Kimberley Alpine Resort (Kimberley Conference Centre) – October 19-21, 2022
We respectfully acknowledge that for this event we will be gathering on the unceded territory of the Ktunaxa, who have occupied these lands for more than 10,000 years. We also acknowledge the financial support from ETSI-BC for helping fund part of the KORE Outdoor Rec-Tech Summit.
ABOUT THE SUMMIT
The Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Enterprise (KORE) Outdoor Rec-Tech Summit is Canada’s first-ever conference dedicated to the outdoor rec-tech manufacturing and product design sector. The summit will be held October 19-21, 2022 at the Kimberley Alpine Resort’s Conference Centre in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia and there will be an optional “stay and play” day on the 22nd for those who would like to explore and recreate.
Industry thought leaders and speakers will be giving presentations throughout the event and anybody interested in outdoor rec-tech manufacturing and product design in British Columbia, Alberta, Pacific Northwest and the U.S. Western States are invited to attend.
Meet The Speakers
Dustin Adams, CEO, We Are One Composites
Dustin Adams is the CEO of We Are One Composites in Kamloops and his presentation is about “Reshoring: Its Benefits and Limits. How to Build a Sustainable Business Around Your Capacity.”
Dustin says of the topic: “Many businesses in our sector have grown to immense size. What if you could think more locally, be competitive, and have a large customer base that would allow your ideas and business to prosper? What is your aim? And is manufacturing in Canada something that will sustain that aim, or will you surpass this and end up having no option but to offshore your production? I will open up the path laid out for We Are One and how a diverse objective with a local focus has allowed us to grow rapidly while others focus on global domination.”
Megan Zeeb, Sustainability Professional
Megan Zeeb started her career working in the wine & spirits industry before changing gears to focus on her passion for sustainable business operations through Western Colorado University’s Outdoor Industry MBA program. She has since worked with REI, mountainFLOW eco-wax, and Out&Back Outdoor in a variety of capacities to further sustainability initiatives in the industry.
In her presentation Megan will address the topic of sustainability in ski manufacturing. She will highlight initiatives and opportunities happening across the ski category with a goal of fostering collective conversation and action towards scalable solutions in ski manufacturing and operations.
Cam Shute, Owner, Dark Horse Innovations
Cam Shute of Dark Horse Innovations worked for G3 for 18 years before setting up his own company that designs and engineers a variety of outdoor products. His presentation will be about “Sustainable Product Development and the Circular Economy.”
Cam says, “Many companies assume that making sustainable products just costs more and doesn’t offer other benefits. There are many concrete things we can do at the design stage to make a product more inherently sustainable. My talk will explore things we can do in design, what materials we should be thinking of using, and we’ll see some real world examples of companies doing these things right now. Our future is bright if we choose to focus on what we CAN do rather than everything we can’t.”
Cedric Eveleigh, Owner, LAL Bikes
Twenty-seven-year-old Cedric Eveleigh is the inventor of a completely redesigned mountain bike drivetrain called the Supre Drive and is the recipient of Pinkbike’s 2021 Innovation of the Year Award.
The drivetrain system replaces the hanging derailleur on mountain bikes, which was prone to damage, and it’s proved to be so popular, Cedric founded his own manufacturing company on BC’s Sunshine Coast called Lal Bikes. His presentation will be “From Basement to Boom Time: Things I Learned Commercializing a New MTB Drivetrain.”
“I’m stoked to be contributing to the improvement of mountain bikes so that the sport becomes even more awesome of an experience,” he says.
Rob Gomme, Co-founder, KUMA Outdoor Gear
Rob Gomme helped start Kuma Outdoor Gear in Jasper eight years ago and since then has seen 100% growth year over year thanks to developing what he calls a “Love Brand.”
“One of our underlying beliefs is people buy stories before they buy things,” Rob says. “It is so important that you tell your story as a brand. It is what identifies you from everyone else. A commodity has no story, it is just for sale. A brand tells its story so that consumers can identify emotionally throughout the buying process and long after when they are back around the campfire.”
