Fredericton’s C-Therm Technologies helps NASA and the U.S. Navy measure heat

Jarett Nickerson, commercial director, (left), and Adam Harris, managing director, of C-Therm Technologies.

Fredericton’s C-Therm Technologies Ltd. has an important job: they make sure your long johns keep you warm and cozy during cold Canadian winters.

The lab instrumentation company was established in 2007 and is now a global leader in measuring thermal conductivity. C-Therm Technologies developed an innovative product that’s used by NASA and the United States Navy and large corporations such as Adidas and the 3M Company.

The sensor technology even helps prevent your cell phone from overheating so you don’t miss an important phone call.

Adam Harris, Managing Director of C-Therm Technologies, says the sensor is about the size of a coin and can be used to measure the thermal conductivity of just about anything.

When Enrique Jackson, a NASA scientist, congratulated C-Therm Technologies on the technology, the company knew they must be doing something right. Jackson said C-Therm Technologies’ instrument “provides unequivocal results” and gave it a 10 out of 10.

“We’re the best in the world at what we do and we are doing it from Fredericton,” Harris says.

Innovative Canadian companies like C-Therm Technologies have a lot to offer the world, and new trade agreements that Canada has in place with trading partners around the world are the bridges to these opportunities.

This patented technology is exported to 45 countries around the world, including Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) countries. Harris says that agreement will make it easier for the company to export into some of their largest international markets, such as Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico and Vietnam.

“These international trade agreements can be very helpful in reducing barriers to us,” Harris says. “It’s really important that we focus on improving economic ties with other countries.”

C-Therm Technologies has 25 employees and plans to double in size over the next three years. Developing new products and strengthening trade relationships with Asia-Pacific region countries that are part of the CPTPP will help them get there, Harris says.

Harris says tools like Global Affairs Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service are also instrumental in helping C-Therm Technologies expand into new international markets.

At one point, the company tried to export its thermal conductivity sensor to Brazil, but was unable to do so.

Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service helped C-Therm Technologies make the connections they needed. Years later, C-Therm Technologies continues to export to Brazil.

Many companies across Canada have experienced similar success with the Trade Commissioner Service, as it helps them navigate different customs and cultures and make key contacts in those markets, all free of charge.