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Danatec | 30 Years | 1

In the last five years, Danatec Educational Services Ltd. has been on a growth spurt. Although it might be more accurate to call it a surge. Since president and CEO Alina Martin took

the reins from her father, Ron Martin, in 2010, the company has significantly increased its product line. Staff has grown from eight employees to 20. And revenue has more than doubled.

Martin’s entrepreneurial passion to grow the business has seen the pace of output accelerate. Instead of developing one new product annually, Danatec now releases between two and six each year, a change driven by rapidly advancing technology.

“How do you build education and deliver it through a different medium? And do it better than it has ever been done before?” asks Martin. Tucked into Danatec’s long boardroom table, she leans forward in her black leather chair. “That’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Danatec Educational Services has been Canada’s leading provider of workplace safety training materials for over 30 years. Headquartered in Calgary, the privately held organization offers expertise in a tight niche that includes TDG training, WHMIS training and compliance tools. There are Self-Teach ™ programs, online training, handbooks, reference manuals, even apps for iPhones and iPads. Products include training in everything from defensive driving, industrial ergonomics and hazard awareness.

“We build exceptional material. Period.” Martin nods to emphasize her point. “The word mediocre does not exist here.”

Unlike every other safety company, Danatec offers purely educational materials. They do not train. Instead of competing with instructors, Danatec works with them to build the materials they need to deliver the training. To do that, Danatec has subject matter experts on staff for specialties like dangerous goods and WHMIS. Instructional designers who study adult learning incorporate interactive absorption into Danatec materials,

By Tiffany Burns

Celebrating 30 Years

Alina Martin, CEO, DanatecAlina Martin, CEO, Danatec

83

Danatec | 30 Years | 2

requiring user engagement in accordance with their findings on how adults learn.

“When we produce a course, it is as close to regulatory rules as you can get. It is the best training in the industry.”

A knowledge base of 30 years is the foundation that backs up the company’s current technology boost. Danatec was founded in 1985, a hybrid name culled from “dangerous goods” and “technology.” Alina’s father, Ron Martin, purchased 50 per cent of Danatec in 1991. Four years later, he bought the remainder of the company. When he retired in 2010, Alina Martin was vice president of sales and marketing. She bought the majority of the company shares.

“It’s been an interesting transition,” she says. “I think a lot of family businesses just remain the way they are when the children take over, but our family is a good example of how succession can work exceptionally well.”

The Danatec leadership transition worked because all the parts fit. Serendipity was on the family’s side. Her father was ready to leave, and after working at the company for years, Alina not only wanted to take over – she was more than capable of doing the job.

“Everyone got what they wanted. I wanted to grow and build the business. My father was ready to leave and cash out. So it worked well.”

| Offset | Digital | Specialty | Bindery | Mailing | 2507 12 ST NE, Calgary, AB 403-250-9510 www.mcara.com

Congratulations to Danatec on your30th Anniversary!

Danatec | 30 Years | 3

But the last five years have not been without challenges. In June 2012, her father was suddenly and unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer. He died just a few months later, in November.

“That was a devastating time. He was a wonderful family man and leader. The world has truly lost an extraordinary person.”

Despite her family tragedy, Martin is practical as she moves forward.

“We don’t rest on our laurels. It is not lost on me that one day the phone might not ring. You have to do everything in your power so that doesn’t happen.”

Martin is one of the few women leading a company in an industry dominated by men. But it has never held her back. In fact, in 2013, Profit Magazine and Chatelaine named her one of the top 100 female entrepreneurs in Canada. Then again in 2014, she was recognized as No. 32 out of Canada’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs in Canadian Business Magazine.

For Danatec and its products, the awards are too many to count. One single product line, GHS Hazcom (introduced with the launch of their U.S. division in 2013), won seven national and international awards.

VANCOUVER CALGARY EDMONTON SASKATOON REGINA LONDON KITCHENER-WATERLOO GUELPH

TORONTO MARKHAM MONTRÉAL

Miller Thomson LLP

millerthomson.com

Added experience. Added clarity. Added value.

Growing Together.

Miller Thomson is proud to provide legal services to

Danatec.

Congratulations on your 30 years

of growth and success.

BusinessInCalgaryAd_Danatec_2.125x9.75.indd 1 3/13/2015 1:03:14 PM

Danatec | 30 Years | 2

requiring user engagement in accordance with their findings on how adults learn.

“When we produce a course, it is as close to regulatory rules as you can get. It is the best training in the industry.”

A knowledge base of 30 years is the foundation that backs up the company’s current technology boost. Danatec was founded in 1985, a hybrid name culled from “dangerous goods” and “technology.” Alina’s father, Ron Martin, purchased 50 per cent of Danatec in 1991. Four years later, he bought the remainder of the company. When he retired in 2010, Alina Martin was vice president of sales and marketing. She bought the majority of the company shares.

