook . storage, smart TVs and a family and partner meetings. boasts a stunning 2560x1440 display and Over 30 of the events are of mobile products such as smart- Learn more at Lenovo.com anti-glare screen. phones, tablets and apps. 2016 Summer Olympic The new Canadian headquar- or Paralympic quali- ters was a necessity after the fiers. The games will recent acquisitions of Motorola attract close to 100,000 Mobility and IBM System X Markham maintains the lowest tax rate spectators – an excel- groups. Officially opening in late increase in the GTA lent chance for local This year’s 2.5-percent property tax rate increase represents November 2014, the building businesses to get into was renovated to provide a sin- an additional $27.50 for the average residential household in Markham. Based on 2014 data from the municipal news publica- the Pan Am spirit! Much gle-storey, open-concept facility tion “Novae Res Urbis” and public reports on 2015 municipal tax more at markham.ca that includes a mix of designated rate increases, Markham’s seven-year tax rate increase of 7.99 workstations and flexible-use percent is the lowest among 27 GTA municipalities.

Markham has continued to keep tax rate increases low Markham through our innovative E3 program, achieving over $20M in operational savings and revenue enhancements since 2009.

www.business.markham.ca Easton’s Group opens the newest hotel in Markham The first “twin branded” Marriott hotel in Canada opened in January 2015. The property boasts two of Marriott’s finest brands – the Courtyard by Marriott, and TownePlace Suites by Marriott.

ocated just off Highway 404 The group’s award-winning at Woodbine and Steeles, hotel properties include re- L both properties share a nowned brands such as Hilton, host of amenities including a Marriott and Holiday Inn. In state-of-the-art fitness facility, the highly competitive hotel an exceptionally large pool and industry, the company’s core 24-hour business centre. The advantages are prime locations, Bistro restaurant and 13,000 premium quality and superb square feet of meeting space service. Every Easton’s Group are available for use by clients hotel is located to cater to the of both hotels. needs of its clientele while The facility is owned and being on the cutting edge of managed by Markham-based offering the best advantages to Easton’s Group of Hotels. its guests. Easton’s Group has won numerous service excellence and guest Guest rooms in the satisfaction awards for its hotels in and Quebec. Courtyard by Marri- ott Toronto Northeast TownePlace Suites by complimentary hot breakfast Markham feature a Marriott Toronto Northeast every morning served on the modern design with a Markham is ideal for travelers penthouse level in the Towne- contemporary feel. The who need accommodations Place Suites Lounge, as well as room design offers hy- for longer stays. The property 24-hour On Us® coffee service. brid zones for working, offers studio and one-bedroom For more on these properties, sleeping, relaxing and suites with fully equipped visit eastonsgroup.com getting ready. kitchens. Guests can enjoy or call 905-474-0444.

Enhancing competitiveness in global markets Business and community leaders are encouraged to join Markham’s trade and investment mission to China this November.

arkham has been invited ness and cultural exchanges with by the Confederation of key powerhouses in China. Past M Greater Toronto Chinese trade missions have succeeded Business Association (CGTCBA) in building the “Markham” to lead its 2015 trade and invest- brand in China, and resulted Markham’s 2015 business mission the highlights is participation in ment mission to China, sched- in increased business exchanges to China starts in the country’s three mega-business events in uled for Nov. 21 to Dec. 4. The between the two communities as capital, Beijing. Hong Kong: World SME Expo, City’s economic development well as attracting foreign invest- Business of Intellectual Property strategy – “Markham 2020” – in- ments to Markham. (Markham’s sister city in China), Asia Forum, and Hong Kong cludes a priority focus on China, Led by Mayor Frank Scar- Xiamen, Huadu, Jiangmen, Forum. a country with one of the fastest pitti, the delegation will include Zhongshan, Foshan, Nanhai, For updates, contact Senior growing economies in the world Markham companies and and Hong Kong. Planned ac- Business Development and Canada’s second-largest institutions in the high-tech, real tivities include plenary sessions, Officer Sandra Tam, trading partner. estate, healthcare and financial investment forums, business [email protected] Markham has a long history services sectors. The delegation meetings and visits to science of developing economic, busi- will travel to Beijing, Wuhan and technology parks. One of