Rob will be speaking about the importance of story branding, marketing, distribution and team building in the Canadian marketplace as well as supply chain management and financing.
Danielle Wiest, Mitacs Researcher
A born and raised Kootenay-ite, Danielle Wiest is a graduate of the Business Administration program at Selkirk College and has been working with KORE as a Mitacs grant research student with College of the Rockies and Selkirk, researching electric recreational vehicle technology trends.
She’s been exploring the many opportunities available for the rapidly growing e-rec industry here in the Kootenays and will be presenting her findings at the Summit and giving an in depth look at the trends and possibilities.
Kaj Gyr, Owner, FloWorks Design
Kaj Gyr has made his living as an inventor for 32 years and has licensed sports-related designs to companies such as K2, Black Diamond, Converse, and others. He is currently working on a number of inventions that will be manufactured in Nelson, British Columbia and which will compliment his current products made locally including several versions of the Slopedeck Snowskate, the NeoLuge toboggan, and the Bag Dryer, a unique eco-product that makes re-using plastic bags easier.
He will be joining representatives of NRC IRAP for a presentation as he has received funding from them for several projects including Glueless Climbing Skins and Slopedeck Snowskates.
Dave Damer & Bruce Hardy, Industrial Technology Advisors, NRC IRAP
Dave Damer and Bruce Hardy are Industrial Technology Advisors delivering the National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program in the Kootenay-Boundary Region. For 75 years NRC IRAP has provided innovation assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises at all stages of the innovation process, to help them build their innovation capacity.
Dave is a seasoned entrepreneur who recently joined NRC IRAP. With a degree in Computer Engineering and over 30 years’ experience working with building technology companies and focussing on Artificial Intelligence, SaaS, and telecommunications. Bruce has been assisting businesses with innovation for over 27 years, first with the Science Council of BC and now with NRC IRAP. He’s helped hundreds of companies from a wide range of industry sectors undertake R&D projects and prepare for financing and business growth. An avid skier and mountain biker, Bruce moved to Nelson in 1998 to deliver IRAP. Together with inventor and entrepreneur Kay Gyr, the trio will present about the various programs and resources that business owners can tap into to strengthen and grow the rec-tech sector in the Kootenays.
Dave Kasper, General Recycled
Dave Kasper is vice president of sales and product development at General Recycled, the only company in the world offering a closed-loop program for proper disposal of 100% non-biodegradable aramid garments (aka flame-resistant PPE apparel) at the end of their useful life cycle. The company is a 100% Made-in-Canada success story that owns a patent on the product and a patent is pending for their process.
Dave’s presentation will highlight their recycling process and the resulting recycled yarns, fabrics and garments. He will speak to the corporate paradigm shift required for proper disposal of used aramid garments and he will explain how recycled aramid fabrics and garments out-perform similar virgin products in the industrial workwear marketplace.
Jason Taylor, Chair, Selkirk Technology Access Centre
Jason Taylor developed the Advanced Manufacturing division of Selkirk College’s Applied Research and Innovation department and is the current chair of the Selkirk Technology Access Centre, a 9,000-sq-ft research lab housing over $2 million worth of advanced manufacturing equipment. His presentation will be “How Outdoor Gear Companies Can Access Futuristic Technology.”
Jason says of his talk, “If your business needs help prototyping, streamlining processes, or accessing new technologies and getting the related training, the Selkirk Technology Access Centre (STAC) is here for you. We help apply new technologies to workflows, prototype new designs, reverse engineer critical parts, find advanced technology solutions, and enhance manufacturing processes. STAC is your one-stop shop to access the advanced technologies you need to drive business innovation.”
Robert Button, Founder, Zoa Engineering
Robert Button of British Columbia-based Zoa Engineering will be speaking about Zoa’s first product, the PL1, a portable rope tow device for backcountry skiers and snowboarders. The device weighs 10.5 lbs (4.8kg), fits in a regular backpack, and can help users get twice as much vertical in a day. The PL1 has been in development for the last three years and a successful kickstarter campaign was launched in January. The team at Zoa is currently working on the production of the PL1 for their backers, with the goal of shipping out the first units before the start of the upcoming ski season.
