On Wednesday, November 9, the Surrey Board of Trade recognized eight winners at their
24th Annual Surrey Business Excellence Awards, with Presenting Sponsors TD Bank and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, and Supporting Sponsor Century Group. Over 450 people were in attendance as the event was brought back to an in-person crowd with Master of Ceremonies Jas Johal of CKNW.
“The Surrey Board of Trade focused on the strength and innovation within every entrepreneur to take an idea and use it as the foundation for building a business. They are inspirational – from the very small business to the large business to the not for profit organization to the very innovative student entrepreneurs,” said Anita Huberman, President and CEO, Surrey Board of Trade.
The judging team’s evaluation assessed the following competencies: organizational profile, leadership, strategy development and planning, customer focus and market knowledge, employee learning and people focus, process management, supplier/partner focus, community involvement, and overall business performance.
2022 Surrey Board of Trade Surrey Business Excellence Award Winners:
Business Person of the Year: Dr. Greg Thomas, G3 Consulting Ltd.
Sponsored by Hamilton Duncan
Dr. Greg Thomas is President and Founder of G3 Consulting Ltd., offering environmental research and assessment services with offices in Surrey and in Thunderbay, Ontario. He leads a team to provide solutions to complex environmental, risk or resource-based problems. His ecological knowledge and broad experience in development and infrastructure related to water, oil and gas, LNG, pipelines, and natural resources have made him a sought-after thought leader. He is the current Chair of the BC Chamber of Commerce. He debates on government policies at the BC and Canadian Chambers of Commerce, advancing policy initiatives for the betterment of business. He volunteers as a regional science fair judge, and a member of KPU Environmental Protection Technology Steering Committee.
Business Excellence Winner with 1-10 Employees: Ace Community College
Sponsored by Abbotsford International Airport
Ace Community College is an Industry Training Authority and Private Training Institutions Branch accredited trade school committed to providing a high-quality learning environment for all students. Founded in 2005, they provide training programs and hands-on skills for specific career paths and supports their students and alums throughout their education and employment. Their primary goal is to provide practical, real-world education that bridges the gap between theory and application with their state-of-the-art facility. Faculty members are professionals with extensive experience and expertise, ensuring that students have a positive experience from the first encounter to graduation and beyond. Their team works collectively to provide an over 90% placement rate. Ace is committed to providing quality education and job support for its students and is proud to offer red seal training in all major trades.
Business Excellence Winner with 11 – 40 Employees: CIMtech Mfg. Inc.
Sponsored by FortisBC
Established in 2006, CIMtech is a hydrogen fuel cell components and assemblies manufacturer, providing manufacturing services from proof of concept to scaled manufacturing for the last 15 years. Their total turnkey solutions are paving the way for the development and manufacturing of fuel cell and electric vehicle components and assemblies. The company has recently doubled their footprint in Surrey by acquiring a 10,000 square-foot advanced manufacturing facility. This expansion will increase CIMtech’s operational capabilities by 200%, increasing service levels for their global customers in the green energy sector. Their innovative processes led to their nomination as a Top 10 Manufacturing Company in Canada. Their products are used by global players like Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, and FedEx. CIMtech is seeing exponential business growth with revenue increasing 50% year over year. With the worldwide demand for green energy growing, their expertise in engineering and global manufacturing is a major asset for their customers to launch new green energy products cost effectively.
Business Excellence Winner with 41+ Employees: Aplin & Martin Consultants Ltd.
Sponsored by MNP
Aplin & Martin Consultants, founded in 1968, began with a handful of engineers and surveyors and has since grown in size, reputation and geography. It is a division of Aplin & Martin Ventures Ltd., a private employee-owned multi-disciplinary firm that provides civil engineering, architecture, planning and land survey services. Headquartered in Surrey, the company has expanded with a second location in Surrey City Centre and offices in Kelowna, Vancouver, Nanaimo, Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto, employing over 250 people. Since the consultancy’s inception, they continue to play a significant role in cultivating Surrey’s rapid growth in becoming one of Canada’s largest municipalities. From their work in designing the critical infrastructure of landmarks such as Morgan Creek, Grandview Heights – Darts Hill and Redwood Heights, the Anniedale-Tynehead neighbourhood and now the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension, Aplin & Martin has forged growth for the Surrey of yesterday, today and for generations to come.