2 Markham Thri ves 2015 | ONE U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman salutes Markham for innovation n December, Mayor Scarpitti Pan Am Centre, as well as and Markham Council the Canadian headquarters of I welcomed U.S. Ambassador Qualcomm, AMD and Allstate to Canada Bruce Heyman; Insurance. he was accompanied by U.S. In his speech to Markham Consul General Jim Dickmeyer. Council, the Ambassador Ambassador Heyman met with referred to Markham as, “a city Mayor Scarpitti and Markham that exemplifies innovation” business leaders including IBM and that “is a driving force Canada VP Pat Horgan. Ambas- in the economic partnership U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman signed the City of Markham’s guest book sador Heyman then spent the between our two nations.” before he and Mayor met with local business leaders. day visiting Markham’s new

Meet the new Markham City Council ollowing the municipal elections last fall, Markham Front row (from left): Regional Councillor F City Council welcomed se- Nirmala Armstrong; Ward 4 Councillor veral returning councillors and Karen Rea; Ward 6 Councillor Amanda Collucci; some who are new to the role. Ward 1 Councillor Valerie Burke. Middle As well, several Committees of row: Regional Councillor Joe Li; Ward 7 Council changed chairs. The Councillor Logan Kanapathi; Mayor Frank new Chair of the Economic Scarpitti; Regional Councillor Jim Jones; Ward Development Committee is 8 Councillor Alex Chiu. Back row: Ward 3 Ward 8 Councillor Alex Chiu; Councillor Don Hamilton; Ward 5 Councillor Ward 2 Councillor Alan Ho Colin Campbell; Deputy Mayor Jack Heath; will act as Vice Chair of this Ward 2 Councillor Alan Ho. committee.

Markham welcomes Vietnam’s Ambassador to Canada n April 2, Mayor Scarpitti the meeting, Ambassador To was hosted a special breakfast provided with a learning tour of O meeting to greet the Re- the newly expanded Markham public of Vietnam Ambassador Stouffville Hospital. Dr. George to Canada, To Anh Dung. The Arnold, head of the MHS meeting helped Markham and Innovation Unit, and his team Vietnam build an international showcased the hospital’s special relationship to facilitate future medical units and innovative At the Markham Civic Centre (from left): Counsellor Mr. Xuan Anh trade and investment opportuni- healthcare programs to demon- Nguyen, Embassy of Vietnam; Dr. Arnold George, Markham Stouffville ties. strate the delivery of a successful Hospital; Pat Horgan, VP, IBM Canada; Mayor Frank Scarpitti; Invited business guests net- Canadian heathcare model. Vietnam Ambassador To Anh Dung; David Richardson, Sr. Project worked and exchanged relevant Manager, MMM Group; and Jim Kerr, President, Parsons Canada. business information. Following

Markham Thri ves 2015 | ONE 3 AMD takes gaming to new Clipwire Games is building levels This graphics chip maker uses innovations that change the way we look at everything from simula- great games in Markham tions, entertainment, education, social media, travel Clipwire Games has built several games for mobile and medicine to real estate, eCommerce and more. devices and Facebook over the past six years.

MD designs and integrates AMD announced an initiative to lipwire Games first es- technology that powers deliver the best possible virtual re- tablished itself as a pioneer A millions of intelligent devic- ality (VR) experience for develop- in social gaming by integrat- es, including personal computers, ers and users through new AMD C ing the Facebook API into its tablets, game consoles and cloud technologies and alliances. Today, products. The company was servers that define the new era leading companies such as Oculus among the first to deliver a highly of surround computing. AMD are driving awareness for VR in a social gaming experience using solutions enable people every- variety of visually compelling sce- Facebook’s massive social graph. where to realize the full potential narios including gaming, movies, social media, and travel. AMD introduced AMD LiquidVR™, a set of innovative technologies focused on enabling Since establishing its studio in Markham, Clipwire Games of their favourite devices and ap- exceptional VR content develop- has grown with the audience plications to push the boundaries ment for AMD hardware, im- and technology, building bigger, of what is possible. proved comfort in VR applications more immersive gaming experi- The expert staff at AMD’s by facilitating performance, and ences across more platforms. Markham headquarters are respon- plug-and-play compatibility with Today, Clipwire Games continues sible for designing the graphics VR headsets. The innovation will to build products for the web technology in today’s leading help address obstacles in content, (including Facebook), as well as video game consoles, comfort and compatibility that publishing mobile versions of its laptops and worksta- together can take the industry a products, which are available on tions around the major step closer to true, lifelike both iOS and Android. world. presence across VR games, applica- Clipwire’s most recent release At the recent tions and experiences. – Redshift – is an intense, 3D Game Developer For more on the company, space-action game. In addition Conference in go to amd.com to Redshift, players can also play San Francisco, Critter Conquest, a vibrant base- building, combat game; Wild