Robert’s presentation will be geared at makers and entrepreneurs, and will cover the process of product development, crowdfunding, and production.
Richard Myerscough, CEO Ocean Rodeo & ALUULA
Richard Myerscough is a former Olympic athlete and founder of three companies in Victoria, BC . He is currently the CEO of two of them including Ocean Rodeo, which exports kiteboarding equipment around the globe, and Aluula Composites. The latter company was spun out of Ocean Rodeo in 2019 and a year later the first kites featuring Aluula Composites hit the market. They were 50% lighter and many times the strength of competing brands and as a result Ocean Rodeo tripled in revenue in one year.
Today, Aluula is the manufacturer of the world’s lightest and strongest composite materials and has caught the interest of businesses in many different industries including outdoor, aerospace, sailing, athletics, fashion and many more. His presentation is called, “The Phoenix rising: Ocean Rodeo and Aluula. Patent wars and all in innovation.”
Cole Bernier, Bowhead Corp.
Cole Bernier is an outdoor enthusiast who became a paraplegic in 2015 resulting from a workplace accident. Upon his search to get back into the outdoors post-injury, Cole discovered Bowhead Corp, a company that designs and manufactures adaptive e-bikes. Since 2019, Cole has become an integral part of the team, and has significantly contributed to the development of Bowhead’s product line.
Bowhead Corp. was founded in 2018 by Christian Bagg and Dean Miller with the goal of providing outdoor accessibility on an entirely new level. That year the flagship model, the “REACH,” was launched and two more models have since been added. His talk will be, “Through innovation and engineering, this is how companies can change the lives of people around the world.”
Anoush Poursartip, UBC Composites Knowledge Network
Anoush Poursartip is the co-director of the Composites Knowledge Network (CKN) based out of the University of British Columbia. The CKN mission is to translate world-class knowledge of composites manufacturing and design to Canadian industry quickly and effectively to benefit small businesses, their employees, and the communities they serve.
His talk is called “How the Composites Knowledge Network can support outdoor rec-tech manufacturing and product design in Canada” and it will share how the CKN currently works with BC-based and Canadian small and medium enterprises. He will focus on recreational technology companies, showing how they have improved their product design and manufacturing, and will invite discussion and feedback on what should be done next.
David Nagy, E-Commerce Canada
David Nagy has worked in the online marketing realm for the past 15 years with a wide variety of companies including GM and Virgin. He is the founder of eCommerce Canada and says that because over $200 billion worth of revenue is now being done in online sales, it’s important all businesses should get into web-based selling. But he stresses that “opening a Shopify account isn’t enough. This isn’t a Field of Dreams scenario because when you build it, they might not necessarily come.”
To help businesses find success through online sales, Nagy will be presenting about the three e-commerce indicators every small company must track.
Tracy Lydiatt, Founder, Sustainable Living School
Tracy Lydiatt holds a M.Sc in Strategic Leadership Towards Sustainability, is a 3x TEDx speaker, and an award-winning author of the personal sustainability guidebook Your Green Family Blueprint. She is the founder of Sustainable Living School, an online, on-demand education platform focused on providing sustainable living guidance for individuals to accelerate their positive impacts from home.
Sustainability for organizations is a multi-faceted topic that covers many major issues including GHG emissions, energy and water use, procurement, packaging, waste management, raw material selection, and employee health and wellbeing. Getting it “wrong” can dramatically impact your bottom line plus increase risks to organizational reputation, raise costs for insurance, and can make employee attraction and retention an uphill battle. So how do you know what to do first? In her talk, Tracy will cover key themes on how to operationalize sustainability, manage trade-offs and identify your biggest ROI steps. She’ll present a fundamental, science-based sustainability framework with world class success stories that have resulted from embedding sustainability at their core.
Steph Nitsch, Founder, Pallas Snowboards
Steph Nitsch is the founder of Pallas Snowboards and a master of the side hustle. With a career in branding and marketing for some of the world’s largest ski areas and outdoor brands, she’s used her experience to build one of the few woman-founded snowboard companies in the world, while still keeping her day job in brand communications.
