Tangent was founded in 2005 as a Calgary design engineering firm that was not focused on the dominant energy sector. Even then, the company was preparing and paving the way for a more diversified economy.

“We started out in a one-bay shop with four people, doing patent drawings and small one-off projects,” said Josh Abbott, Tangent’s Project/Technical Lead. “In the beginning, we focused on mechanical engineering products, but now we have all the product design disciplines in-house to go from ideation through design and into manufacturing.”

“Some of our recent projects include a proof-of-concept prototype for a machine-learning-enabled orthopedic drill; concept development, detailed design, field testing, and manufacturing of a ground-breaking GPS/LTE/Wireless Mesh asset-tracker for a food transportation company; and the commercialization of a methane flow detection technology that can measure almost any flowrate to quantify greenhouse gas emissions.”

In other words, Tangent offers dream jobs for creative engineers.

THE TANGENT APPROACH

Josh Abbott, Project/Technical Lead, Tangent Design Engineering

The Tangent approach is to always think creatively. To leverage engineering for innovation that creates great products, changes the world, and enriches lives.

“Once we understand the market need that our clients needs to meet, we try to determine a number of interesting ways to solve the problem, which often requires the creation of new technologies” says Abbott.

The company prides itself on its ability to work closely and transparently with customers and is known for its tenacity.

“We’re a nimble group and we find a way to make things work,’” said Abbott. “At its core what we do is technology and science focused, but there’s also an art to what we do. There’s always some give and take in product design. Maybe we can’t hit every requirement as originally envisioned, but we always figure out a way to preserve the key requirements.”

There are many things the Tangent team keeps its eye on in product design, including product strategy and development time, product testing and validation, assessing product-market fit, product usability, and scaling into commercialization to name a few.

“It’s never a straight road from A to B in product development, but here’s the good news: we just keep at it until we succeed.”

— Josh Abbott, Project/Technical Lead, Tangent Design Engineering

“We’ve completed hundreds of projects and we learn from our mistakes. For example, years ago we built an absolutely beautiful product—but it didn’t sell. Now we tell clients that, yes, we can execute on their vision: but we also plan how to obtain market validation along the way. We believe that expert development processes, a skilled staff, and strong communication can deliver amazing new technologies and products that the market wants and needs.”

In terms of supporting the success of startups with big ideas, but limited resources, the Tangent team delivers on honest insight in the development stage.

“We know enough to steer early-stage entrepreneurs toward securing some market research; they’re often funded by friends and family, and that carries a huge obligation to spend the money appropriately. In the product development world, we like to make course corrections soon and make them small. It’s better to change a rendering and not a prototype.”

NOT HERE TO TINKER

The Tangent team here in Calgary comes from all over Canada, from Newfoundland to BC, and increasingly draws international engineers.

“We give talented people good opportunities that engage and challenge them,” said Abbott. “Our mindset is: let’s solve problems. Sometimes, it’s an emotional rollercoaster. Sometimes, we’re up at night worrying. Sometimes—we build prototypes that don’t work the way we want them to, but we’ll have tried so hard. Our goal is always to deliver a solution. We’re not here to tinker.”

Abbott has found that this reputation for ingenuity and determination acts as an organic recruiting tool.

“We’re lucky in that young engineers (and well-established engineers, too) want to work for us, and most people we hire find a home here.” What Tangent looks for is simple. “Smart, nice people,” said Abbott. “We want good communicators and would rather have a personable team member at B-level tech than someone with an A in tech and a D in ego. We guard our company dynamic very closely.”

MED TECH

Tangent and its dynamic team have been ISO 13485 certified for medical device development for seven years, and work on three to four such projects annually. These projects – which include a smart surgical drill and a wearable blood pressure monitor – are currently at various stages of commercialization.

Umay Prototype, Tangent Design Engineering

“A local cardiologist and his research engineer have determined a novel new way of obtaining a blood pressure wave using a small wearable device,” said Abbott. “They came to us with sensors hanging off circuit boards and wires everywhere, a proper R&D prototype, which we love to see.”

“We’ve helped them mature and validate their technology and create their first fully functional prototype as well as renderings to show the product vision. We’re really excited about this product – keep an eye out for 42 Health Sensors. We’re also connecting them with our network in Silicon Valley to provide business mentorship and investment.”

ConnectFor

A Tangent spin-off company and innovation and brainchild of Chris Parker – Tangent’s other partner – is ConnectFor, an end-to-end Internet of Things (IoT) platform based on a hybrid wireless mesh networking technology. In general, the IoT sector produces a lot of modules and technology, but not an easily deployable and secure solution. Customers of such technology often need to deploy and manage the infrastructure on their own.

