The president of Cascumpec Bay Oyster Company, Martin O'Brien, is the Prince Edward Island finalist for the Business Development Bank of Canada's 2015 Young Entrepreneur Award.
In his "Oyster Rush" submission to the BDC, O'Brien, demonstrates how he wants to be a leader in bringing new technology to oyster farming.
Oysters are good for the waters they grow in because they filter out nitrogen and algae and keep the waters clear, he explains.
He wants to help meet increasing demand for oysters while assisting other oyster growers with production by introducing new technology.
He envisions establishing an automatic oyster grader on his existing floating workstation.
"It would allow us to grade the same amount of oysters in a fraction of the time. Believe it or not," he added, "it would probably mean more employees."
Workers would be needed to feed the machine and keep it running, with potential to do custom work for other growers.
There are already other automatic graders in use, but O'Brien hopes to simplify the design and get a unit built locally.
The unit would enable him to increase production and possibly sell oysters year-round.
He also incorporate tours of his facility into his business model.
His vision for the industry helped make O'Brien a finalist for the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award.
He has a one in 10 shot of winning the $100,000 grand prize.
Members of the public can vote for their favourite nominee on the BDC website once daily from 7 a.m. (EDT) on June 3 until noon on June 17.
If he were the winner of the grand prize, O'Brien said he would use the money to purchase the automatic oyster grader and install solar panels on this float station.
Public voting accounts for 50 per cent of the finalists' scores and the ranking by a national selection committee accounts for the rest of the scoring.
The president of Cascumpec Bay Oyster Company, Martin O'Brien, is the Prince Edward Island finalist for the Business Development Bank of Canada's 2015 Young Entrepreneur Award.
In his "Oyster Rush" submission to the BDC, O'Brien, demonstrates how he wants to be a leader in bringing new technology to oyster farming.
Oysters are good for the waters they grow in because they filter out nitrogen and algae and keep the waters clear, he explains.
He wants to help meet increasing demand for oysters while assisting other oyster growers with production by introducing new technology.
He envisions establishing an automatic oyster grader on his existing floating workstation.
"It would allow us to grade the same amount of oysters in a fraction of the time. Believe it or not," he added, "it would probably mean more employees."
Workers would be needed to feed the machine and keep it running, with potential to do custom work for other growers.
There are already other automatic graders in use, but O'Brien hopes to simplify the design and get a unit built locally.
The unit would enable him to increase production and possibly sell oysters year-round.
He also incorporate tours of his facility into his business model.
His vision for the industry helped make O'Brien a finalist for the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award.
He has a one in 10 shot of winning the $100,000 grand prize.
Members of the public can vote for their favourite nominee on the BDC website once daily from 7 a.m. (EDT) on June 3 until noon on June 17.
If he were the winner of the grand prize, O'Brien said he would use the money to purchase the automatic oyster grader and install solar panels on this float station.
Public voting accounts for 50 per cent of the finalists' scores and the ranking by a national selection committee accounts for the rest of the scoring.