4 Markham Thri ves 2015 | ONE Among the growing sectors of high technology in Markham, one of the most flourishing has been the gaming industry. From virtual reality innovations to excellence in 3D and mobile apps, Markham companies are outplaying their competition. Learn more here and on page 6. Game Hive rises above the

crowd of game makers Founded in 2009, Game Hive is a pioneer in creating the best game experiences across multiple mobile platforms, combining Clipwire Games is building the unique elements of interactivity and connectivity. great games in Markham he first mobile game Mark can say that.Game downloads are Wang and his Game Hive free. Game Hive’s revenues come Clipwire Games has built several games for mobile co-founders, Steven Wang T from two sources: play-enhancing devices and Facebook over the past six years. and Chris Doan, invented, “was in-app purchases, and reward- something to do together when based advertising. “We’re very West Town, a town-building game we weren’t working,” Mark lipwire Games first es- careful not to overload the user set in the old West; and Hot Slots, remembers. “It was a room-escape tablished itself as a pioneer with annoying ads. Instead, if they a slot-machine simulation game. game we called ‘Antrim Escape.’ in social gaming by integrat- choose to watch a short advertis- ing the Facebook API into its Clipwire Games has developed ing video, they’re rewarded with products. The company was a proprietary software engine over experience credits.” among the first to deliver a highly the past several years that it uses A quality gaming experience is social gaming experience using in all its products. This engine paramount to the development We had no thought about Facebook’s massive social graph. allows Clipwire to build and team – and key to Game Hive’s forming a company. The first publish its own games with much huge word-of-mouth success. “As iPhone had just come out, and faster development cycles and artists and gamers, we want to we thought it would be fun to extremely efficient teams. make the games look amazing and develop a video game specifically The group plans on releasing be very addictive to play,” Mark Since establishing its studio designed for the touch screen de- four new products in 2015. explains. The company focuses on in Markham, Clipwire Games vice. It seemed to be the future.” For details, go to hiring talented young program- has grown with the audience That set the stage for several hit clipwiregames.com mers and artists, usually fresh out and technology, building bigger, franchises that followed: Beat the of university. “Fungeering” is the more immersive gaming experi- Boss, Battle Run and Tap Titans. term these young developers like ences across more platforms. “Our games now log about two to use. Today, Clipwire Games continues million players a day,” reports For more, go to gamehive.com to build products for the web Mark. Since 2010, the studio’s (including Facebook), as well as apps have been downloaded more publishing mobile versions of its than 100 million times. Only a products, which are available on handful of Canadian companies both iOS and Android. Clipwire Games’ latest release, Clipwire’s most recent release Redshift, allows players to seamlessly The Game Hive team believes the – Redshift – is an intense, 3D play across many platforms. Players can start a session on their computer best way to engage players is to be space-action game. In addition at home, and pick up where they left super passionate about games and to Redshift, players can also play off on their phone or tablet. game culture. Critter Conquest, a vibrant base- building, combat game; Wild

