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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - AUGUST 2014
“
We came on strong because re-
ally we only had one main competitor.
And then we also started getting into
Alberta and the energy industry, and
things took off.”
Building a business wasn’t Buch-
mann’s strong suit, it was a learning
curve. “I’m a thinker not a polished
salesman, but when I saw the potential
I started doing the customer service
personally. We just hammered away at
it in the 80s, serving the police and rail
companies.”
The company’s big break with
computers replacing cabooses led to
more breakthroughs in the market.
PRODUCTS AND CUSTOMER BASE
Cadex now offers a wide vari-
ety of products to customers. These
products come with Cadex customer
service which is unparalleled in the
industry.
Products include battery chargers
as well as rapid-battery testers, battery
testing systems, analyzers, mainte-
nance systems and custom built prod-
ucts. This is a unique offering: Cadex
has a broad range of products but can
also work with customers if they need
something that is not readily avail-
able. The company’s expert designers
can work with a customer to establish
what elements need to be included in
a product, and then develop new tech-
nology and functions to match custom-
er needs. The company’s R&D team is
constantly coming up with new and
improved products and their ability to
develop and manufacture advanced
electronic products has opened doors
for Cadex to build specialty instru-
ments for many critical industries,
including medical and military.
Buchmann says that 12-15 per
cent of annual revenue is devoted to
R&D. “We can accommodate special
requests and deal with customers for
custom manufacturing on a project
by project basis. We can offer and ad-
vise on how to make a product better
or cheaper—we are more than just a
contract manufacturer,” he says. The
company’s long history working with
OEM partners reflects their commit-
ment to quality and customer service.
Cadex provides complete turnkey so-
lutions, including circuit design, me-
chanical interface, custom software,
manufacturing and testing as well as
development of battery reference ma-
trices used in battery rapid-testing.
“
Batteries have their own moods, and
customers need to be able to measure
symptoms in order to devise how a