Tangent’s ConnectFor technology, however, is simple to set up and scale: individual modules do not need to be set up by IT professionals — they look for other modules in the area, connect with that “friend” and create their own network.

This saves battery power, bandwidth, complexity, time, and costs, and these modules work together to convey information up to the cloud to allow businesses to operate more efficiently or manage their assets better. A single module might convey information for many tens of units or just for itself if it’s on its own.

Tangent is experiencing a lot of interest in its ConnectFor product from enterprise customers, and is partnering with another local company Routeique to solve problems in the transportation sector. Hölmetrics, a start-up company out of Red Deer is exploring how to use the technology in its workplace health and wellness monitoring work. The product is also being deployed in smart agriculture and livestock applications.

ConnectFor is currently pre-commercial, raising capital, and is fully launching in summer of 2021.

PARTNERING WITH BASF

Ventbuster Instruments, Tangent Design Engineering

Tangent is currently at work on a pilot project for industrial giant BASF. At the centre of this project is a chemical or polymer that helps tailings ponds settle out almost immediately. BASF’s in-house tech teams developed a prototype, but didn’t provide the necessary data at scale.

They handed the prototype to Tangent, who proved the concept that tailings can be processed at seven litres a minute. The project has won approval from BASF, which is now in the planning stages of a pilot plant test in northern Alberta.

“This is an important instance of clean tech development to solve a big environmental problem,” said Abbott.

VENTBUSTER INSTRUMENTS

In 2016, Tangent was approached by a potential client with a specific need: to measure the levels of methane coming out of abandoned oil wells. In response, Tangent developed a novel flow sensor that measures methane emissions from surface casing vents, which are found on every oil well.

The now state-of-the-art, internationally patented device called The Ventbuster measures methane flow in real time and sends data about the well’s GPS location, the amount of methane that’s leaking and the pressure of the flow. As remediation efforts take place, operators can see in real time if interventions are working. The Ventbuster device—in which Tangent is a partner—has passed the most stringent hazardous environment requirements for oil and gas.

“The Ventbuster is really exciting new tech,” says Abbott. In fact, it’s a game-changer in clean tech as companies innovate to achieve Canada’s net zero emissions goal by 2050. Operators install this cloud-enabled, solar-powered monitor to establish a baseline methane emission and to get real-time information about which wells need to be fixed.

“We’re now commercializing the Ventsentinel a lower cost, high volume product that can be installed permanently on wells, not merely for a few days or weeks. Having a second-generation IoT module will let wells communicate in a cost-effective manner.”

The Ventbuster is a perfect example of a Tangent product: it meets a market need that no one else is meeting. “We figured out tech that works, put it into product form, met the regulations, and made it usable,” said Abbott. “We don’t make a lot of ‘copy-cat’ products. We shine when there’s a big problem that is difficult to solve.”

CALGARIAN CATALYSTS

Tangent is often presented with ideas coming out of universities; the Tangent team works with creators to make those ideas market-focused and then executes on the ideas.

“There are a number of groups in Calgary that can help you put a business plan together,” says Abbott. “We are unique in the way we can help realize that opportunity. Drawings and renderings aren’t the finish line. We make things, test them, make them better, commercialize them. We’re here to help as long as a client needs us.”

Today, Tangent employs 30 engineers, who work in electronics, firmware, mechanical design.

“We’ve learned that we can play with the big companies,” says Abbott. “Our projects with NASA and BASF demonstrate that.”

Abbott believes that Tangent’s success speaks to the strength of the local ecosystem, and notes that, in the last 15 years, the quality of projects the company engages with has grown exponentially.

“We work with 20 to 30 customers at a time, with about half being startups creating new products, and then they can start hiring and have a product portfolio.”

“We think of ourselves as enablers, as local catalysts to helping high-growth companies realize their potential.”

— Josh Abbott, Project/Technical Lead, Tangent Design Engineering

WHAT’S NEXT

Board prototypes, Tangent Design Engineering

Tangent is about to finalize a partnership with a precision livestock start-up to develop their next generation of real-time cloud-enabled animal health monitoring devices. It’s also working with a cycling company on their next generation mountain bike design and an emergency fleet services upfitter on the engineering evaluation of their latest products.

“We’re doing what we can to be part of Alberta 2.0,” said Abbott. “If we can help spin out a number of high-potential high-growth companies every year – and we can – that will help the whole region.”

Are you ready to make moves in Calgary’s tech scene, working with forward-thinking companies like Tangent? Head to our Live Tech Love Life careers page and see what opportunities might be out there for you.

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Tangent Design Engineering: Here to engineer a better world