OTTAWA, Nov. 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Calian Group Ltd. (TSX: CGY) is pleased to announce that it has again been selected to deliver a significant training contract for the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Army Simulation Centre (CASC).

The initial term of the Training and Support Services Contract is valued at $93 million over five years. With two optional extension periods of two years each, the aggregate contract value over the full nine-year period is approximately $170 million. Management believes demand on the new contract will continue to run at current levels and is not currently forecasting any increase in annual revenues as a result of this contract renewal. The current Training and Support Services Contract expires March 31, 2019.

Through CASC, a Center of Excellence for Constructive Simulation, the Canadian Army accepts training projects on behalf of its own members as well as other branches of the Canadian Armed Forces and federal government departments.

For these training exercises, Calian’s expert team of some 600 full- and part-time resources apply their substantial experience, knowledge and passion to create realistic and cost-effective synthetic training environments. Calian Training ensures maximum value from the training delivered through CASC while preparing future military leaders and security authorities for events in which failure is unacceptable. Through CASC, Calian Training also designs and delivers complex, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional emergency management exercises to help ensure safety and security readiness for major events. These exercises have supported the Vancouver Olympics and G7, G8 and G20 world leader summits in Canada.

Calian, an award-winning veteran friendly employer, has proudly supported military training and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) operational readiness through this contract for over 20 years. With this new contract, Calian’s partnership with CASC can extend for 33 years. Calian and CASC have developed tools and a framework and methodology supporting a wide range of military and emergency management training exercises for government and military clients, nationally and internationally. In partnership with CASC, Calian’s skilled exercise design experts have integrated custom 2D/3D software for virtual and constructive simulation exercises, tailored to specified training objectives. The result is a total immersive training experience that replicates the operational environment that the CAF or customer may face.

“Our innovative technology solutions allow the training audience to be immersed into complex environments, complete with real-world considerations such as simulated social media channels. These tools, combined with our passionate, expert employees, put us in a unique position to offer these complex exercises and training programs,” said Donald Whitty, Vice President, Calian Training. “We’re seeing increased demand for the expertise we bring to CASC, particularly in the field of emergency management. There’s no company quite like Calian to deliver these specialized, innovative and scalable services.”

“This strategic re-win supports our valued relationship with the CAF and the customer retention pillar of our four pillar growth framework. For Calian, supporting the operational readiness of the Canadian Forces is more than just a commitment – it’s a passion and a privilege. I’m proud of our delivery of state-of-the-art, realistic learning and training exercises that help keep soldiers and all Canadians safe,” added Kevin Ford, President and CEO, Calian. “The innovation happening at Calian Training, and with our partner CASC, is very exciting. Calian’s advanced toolset is integrated with those of the Canadian Armed Forces, demonstrating our focus on continuous process improvement both at Calian and in the work we do with our customers.” 

To see exclusive footage from inside a CFB Kingston training facility, watch Calian’s three-minute video on CASC here.

About the Canadian Army Simulation Centre

The Canadian Army Simulation Centre provides training capabilities in support of land operations and concept development. This world-class training organization provides support to the Canadian Army, RCAF, CJOC, CAF, and other government departments. Calian designs, develops and delivers training services for CASC under the Training and Support Services Contract. CASC is located in Kingston with Divisional Simulation Centres in Edmonton, Petawawa, Valcartier and Gagetown.  

About Calian Training

For more than 20 years, Calian Training has been providing a full-suite of specialized training services to both public and private sector organizations, including the Canadian Armed Forces and nuclear power operators. We help customers in both the emergency management and military domains validate their plans and team performances. Calian’s training experts help large and small organizations prepare for events in which the consequences of failure are unacceptable.

About Calian

Calian employs over 3,000 people with offices and projects that span Canada, U.S. and international markets.  The company’s capabilities are diverse with services delivered through two divisions. The Business and Technology Services (BTS) Division is headquartered in Ottawa and includes the provision of business and technology services and solutions to industry, public and government in the health, training, engineering and IT services domains. Calian’s Systems Engineering Division (SED) located in Saskatoon provides the world’s leading space technology companies with innovative solutions for testing, operating and managing their satellite networks. SED provides leading-edge communications products for terrestrial and satellite networks, as well as providing commercial (including agriculture) and defence customers with superior electronics engineering, manufacturing and test services for both private sector and military customers in North America.

For investor information, please visit our website at www.calian.com or contact us at [email protected].

—————————————————————————–

DISCLAIMER

Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Such statements are generally accompanied by words such as “intend”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” or similar statements. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the impact of price competition; scarce number of qualified professionals; the impact of rapid technological and market change; loss of business or credit risk with major customers; technical risks on fixed price projects; general industry and market conditions and growth rates; international growth and global economic conditions, and including currency exchange rate fluctuations; and the impact of consolidations in the business services industry. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, please see the Company’s most recent annual report and other reports filed by Calian with the Ontario Securities Commission. Calian disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No assurance can be given that actual results, performance or achievement expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking statements within this disclosure will occur, or if they do, that any benefits may be derived from them.

Calian · Head Office · 770 Palladium Drive · Ottawa · Ontario · Canada · K2V 1C8
Tel: 613.599.8600 · Fax: 613-592-3664· General Info email: [email protected]