LuminUltra’s Jeremy Duguay: Focusing on Constant Innovation
FREDERICTON–LuminUltra prides itself in constantly researching and developing improvements to its product. This commitment to innovation was what made current LuminUltra research and development manager Jeremy Duguay get on board with the water testing company.
Duguay began at LuminUltra as an education coordinator. He explains that there is a lot of education involved with the LuminUltra technology since their product line is fairly technical.
“Whenever you’re talking about microbiology, even in industries where microbiology is a fairly prominent concern in things like drinking water and wastewater, the people who are working in those industries have very rudimentary knowledge about microbiological issues,” he said. “There’s a lot of education involved, a lot of training involved.”
Duguay’s background in molecular biology made him the perfect fit to provide this education to the company’s clients when he returned to his native New Brunswick after studying at University of Waterloo in Ontario.
“I was always a scientist when I came here and I always had a very big interest in research. I’ve been involved in the research aspects of LuminUltra since I started,” he said. “That was a big draw for me, to come to LuminUltra, because they had such a heavy focus on research and development.”
Duguay says there’s still plenty about what LuminUltra offers for clients to learn. He says that many traditional technologies still in use to identify microbial contamination have been around for decades and have limitations that newer technologies do not. LuminUltra offers a solution that helps clients solve issues quicker and more efficiently.
The company’s technology can have a number of different applications in different industries, primarily in drinking water, wastewater and oil and gas sectors. Duguay explains that they have one core equipment set and six different test kits depending on the sample needed.
“The methodology is all very similar,” Duguay said. “You’re taking a sample, you’re quickly testing it and determining the microbiological content or activity level in that sample and that enables people to take action in real-time based on that result they’re getting right there in the process.”
With clients on nearly every continent, LuminUltra works with partners who help distribute the technology and provide clients with the next steps after the LuminUltra technology is used to test water for microorganisms.
The company has recently started a partnership with a company called Microbe Detectives. Microbe Detectives provide genomic testing services in the water and wastewater sectors, identifying which particular type of microorganisms are in a given sample. Knowing which kind of microorganisms are in their water allows clients to decide whether or not they’re a problem that needs to be addressed and how they should go about fixing that problem.
LuminUltra is now moving towards making their technology easier to use by simplifying their six test kits into a single kit that can do what each of the six could. They are also working towards the release of LuminUltra Cloud, a mobile-based application that can be used on smartphones to collect data, share reports and solve microbial problems.
“We’re looking at branching out and adding additional information about other types of organisms they might have, or new tests or new information that can give them vital information about that sample they’re looking for,” Duguay said.
“With innovative companies, it takes a lot of effort to get your products into the hands of people that need them… Your products get more established in the market but there’s always a need to continue to innovate to find better ways to improve your products. LuminUltra has been continuously committed to that–improving the products they supply and finding new and better ways for people to solve problems they’re dealing with in the field.”