B. A. Robinson Co. Ltd. Named one of
Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies for Fourth Consecutive Year

Winnipeg – B. A. Robinson Co. Ltd. (BAR) is thrilled to announce that it has been named as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies for the fourth consecutive year. This prestigious national award is sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC Commercial Banking, National Post, and Queen’s School of Business.

B. A. Robinson Co. Ltd. first won the award in 2004. Since then, BAR underwent a thorough review of its operations to successfully achieve “Requalified” status for 2005 and 2006. To earn the award this year, BAR was required to compete once again for one of the 50 spots.

“It's a huge honour to receive this award for the fourth year in a row,” said Ross Robinson, BAR's President and CEO. What this shows is that we are not only a leader in our industry, but we are among a handful of companies across Canada that set the standard for successfully achieving its goals. That's a terrific accomplishment, and I'm very proud to say we are among this exclusive group.”

Robinson added “I am extremely proud of all of our staff and management, from the front counters at our branches to our showroom personnel to our outside sales team. It's the work that everyone puts in that drives the activities and results we were able to describe in our application. This award will be shared by all of our staff and management across our organization.”

“Over the past 15 years, Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies program has recognized the most innovative and Best Managed Companies in Canada. We are delighted to celebrate the accomplishments of B. A. Robinson Co. Ltd.,” said John Hughes, Partner, Private Company Services group with Deloitte, a national sponsor of the Best Managed program.

Established in 1993, the Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies is a national awards program, recognizing Canadian companies that have implemented world-class business practices and created value in innovative ways. Applications are reviewed by an independent judging panel that evaluates how companies address various business challenges, including new technologies, globalization, brand management, leadership, leveraging and developing core competencies, designing information systems, and hiring the right talent to facilitate growth. The award will officially be presented at a ceremony in Toronto on February 25.

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Contact - For more information please contact:

Ross Robinson – President and CEO, B. A. Robinson Co. Ltd., 204-784-0150, ross@barobinson.com, www.barobinson.com
Jim Ormshaw – Marketing Manager, B. A. Robinson Co. Ltd., 403-630-8498, jimo@barobinson.com, www.barobinson.com
Michael Monita - Marketing Coordinator, B. A. Robinson Co. Ltd., 204-789-0536, mmonita@barobinson.com, www.barobinson.com

About B. A. Robinson Co. Ltd.:
B. A. Robinson Co. Ltd. is a fully diversified distributor of plumbing, heating, lighting, electrical and municipal waterworks products to the construction industry and retail home improvement market in Western Canada. The company operates from 22 locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northwest Ontario. The company operates under the following trade names:

B.A. Robinson Co. Ltd. is also a proud member of the following industry associations and purchasing groups:

About Canada’s Best Managed Companies
Celebrating its 15th anniversary, Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies continues to be the mark of excellence for Canadian-owned and managed companies with revenues over $10 million. Every year since the launch of the program in 1993, hundreds of entrepreneurial companies have competed for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates their management skills and practices. The awards are granted on three levels: 1) Best Managed winner (one of the 50 new winners selected each year); 2) Requalified member (repeat winners retain the Best Managed designation for two additional years, subject to annual operational and financial review); 3) Platinum Club member (winners that maintain Best Managed status for a minimum of six consecutive years.) Program sponsors are Deloitte, CIBC Commercial Banking, National Post, and Queen's School of Business. For further information, visit www.canadas50best.com.

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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Anthony Toderian

Senior Media Relations Officer

CSA Group

E: anthony.toderian@csagroup.org

T: 416 747-2620

Canadian Standards association to offer

Industry’s FIRST PDA-friendly standards to go

Toronto, ON, January 29, 2008 – Canadian Standards Association (CSA), a leading developer of standards and codes, today showcased its new Mobile Device Format (MDF) for standards to go at the Standards Publishing Advisory Board (SPAB) Annual conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The custom-designed document reader allows content heavy publications to be easily read on a mobile and hand-held computing devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), full-size Smart Phones, and Pocket PCs.

A 2007 survey sampling of 32,000 CSA customers showed that more than half of the respondents currently owned a PDA, Smart Phone or Pocket PC and that 75 per cent were interested in viewing CSA standards on mobile devices. 

“Mobile devices are gaining popularity across a wide range of vertical markets in North America and are increasingly seen as a convenient way to access and share information” said Suzanne Kiraly, President, Standards, Canadian Standards Association. “As the first known standard development organization to offer standards and related products in an interactive mobile device format, CSA is leading the way in promoting new, innovative technologies with advanced features and capabilities that deliver the best, most efficient products and services to our clients, members and end users.”

MDF was developed in cooperation with Alcaeus Innovations Inc., of Nova Scotia, which creates high-end mobile software and web application tools for companies throughout North America and Europe. The Alcaeus Mobile Editions Software (AMES) is a custom-designed document reader that reads the converted CSA PDF publication files. It is specifically designed to function on the Microsoft Windows Mobile Operating System and will soon be available for Blackberry devices. MDF standards are “Internet free” and once downloaded, the standards reside on the mobile device where they can be instantly accessed in the office, on a job site, or in the field.

The MDF standards are specifically designed to be economical for mobile devices. A file of 80 pages in PDF format may consume 3.5 megabytes (MB) of memory, but in MDF the same file would consume less than 5 per cent or 146 kilobytes. A mobile device with a 256 MB memory card may store as much as 1,300 publications of as many as 600 pages in length without losing any of the original publication structure.

MDF standards also include a dynamic search function allowing for input key terms, clauses or phrases for quick searching; an easy-to-read display with tables and diagrams automatically adjusted for landscape or portrait mode; interactive features such as dynamic equations in the standard so that users can enter variables and calculate answers electronically; easy and quick retrieval of searched items.

As an alternative to its print publications, CSA created the first of its “smart standards” in 2000; CD versions of its publications with interactive, customizable features and automated tools. At the same time, it also began offering standards in a downloadable PDF format. In 2006, CSA launched an Online Subscription Service to makes standards and related documents available in PDF through a web-based portal. An annual subscription allows unlimited electronic access to a selection of 10 to 3,000 standards tailored to the needs of individual customers.

CSA will offer the new MDF standards through its online store at www.ShopCSA.ca in spring 2008 beginning with the C22.1 Canadian Electrical Code. Additional standards in the areas of Oil and Gas, Occupational Health and Safety, Health Care, and Construction and Engineering will follow as they are converted to the new format.

To learn more about MDF standards and for a demonstration, please visit www.csa.ca/mobile

About CSA

Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is a membership association serving industry, government, consumers and other interested parties in Canada and the global marketplace. A leading developer of standards and codes, CSA aims to enhance public safety, improve quality of life, preserve the environment and facilitate trade. To help people understand and apply standards, CSA offers information products and training. The Canadian Standards Association is a division of CSA Group, which also consists of CSA International for product testing and certification, OnSpeX for consumer product evaluation services, and QMI for management systems registration. For more information visit www.csa.ca           

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