FTS Monitors the Weather in Mexico Under World Bank Project

In 1992, the Government of Mexico implemented the Water Resources Management Project (PROMMA), a large-scale program funded by the World Bank aimed at dealing with the country's serious water shortage. Among the many firms that have vied for a piece of this multi-faceted project, British Columbia's FTS Forest Technology Systems has been selected three times in a row to provide its automated weather stations for Mexico's new Hydrological Information System, a key component of PROMMA.

Climate change in Mexico has put significant pressure on watersheds, river basins and wetlands, and is expected to lead to widespread deficiencies in water availability and quality. In order to minimize the impact of these effects, hundreds of sub-projects have been put in place under PROMMA in areas such as meteorology, hydraulic infrastructure, telecommunications and water resources planning. Among these is the establishment of a Hydrological Information System, entailing the creation of a nationwide network of weather stations to monitor and predict a range of meteorological activity, including phenomena such as the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. The number of these satellite-based stations is expected to grow to at least 300 over the next eight years, at a total value of $12 to $14 million.

Most of the required technology has been provided so far by FTS, a designer and manufacturer of environmental monitoring solutions, based in Victoria. The small firm has beaten stiff international competition to win three consecutive contracts, totalling just under $4 million, to provide the Mexican Weather Service (CNA) with weather stations and consulting services. FTS is hoping now to win the current round of bidding, the results of which should be announced by September, 2004.

Advantages of NAFTA and a good local agent
Because the CNA is the contracting authority for this project, FTS has not had any direct involvement with the World Bank. Still, the complexities of World Bank-funded public tenders in foreign countries can be daunting to smaller companies. According to company President Brian Bolton, having an experienced representative on site is crucial in order to compete successfully, while the framework of NAFTA provides equal footing. "Despite the inherent contractual challenges, FTS has not been disadvantaged relative to local or locally represented bidders," says Bolton. "We also have not encountered any real trade barriers in our negotiations with Mexico, due to NAFTA and the support of a good Mexican agent."

Although FTS had previous success internationally, the scale of its Mexican undertakings has brought the company and its technology to an entirely new level. Spinoffs from PROMMA have included a major deal with the Mexican navy and opportunities with Mexican state agencies. The company's growing international reputation has also led to sales in Japan, Korea and Portugal.

Preferred supplier in North America
About 70 percent of FTS' sales volume goes to the United States, where major clients include the Department of Defense, the Geological Survey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of the Interior's Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service, and many state governments. FTS is also the dominant supplier of weather stations to Canada's largest provincial forest-fire fighting agencies.

FTS was founded in 1980 to address the demanding weather-information requirements of the world's premier forest-fire management agencies. Today, its technology forms the backbone of some of the most sophisticated and demanding water- and weather-monitoring systems worldwide. FTS equipment and software are measuring, recording and analysing changes in diverse environments, such as alpine watersheds, forest-fire danger indicators, nationwide weather systems, forest health indicators, supply streams for drinking water reservoirs, the waters of fish and wildlife refuges and major salmon rivers.

For more information, contact:

International Financing Division
International Trade Canada
Tel.: (613) 995-7251
E-mail: ifinet@dfait-maeci.gc.ca

or

Brian Bolton, President
FTS Forest Technology Systems Ltd.
Tel.: 800-548-4264
E-mail: bbolton@ftsinc.com
Internet: www.ftsinc.com