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`http://www.ca1garyhera1d.com/story_print.html?id=9499559&sponsor=
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`Innovation — Groundbreaking innovation in Calgary
`BY CALGARY HERALD, CALGARY HERALD FEBRUARY 12, 2014
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`Dan Themig, co—founder and president of Packers Plus.
`Photograph by: Adrian Shellard, Calgary Herald
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`So where exactly does innovation come from?
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`Some would argue that people are born innovators, while others believe that people can develop the
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`skills and knowledge required to be an innovator. All agree, however, that innovation often starts with a
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`spark that ignites a passion to create. a drive to embark on a journey that is neither clearly marked nor
`easy.
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`That spark may be organic, personal and heartfelt, related to personal interest and experiences. Or.
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`that spark may be more pragmatic — based on the opportunity to solve a problem, creating a market-
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`driven solution. Wherever that intial spark comes from, innovation is regarded as the core of every
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`technology company, the fundamental building-block of ongoing success and sustainability.
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`PACKERS PLUS
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`Perhaps one ofthe greatest demonstrations of game-changing innovation developed in Calgary is that
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`of Packers Plus. Creators of the StackFRAC system, the first ball drop system used to complete
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`horizontal wells in multiple stages, the company has truly revolutionized the oil and gas industry.
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`Reflecting on the genesis of Packers Plus and its incredible success, co—founder and president Dan
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`Innovation — Groundbreaking innovation in Calgary
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`http://www.ca1garyherald.co1n/story_print.htm1?id=9499559&sponsor=
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`Themig explains that he and his partners Ken Paltzat and Peter Krabben “decided right from the outset
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`to be a high—va|ue provider,” allowing them to “compete at the highest level” in an industry that, at the
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`time, was not known for innovation.
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`Themig recounts when the company was established in 2000, “the industry was into diversification, I
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`told my business partners that we needed to be focused — pick a narrow technology and compete
`worldwide.”
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`Deciding to address the most difficult downhole challenges in the oil and gas industry, Themig believed
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`that “if we could be world-class at those, we could be game-changing...but we really didn’t see it (the
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`magnitude of the change) coming.” The company’s revolutionary technology launched the industry into
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`a new realm — horizontal wells and shale plays.
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`Reinforcing the company’s position as a world-|eader— investing in research and development,
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`launching new products and tackling new markets — Packers Plus has also revolutionized its
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`operations. The company recently opened the doors of its MX Manufacturing Centre — the first of its
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`kind in the world. This state-of-the-art facility includes the world’s first robotic assembly of its type, and
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`a testing and torqueing system that includes a proprietary traceability method that was developed
`in-house.
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`While innovation remains a cornerstone of Packers Plus’ continued success, Themig points out that
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`"we do a number of things to spark innovation.”
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`Citing the company’s annual technical conference, strategy sessions and workshops where people
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`from the various business units contribute to the direction of the company, he shares that “people come
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`with the expectation that we are going to be innovative, that they will see innovation and that they will
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`be part of it.”
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`© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
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