Not-for-Profit of the Year: Surrey Crime Prevention Society
Sponsored by Manning Elliott
Established in 1984, the Surrey Crime Prevention Society is dedicated to crime prevention and public safety for Surrey. They offer unique programs such as community safety tours, traffic safety, speed watch distracted driving, citizens community safety watch, the LIFT high school program, youth mentorship, transit watch, and community enhancements, delivered by over 500 volunteers. Volunteers work collaboratively with the City of Surrey, Surrey RCMP, Surrey Police Service, Metro Vancouver Transit Police, ICBC, Surrey Fire Department, Surrey Libraries, Surrey Parks and Recreation, Surrey Schools, local businesses, residents of Surrey and other not for profit groups. Notable projects include Surrey Fire Department Home Safe Program, Surrey Schools Civic Pride Program, Pedestrian Safety Campaigns, Think of Me Back to School Program, Distracted Driving Campaigns and the Speed Watch Campaign.
New Business of the Year: Living Water Dentistry
Sponsored by KSW Lawyers
Living Water Dentistry, established in January 2020, is led by the guiding principles of ethics, excellence and experience. With significant investment in state-of-the-art technology, Living Water Dentistry has grown into one of the most trusted dental care providers in the Lower Mainland. From Invisalign to implants, cosmetic fillings to laser dentistry, complex wisdom teeth surgeries to treating patients with dental anxiety, the team at Living Water Dentistry leaves no stone unturned and offers the full spectrum of dental therapy. Some of their notable community initiatives are providing financial support to the CKNW Kids’ Fund, annual participation in international dental missions to India, supporting Light House Harbour Ministries, and providing customized care packages for referrals from the Ministry of Health’s Healthy Kids Program and special needs patients, new students, and new immigrant families in the community. These social impacts are the heart and soul of what they do at Living Water Dentistry.
Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Ivneet Bains, Math4Me Learning
Sponsored by the KPU Melville School of Business
Ivneet Bains is the Owner and Founder of Math4Me. This tutorial service opened in 2010 and provides students with access to convenient and reliable tutoring while focusing on the student’s school curriculum, course load and individual needs. After immigrating to Canada in 2007, Ivneet found his transition into this new country and curriculum to be difficult as he experienced bullying because of his accent. After overcoming the hardships of being an immigrant, he gained admission to UBC, where he began to recognize the struggles of students needing academic aid yet not being able to access them. This observation and passion for helping students in Surrey gave birth to Math4Me. Math4Me has grown significantly from one Surrey branch to over 100 locations across Canada and in the United States. Ivneet is a recipient of the prestigious UBC Major Entrance Scholarship and the BC Principals and Vice Principals Association Scholarship for his tireless commitment to learning and mentoring students to reach their true potential.
The event also saw the 7th Corporate Social Responsibility Recognition Award, sponsored by Surrey Digital Printing, presented to All of Oils, Wholesome Oils & Vinegars. This award was created to recognize a business working to improve the lives of their employees and to enhance the civic environment in which they operate, through participation in community programs, partnerships with community organizations, volunteering, educational and/or environmental initiatives, and/or for creating a positive environment for employees.
All of Oils, Wholesome Oils & Vinegars
All of Oils, established in 2012, is the Fraser Valley’s largest retailer of the world’s highest quality extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs), flavoured olive oils, specialty oils, balsamic vinegars, and flavoured balsamic vinegars. Many of their products are certified organic, gluten-free and kosher. Owners Kimm and Glenn take EVOO very seriously and pride themselves on making these high quality, exclusive products available at reasonable prices. All of Oils has two locations in South Surrey and Langley which feature products from local artisans. All of Oils hires staff of all abilities and is exceedingly proud of the inclusive employer award. They are committed to reducing their impact on the environment by using environmentally-friendly cups, spoons and paper bags, and deploying electric vehicles to carry out deliveries. They are a keen supporter of community organizations to assist the communities around them.
The Surrey Board of Trade thanks the corporate sponsors who made this important recognition event possible:
Presenting Sponsors: TD Bank and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority
Supporting Sponsor: Century Group
VIP Reception Sponsor: Grant Thornton LLP
Ice Bar Sponsor: Beedie
Entertainment Sponsor: Trans Mountain
Award Sponsors: Abbotsford International Airport, FortisBC, Hamilton Duncan, KPU Melville School of Business, KSW Lawyers, Manning Elliott, MNP and Surrey Digital Printing
Media Sponsors: 980 CKNW, Global BC and the Surrey NOW-Leader
Community Sponsors: A.S. Bubber and Associates, Elements Casino and the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel
Event Supporters: Glen Chua Media and SW Audio Visual
For further information, please contact Anita Huberman, President and CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade, at 604-634-0342 or anita@businessinsurrey.com.