“It’s been an interesting transition,” she says. “I think a lot of family businesses just remain the way they are when the children take over, but our family is a good example of how succession can work exceptionally well.”

The Danatec leadership transition worked because all the parts fit. Serendipity was on the family’s side. Her father was ready to leave, and after working at the company for years, Alina not only wanted to take over – she was more than capable of doing the job.

“Everyone got what they wanted. I wanted to grow and build the business. My father was ready to leave and cash out. So it worked well.”

| Offset | Digital | Specialty | Bindery | Mailing | 2507 12 ST NE, Calgary, AB 403-250-9510 www.mcara.com

Congratulations to Danatec on your30th Anniversary!

Danatec | 30 Years | 3

But the last five years have not been without challenges. In June 2012, her father was suddenly and unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer. He died just a few months later, in November.

“That was a devastating time. He was a wonderful family man and leader. The world has truly lost an extraordinary person.”

Despite her family tragedy, Martin is practical as she moves forward.

“We don’t rest on our laurels. It is not lost on me that one day the phone might not ring. You have to do everything in your power so that doesn’t happen.”

Martin is one of the few women leading a company in an industry dominated by men. But it has never held her back. In fact, in 2013, Profit Magazine and Chatelaine named her one of the top 100 female entrepreneurs in Canada. Then again in 2014, she was recognized as No. 32 out of Canada’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs in Canadian Business Magazine.

For Danatec and its products, the awards are too many to count. One single product line, GHS Hazcom (introduced with the launch of their U.S. division in 2013), won seven national and international awards.

VANCOUVER CALGARY EDMONTON SASKATOON REGINA LONDON KITCHENER-WATERLOO GUELPH

TORONTO MARKHAM MONTRÉAL

Miller Thomson LLP

millerthomson.com

Added experience. Added clarity. Added value.

Growing Together.

Miller Thomson is proud to provide legal services to

Danatec.

Congratulations on your 30 years

of growth and success.

BusinessInCalgaryAd_Danatec_2.125x9.75.indd 1 3/13/2015 1:03:14 PM

Danatec | 30 Years | 4

www.danatec.com

But even as the framed magazine covers fill the walls and awards line the shelves, more satisfaction at Danatec is derived from giving rather than gaining. Last year the company formed Danatec Gives, complete with its own website and Twitter handle. Danatec had already been making many monetary donations as part of

their initiative to give back to the community, but now the company organizes the employees to actively take part in a charity each quarter. Recent efforts have included cooking dinner for 56 people at Ronald McDonald House, building a home with Habitat for Humanity and supporting a family each Christmas.

“Money is absolutely useless unless you share it,” Martin says emphatically. “It serves no purpose.”

The CEO of Danatec practices what she preaches with Hundred Dollar Fridays. Stealing a page from her father’s handbook, Martin will occasionally choose a random day to hand out big bills to her staff.

Her fun approach belies a more serious sentiment: Martin believes her employees are the heart of her organization. Besides offering flextime and making sure the office just off 114th Avenue SE is stylishly decorated, the fun ideas keep flowing. A Mad Man-esque drinks cart loaded with liquor sits in the hallway, ready to be wheeled wherever a celebration is needed.

“We celebrate a lot here,” she says, laughing. “Birthdays, anniversaries, you name it.”

Martin believes in anticipating needs before they are voiced. Particularly those of Danatec clients. In 2011, the company built the industry’s first TDG and WHMIS app for iPhones and iPads.

“We understand the web and technology,” says Martin.

It is also what she believes will drive the success of Danatec well into the future.

“Technology is going to continue to evolve at a rapid rate. We have to keep figuring out how to deliver, modify and change the way safety training is being delivered. We ask hard questions all the time. The future is exciting.” •

Amaranth Whole Foods Market | 20 Years | 1

Ken Klatt, founder of Amaranth Foods, is a man with a mission: to promote healthy foods, nutritional awareness and environmental responsibility.

That mission has turned into a multimillion-dollar operation, in the form of four eco-conscious, sustainably rooted stores in Alberta. Amaranth Markets offer natural and allergy friendly groceries, premium vitamins, food-based supplements, specialty items and quality body care.

Amaranth is actually an ancient grain, flexible and hardy enough to grow in both alpine areas and low-lying valleys. Not only can the leaves be used, so can the seeds. That versatility inspired Klatt as he honed his concept for a business that would reinvent the way to eat in a healthy, mindful manner.

By Tiffany Burns

You are what you eat.

Amaranth Foods Celebrates 20 Years of Healthy Living

1995 2015