History of Innovation

For over three decades, Atlantic Combustion Technologies has been committed to making combustion cleaner, greener and more efficient. From entrepreneurial beginnings and pioneering innovation to working with world class partners to further develop and enhance its products, Atlantic Combustion has a truly impressive tradition of innovation.

Innovation Timeline

The 70s

1974: Bill Digdon forms Atlantic Combustion Products Ltd. as a retail distribution company servicing hardware stores and providing direct marketing to residential clients. The company focuses on the sale of chimney and flue treatments for wood stoves and fireplaces.
1976: Atlantic Combustion Products began developing a modified product to reduce slag and clinker build-up in industrial boilers. An Initial trial in a pulp and paper mill in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia showed the potential of industrial usage, but also highlighted the need for a feeder apparatus to inject the product into the furnace.
1977: Buoyed by the results of the Port Hawkesbury trial, the product is re-branded as Co-Mate Combustion Catalyst.
1978: The Co-Mate formula is chemically re-engineered. A potential corrosion issue is corrected and the stability of the product is greatly enhanced.
1979: Atlantic Combustion Products is issued its first Canadian patent on its industrial feeding apparatus.

The 80s

1980: Building on the success of the new formula, an exhaustive search for superior quality raw materials results in an even more reliable and consistent Co-Mate. In tandem with further refinements to the feeding system, Co-Mate is now time and again exceeding its customers' expectation and significantly increasing the production capacity of a handful of pulp and paper mills.
1983: Refinements to the Co-Mate application process result in further improvements in the product's effectiveness. Atlantic Combustion Products also begins supplying its first customers in the United States.
1985: Atlantic Combustion Products ceases active retail distribution.
1987: Co-Mate's effectiveness at mitigating ash deposits is well known and Atlantic Combustion Products is established in the pulp and paper industry; attracting its first customer in the United Kingdom. Boilers using Co-Mate are visibly cleaner looking. Although no hard data was available to support these observations, it was a constant theme, noticed by Atlantic Combustion Products and its customers.
1988: Recognizing that non-renewable sources will be a key component of the future energy mix, Bill Digdon brings together a group of investors and local leaders to champion a hydro-power project near Sheet Harbor, Nova Scotia. While the project did not ultimately proceed, Bill Digdon earned a reputation for being an eco-friendly business leader.

The 90s

1990: A new state of the art office, distribution and warehouse facility is opened in Amherst, Nova Scotia.
1995: Bill Digdon explores the feasibility of wind power generation in the Tantramar and Minudie marshes near Amherst. Test towers were erected to gather data on the wind regime. The data collected was later used by parties bidding to build wind farms on the site.
1996: Atlantic Combustion Products begin testing on other fuels. Early results are very positive; proving that Co-Mate has application beyond biomass.
1997: Atlantic Combustion Products receives ISO 9002 certification, formalizing the company's quality control procedures.

The 2000s

2003: Atlantic Combustion Technologies further develops it quality control procedures and receives ISO 9001 certification.
2004: Laboratory scale testing began at the CANMET Energy Technology Center's combustion research facilities, just outside Ottawa, Ontario. A large experimental research center operated by Natural Resources Canada, CANMET is a first class, world renowned institution.
2004: With an increased focus on and dedication to innovation and research, Atlantic Combustion Products is re-branded as Atlantic Combustion Technologies. Co-Mate Combustion Catalyst is also re-branded as CoMate Fireside Additive.