Markham Thri ves 2015 | ONE 5

Sulon Technologies’ Cortex seamlessly fuses

virtual and augmented reality Founded by Dhan Balachand, this Markham-based start-up has produced a virtual reality headset that brings digital content into the physical world – and vice versa. training; engineers can sculpt their prototypes in 3D at ulon Technologies is a hardware company seek- any scale; and average consumers can immerse themselves ing to solve the problems of the virtual reality (VR) more deeply than ever before into their movie or video S space by combining the power of virtual reality and game of choice. A developer kit of the Cortex will ship the versatility of augmented reality into a single, stand- this year and can be pre-ordered alone headset: the Cortex™. at sulontechnologies.com In addition to its vivid, immersive VR displays, the Cortex features highly sensitive 3D sensors and scanners that constantly detect the user’s physical surroundings and integrate them into their virtual environment. This allows Cortex wearers to freely and intuitively navigate virtual worlds without fear of bumping into anything in the real one. The Sulon Cortex can be applied to a wide array of fields, from entertainment to defense to medical science. Medical students can use the Cortex to perform surgery on virtual patients; soldiers experience immersive combat

Sulon’s Cortex headset is the only completely untethered, self-contained VR headset on the market. The Cortex’s processing power is all compactly contained within the headset itself.

Mobis Parts Canada builds a major distribution centre ice Commercial Group held a will be located east of Highway 404 ground-breaking ceremony last and north of Elgin Mills Road. At R fall for Mobis Parts Canada Cor- the building site for the ceremony poration. This distribution centre will were (fom left): Michael Rice, service the auto parts warehousing President, Rice Commercial Group; and distribution requirements of Mayor Frank Scarpitti; Jonghwan Mobis in Canada, including support Park, General Manager Canada, for Hyundai and Kia dealer networks. TFT Global; and James Roh, The 550,000-square-foot warehouse Project Director, Mobis Canada.

6 Markham Thri ves 2015 | ONE InnoVision a brand leader in the fashion business From its early successes with InnoVision Headwear to its celebrity-endorsed Nobis brand of premium outerwear, Markham-based InnoVision Holdings is earning a global reputation for excellence.

evin Au-Yeung shakes his counting). The most notable product that’s also head when he thinks is the Nobis line of high- technically superior K about following in his quality outerwear and acces- in every way.” It is so father’s footsteps. “My father sories – parkas, jackets, hats and superior that Nobis coats started in textiles in China scarves. Other labels include are becoming the winter more than 40 years ago. I never Fan Ink, started four years ago wear of choice for such thought I would be in this busi- with licensing rights in cloth- notables as Johnny Depp ness, too. I was an investment ing and collectibles for FIFA (who wrote the company banker. But here I am, a fashion World Cup, among other sports a thank-you letter), Ra- Mayor Frank Scarpitti congratulates entrepreneur, and I find it chal- bodies. “We have the exclusive chel McAdams, Daniel Kevin Au-Yeung, founder of InnoVision, on lenging and rewarding.” licence for the FIFA Women’s Craig, Pink, Bradley winning the 2014 ACCE Chinese Canadian World Cup event hap- Cooper, Collin Farrel, Entrepreneur Award – Best International pening here in Canada Jessica Biel, and many Business. In the same year, Kevin was named one of the Top 10 Overseas this year,” says Kevin. others. Jiangmen Youths by officials of Jiangmen, Kevin directs the company Other licensing agreements are Markham affords China, which has a friendship city from its Markham headquarters, in the works. InnoVision “a very relationship with Markham. with offices in Brazil, Germany “I called the company Inno- diverse and skilled staff,” and Hong Kong. He and his Vision to remind myself that confirms Kevin. “It’s not with different cultures. That brother Norman oversee the the way to stay competitive in just that our people speak one kind of talent pool is hard to production and distribution of business is to be truly innova- or more of eight languages; it’s find anywhere else.” several clothing brands, selling tive. With Nobis, this means that many of them have worked For details on the company in a total of 30 countries (and we have a very fashion-forward internationally. They’re in tune and its brands, go to ivcorp.com

BlueSky Technology Partners develops best-in-class web solutions in Markham BlueSky’s team is bringing forward-thinking, enterprise-class B2B and B2C eCommerce solutions to all of Canada through offerings that are tightly aligned to IBM’s market-leading Commerce portfolio.

