Burlington company lands contract with the Canadian Coast Guard

Thordon Bearings Inc. in Burlington, Ont., has sealed the deal with the Government of Canada.

MP Karina Gould has announced a $339,000 contract between the company and the Canadian Coast Guard for its marine safety seal that stands as a first of its kind in the country.

It’s part of the Build in Canada Innovation program that tests products as a first buyer and provides feedback to help get them to market.

Company president Terry McGowan says this partnership has helped to commercialize what is known as the SeaThigor marine mechanical face seal.

“We knew there would be a market but finding a ship owner who will say, ‘Yes, I’ll try it on my big ship — that can be a problem,” he said.

The SeaThigor is a fail-safe device that engages if the primary seal on a propeller shaft is damaged.

Typically, if damage occurs, a ship can no longer move but with this product, marine vessels can return to port for repair.

According to McGowan, government testing of the SeaThigor is just around the corner with one seal already at Heddle Marine in Hamilton, awaiting installation.

“We’re using this reference,” he says, “to sell those seals to other customers, and other customers don’t want to be the first.”

McGowan says having government backing has already helped facilitate sales.

One of those contracts is with Disney cruise ships where McGowan says Thordon bearings systems are already in place.

The company has been selling other mechanical marine systems to countries around the world for years.

However, the successful launch of this product into the market will make a difference for the company, in terms of growth, he says, as well as for customers.

“There are customers out there who want to buy everything from one vendor and now, they can do that.”