Her presentation is called “The story of bootstrapping: pros, cons and opportunities of marketing a small business” and she’ll share her story about the challenges and opportunities she’s faced bringing a niche brand to market, and the one element that has helped her company build a loyal following on a shoestring budget: brand storytelling. She’ll discuss the importance of creating and defining your brand values so you can cut through the noise of your competitors and let your story do the talking.
David Harley, Founder, Valhalla Pure Outfitters
David Harley, founder of Valhalla Pure Outfitters will be giving a presentation about “How to always focus on you’re customers.”
From dishwasher and taxi driver to lifelong entrepreneur, David is one of the architects of Canada’s Outdoors industry. He was WL Gore’s 5th customer and he built Far West into North America’s largest Gore-Texx apparel producer during the 1980s based in Vernon BC. From 1990, David has built Valhalla Pure Outfitters into Canada’s largest premium outdoor retailer at $50 million annually.
Kamren Farr, Selkirk College
Entrepreneurs often struggle to attract the capital necessary to turn their idea into reality. Chasing early-stage investments can be time-consuming and is filled with hard-knocks, unknowns, and pit-falls. However, there are ways to speed up the journey and improve your chances of attracting investment to your company.
Kamren Farr of Selkirk College’s Business School will walk us through the investment ecosystem in the Kootenays and how to set your company finances up for long term success.
More Speakers Will Be Announced
Stay tuned as more speakers will be announced over the coming weeks.
Where & When
The KORE Outdoor Rec-Tech Summit will take place October 19-21, 2022 with an optional day to stay and play on the 22nd.
The event is being held at Kimberley Alpine Resort’s Conference Centre in Kimberley, British Columbia.
Accommodations
➡️ Conference goers can enjoy 20% off at Mountain Spirit Resort and Kimberley Lodging Company for any stay 3 nights or longer. Visit the websites for accommodation options but be sure to contact them via the call centre to have the discount applied: 778-481-8181.
➡️ The Larix Hotel in Kimberley is offering a 10% discount to Summit attendees. Call the hotel directly at 250-427-1500 to receive the discount.
➡️ Alpine Lodging has added a promo code of KORE2022 to their booking engine for all properties available Oct 17-23. Peruse the properties and book directly at alpinelodging.ca.
➡️ Simply Kimberley owns and operates resort-base chalets and condos in and around the city. Lodging options can be seen on their website and you can email info@kimberley.com for Summit attendee lodging rates.
➡️ Visit Tourism Kimberley’s “Stay” page for accommodation providers.
SPEAKERS
- Dustin Adams – “Reshoring: its Benefits & Limits”
- Rob Gomme – “Building a Brand”
- Cam Shute – “Sustainable Product Development & the Circular Economy”
- Cedric Eveleigh – “Inventing & Commercializing a New MTB Drivetrain”
- Megan Zeeb – “Sustainability in Ski Manufacturing”
- Danielle Wiest – “E-rec Trends & Opportunities in the Kootenays”
- Kaj Gyr, Dave Damer & Bruce Hardy – “The Industrial Research Assistance Program”
- Dave Kasper – “Recycling Flame-Resistant PPE Apparel”
- Jason Taylor – “How Outdoor Gear Companies Can Access Futuristic Technology”
- Robert Button – “Designing, Manufacturing & Marketing a Backcountry Personal Rope Tow”
- Richard Myerscough, “The Phoenix Rising: Ocean Rodeo and Aluula. Patent Wars and All-in Innovation.”
- Cole Bernier: “How Companies Can Change the Lives of People Around the World Through Innovation & Engineering.”
- Anoush Poursartip: “Supporting Outdoor Rec-tech Manufacturing & Product Design in Canada via UBC’s Composites Knowledge Network.”
- For more names and topics, press the button link below.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
When you register for the full symposium, the following is included:
- Two full days of sessions featuring knowledgeable and entertaining speakers and presentations
- Breakfast and lunch on each day of the symposium sessions
- Welcome reception and other social events
- An optional “stay and play” day on the 22nd with local experts
GETTING HERE
Kimberley is located in the southeastern corner of British Columbia, 16 km from the Canadian Rockies International Airport (YXC) in the city of Cranbrook. It’s also an easy, and beautiful, 4-hour drive from Calgary and a 10-hour drive from Vancouver.