nionville may be known that encourages quality and col- around: eCommerce, as quaint and historic, but laboration as well as personal digital marketing Markham Ward 3 Councillor Don Hamilton welcomed BlueSky Technology Partners to U that doesn’t mean business and professional growth,” Irwin services, analytics, Unionville during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the area is behind the times. said. content management, at the company’s new office in the Planing U.S.-based BlueSky Technology “BlueSky’s success is mea- mobile, strategic Mill. From left to right: BlueSky CEO Todd Partners, an eCommerce con- sured by our clients’ success,” consulting, and Irwin, Sr. Consultant Monica Vaid, Manager sultancy, recently established the CEO added. “We have a creative services. With of Canadian Operations Rob LeRoux, Councillor Hamilton, Sr. Consultant David its Canadian headquarters in laser-focused approach targeting consultants across MacBride, COO Eric Warne, and Solution Unionville. solutions that make a positive the United States and Architect Dan Cooper. BlueSky CEO Todd Irwin impact and provide key-metric Canada, BlueSky is attributes the company’s tre- returns for our clients. It is helping both B2B and and has achieved Premier Busi- mendous growth to its ability this combined employee-and- B2C organizations sell their ness Partner status with IBM. to exceed client and employee client-centric focus that we will products to millions of people For details, visit blueskytp.com expectations. “Our success as a extend to BlueSky Canada.” worldwide. consultancy is a direct reflec- BlueSky implements solu- BlueSky focuses on IBM tion of the quality of people tions that provide an engaging Commerce solutions, is Smart- that make up BlueSky. We’ve and consistent end-to-end user er Commerce Authorized, established an environment experience, including offerings Smarter Commerce Accredited,

Markham Thri ves 2015 | ONE 7 Heritage main streets enhance quality of life for all who live, work and shop in Markham The City continues to invest in planning and infrastructure improvements to its designated heritage conservation districts.

Markham Village renewal Unionville master plan xtensive renovations to the Safati, Chair of the Markham he heritage village of and expresses a set of possible E paving and streetscaping Village BIA and a business TUnionville now has a solutions specific to Main along the commercial por- owner in the village. “We invite cohesive master plan for its Street Unionville’s unique tion of Main Street Markham everyone to rediscover our future development. Following context. The City will develop are now complete, offering street and shop in our unique an in-depth investigation and a Secondary Plan based on residents and visitors alike a stores and businesses.” public consultation process, this vision to implement the fresh new look for the more- the plan lays out a 20-year solutions discussed.” The plan than 200-year-old district. The vision for guiding the growth considers such business and improvements have attracted of , as community needs as enhancing new businesses to the street. well as adjacent sections of retail opportunities, augment- Existing merchants, who perse- Highway 7 and related access ing public spaces, reimagin- vered through several months points. ing existing community and of construction, are pleased to The plan was received by sports facilities, and providing see traffic returning to normal. Markham Council in early workable, sustainable parking “Main Street Markham has 2015. Its goals are stated in the solutions. been revitalized with new Vision Book’s introduction: For details, visit markham.ca, patios, new stores and a brand “This Vision Plan takes a high- mainstreetmarkham.com and new street while maintaining level, long-range view of how unionvilleinfo.com our heritage area and our to approach many intercon- unique character,” said Behzad nected issues in a cohesive way,

Improvements to Main Street Markham include new paving, benches, streetlights and designated street parking zones. Commercial trucks are no longer permitted through the village portion of Highway 48.

A summer of celebrations in and Unionville Markham Main St. Farmers’ Market Pan Am Games & Parapan Games May 9 – October 10 July 7 – 25, August 8 – 13 (Markham Unionville Festival Pan Am Centre, Angus Glen Golf Club) June 5 – 7 Markham GlobalFest Stiver Mill Farmers’ Market July 11 – 19 (beside Pan Am Centre) June 14 – October 11 Markham Jazz Festival Thursday Nights at the Bandstand August 13 – 16 (Unionville Main St.) June 18 – August 27 (Unionville) Markham Auto Classic A rendering prepared by urban planning consultants Torti Gallas and Partners, taken from the Main Street Unionville Master Plan Vision Book, Markham Village Music Festival September 13 shows an aerial view of an enhanced district, with plans for potential infill June 19 & 20 Doors Open Markham September 19 development and structured parking, among many design ideas.

Markham is open for business. Contact the Economic Development Department. tel 905.475.4878 fax 905.475.4888 [email protected] 8 Markham Thri ves 2015 | ONE