FRAMOS feels right at home in National Capital Region

When Munich-based imaging technology firm FRAMOS was seeking the ideal base for its North American operations a few years ago, it looked seriously at a half-dozen locations.

Among them were places that are world-renowned for their tech savvy, including Boston and California, along with the likes of Chicago and Quebec City.

In the end, however, the company chose to set up shop in the National Capital Region.

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Sebastien Dignard is president of the conglomerate’s Ottawa-based operations, which are known as FRAMOS Technologies. He says the capital’s wealth of highly educated talent and its world-renowned institutions such as the National Research Council made it an attractive place for FRAMOS to put down roots on this continent.

“There is a nice area of expertise when it comes to imaging in Ottawa,” Mr. Dignard says. “For us, with our aspirations of very aggressive growth, we thought Ottawa was in a prime spot for that. You can’t grow like this unless you have access to good people, and Ottawa is full of good people.”

If growth percentages are any indication, the company made the right choice.

Founded in 2012, FRAMOS Technologies has posted yearly sales increases that would make most tech juggernauts envious. Over the past three fiscal years, its revenues have skyrocketed by nearly 4,000 per cent.

A 15-year veteran of the local startup scene, Mr. Dignard says he knew Ottawa would be a perfect fit for FRAMOS, which brings a multi-pronged approach to the imaging technology business.

The firm offers a wide range of the latest imaging components, from sensors and cables to lenses and cameras. Some of its technology is manufactured in-house, but the firm also resells cutting-edge equipment built by everyone from major market leaders to small niche providers.

In addition, the company acts as a consultant, working side by side with its clients – which include some of North America’s biggest corporations – to tailor their imaging technology requirements to their exact needs.

Its customers include makers of self-driving vehicles, robotics equipment and high-tech surgical devices. FRAMOS will advise them on whether it’s more cost-effective, for example, to custom-build their own imaging systems or buy an off-the-shelf solution from an established manufacturer.

“We don’t care (which way) they want to go,” Mr. Dignard says. “We’re there to help them.”

Now at 12 employees in Ottawa, the company plans to add several more workers to its local head count in the near future.

“The team that we brought together is phenomenal,” says Mr. Dignard, a 2017 Forty Under 40 recipient.

“We’ve got a team of people who are passionate about what we do. You don’t grow like that without being extremely resourceful with what you have.”