STAY & PLAY
On Sunday October 22 there will be an optional day for attendees to enjoy the recreational amenities of Kimberley including:
- Mountain biking the Nature Park and Lois Creek
- Biking the Rails to Trails
- Shuttle biking Bootleg Mountain
- Indoor climbing at Spirit Rock Climbing Centre in Kimberley
- Outdoor climbing at St. Mary’s and Perry Creek
- Hiking in the Nature Park
- Fishing on St. Mary’s River
SCHEDULE
This is the schedule at a glance. For the full schedule, visit here or click the button below.
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OUR PARTNERS
Economic Trust of the Southern Interior BC
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from ETSI-BC for helping fund part of the KORE Outdoor Rec-Tech Summit.
Website: www.etsi-bc.ca
College of the Rockies
College of the Rockies is working with KORE in their efforts to develop and strengthen the outdoor industry in the Kootenay region.
Website: cotr.bc.ca
Selkirk Technology Access Centre
Selkirk College’s STAC enables the development of products and services for commercialization and the optimization of business processes resulting in decreased costs, increased efficiencies and enhanced productivity for industry clients.
Website: selkirk.ca/STAC
Kimberley Alpine Resort
Located in the Purcell Range of the Canadian Rockies, Kimberley Alpine Resort offers stunning scenery and a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere that lets you make the most of your getaway, whether in the winter or summer.
Website: skikimberley.com
Tourism Kimberley
From arts and culture to feasts, flavours, and festivity, Kimberley is a place to soak up magic moments with every turn.
Website: tourismkimberley.com
Kootenay Rockies Tourism
The region, in the southeast corner of British Columbia includes natural, clean, uncrowded activities and experiences that reflect the lifestyle, the culture and the community of Canada’s West.
Website: kootenayrockies.com
Cranbrook Tourism
As the basecamp of the Kootenay Rockies, Cranbrook has it all. From all the trails one can dream of to multiple award-winning golf courses all within a 20-minute drive from town, Cranbrook is an adventure and outdoor enthusiast’s paradise.
Website: cranbrooktourism.com
NELSON & DISTRICT CREDIT UNION
The NDCU’s mission is “Enriching lives locally.” Based on a history as an alternative to the banks, NDCU has grown from a modest beginning to an innovative, community-based financial co-operative. And the key to their success has been their membership.
Website: nelsoncu.com
CHOOSE CRANBROOK
Choose Cranbrook provides support to help your business establish and grow in this dynamic and innovative East Kootenay city. With access to important market research and business intelligence, they work actively to facilitate local connections to help support the establishment of your business inCranbrook. In addition, local partners and stakeholders in the region recognize the need to remain competitive against other rural cities in the province in order to attract business. Your company can benefit from a number of incentives offered by the regional, provincial, and federal organizations to help lower your costs and move your business to Cranbrook.
Website: choosecranbrook.ca
FUTURPRENEUR
Futurpreneur has been fueling the entrepreneurial passions of Canada’s young enterprise for two decades. They are the only national, non-profit organization that provides financing, mentoring and support tools to aspiring business owners aged 18-39. Our internationally recognized mentoring program hand matches young entrepreneurs with a business expert from a network of more than 2,400 volunteer mentors.
Website: futurpreneur.ca
District of Squamish
Squamish boasts a breathtaking location on the Sea-to-Sky Highway in the southwest corner of British Columbia. Nestled on the shores of Howe Sound at the base of the Coast Mountains, Squamish’s locale combined with a population of young, entrepreneurial people has resulted in a centre of activity that embraces continual evolution and development.
Website: investsquamish.ca
Kootenay Employment Services
Kootenay Employment Services is an organization that helps Kootenay residents with career counselling, training, certifications and job placement to achieve their employment goals.
Website: kes.bc.ca
MEET THE KORE
