Viking Air is a finalist in the B.C. Export Awards in a new category called the Premier's Award for Job Creation.
Viking, with its head office and a manufacturing facility on Victoria International Airport land, revived the renowned de Havilland Twin Otter, and has won orders from around the world. The company has 570 employees and has increased its employment by 380 per cent between 2009 and 2011, an Export Awards statement said.
This is the 30th year for the export awards, offered through the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters B.C. organization and B.C.'s Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills. Winners will be announced Nov. 23 in Vancouver.
The premier's award will recognize a company for making a financial investment that created new opportunities for sustained employment. The jobs must last for at least 12 months and most of the money should not have been obtained from government grants or created through acquisition of an existing business.
Viking is up against Richmond-based Clevest Solutions and B.C.'s Taseko Mines.
Clevest delivers software for mobile workforce automation and smart grid operations exclusively for electric, gas and water utilities. Taseko owns and operates Gibraltar Mine, the second largest open pit copper-molybdenum mind in Canada and holds other mine development sites.
Close to 400 nominations came in for the various award categories.
Archipelago Marine Research Ltd., also from Victoria, is a finalist in the natural resources category. The company provides sustainable marine resource management products and services, including fisheries observer services at sea and on land, electronic monitoring systems for fishing vessels and marine environmental management services.
Nanaimo's Inuktun Services is a finalist in the advanced technology category. It manufactures and exports remotely operated vehicles and modular robotic systems for use in confined spaces and hazardous environments such as the aftermath of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.
For more information, see bcexportawards.com.
