At the CIM 2018 in Vancouver, President of WipWare, Tom Palangio sat down with Jerrod Downey of Crownsmen Partners. They discussed Automatic Real-Time Fragmentation Analysis and the changes that technology is bringing to the mining industry.

How WipWare got its Name

One of the questions frequently asked is how the name WipWare came about. The WIP stands for Waterloo Image Process – take a picture of broken material and get engineering data from it. Tom and some Waterloo colleagues developed the technology that WipWare uses today in their WipFrag real-time fragmentation analysis software. 

Before technology like WipFrag, you’d look at a blast and have to visually try to determine if it was good. Another method was to stop the belt and take a manual sample. Then, wait for the sieve results which could take hours, even days. So, by the time the results came back, they weren’t actionable and this was an ineffective method. With WipWare’s fragmentation analysis systems and software, you get real-time results immediately to make quantitative decisions to improve your processes. 

Cutting Edge Technology

In the past, “it has been difficult to introduce new technology into a traditional business”. The mining industry “hasn’t always been receptive to change”. With remote sensing, robotics and automation becoming common technology, WipWare’s real-time fragmentation analysis systems and software is on the cutting edge of this new technology.

Now, the mining industry is becoming more receptive to automatic processes. Tom explains, “Our technology allows you to measure material in real-time. If you’re off spec, you can adjust it and it’s not disruptive”.  Imaging, computer and sensor technology has really improved. Tom states, “We thought creating the data…was a reason for being…but it’s getting the data to the people that can act on it”.

Mobile Device Compatibility

Two years ago, WipWare decided to integrate the technology onto mobile devices and introduced WipFrag iOS. There were over 5000 downloads in 18 months and WipFrag iOS is now available through the App Store.

The mining industry is not the only industry that our technology can be utilized. Other industries include medicine, agriculture, chemical industry and the explosives industry just to name a few – anywhere that you have materials and want to detect contamination.

The applications are numerous and it’s always exciting to find new applications for WipWare technology.

WipWare’s Chief Technical Officer Thomas Palangio and Technical Specialists Kevin Rivard and Marty Wanner had the pleasure of working with some guests from SNF Group, demonstrating aerial imagery with drones and applications with our WipFrag photoanalysis software. Visiting our facility Wednesday May 30^th were Philippe Galy-Jammou of SNF France and Bruno Cote of SNF Canada.

It was a great opportunity to showcase the capabilities of our WipFrag software and how it can be used with drone technology. With the use of drone technology, drone orthomosaic images of a muck pile can be taken and analyzed to give a complete picture of our customer’s blasts.

It was a great opportunity to showcase the capabilities of our software and we look forward to working with Philippe and Bruno in the future.

Janice Leuschen interviewed Tom Palangio, President of WipWare for The Canadian Mining Journal in their February/March edition located under the Sudbury Innovation Cluster section on Innovation and Commercialization.

In the article, Tom speaks about WipWare’s WipFrag software and the ability to measure a blast. “For us to be able to measure it in real time, actually opened a whole bunch of doors to the automated process.”

He believes that the market for new products and services for mines is opening. “NOW IS THE TIME”.

It has been difficult, in the past, to get mining companies to look at new technologies to improve their processes. The Commercialization gap has makes it challenging for inventors to convince mines to use their new inventions. 

In the mid-1990’s, Tom paired WipFrag software with his consulting services. This provided a great opportunity to show the mining industry how the software works giving tangible results. Due to an agreement with his former employer, Tom was not allowed to sell his WipFrag software domestically. As a result, Tom travelled extensively throughout Panama, Peru, Chile, South Africa and Australia. The international mining industry is more receptive to new innovations and technology. 

In 1998, Tom started selling domestically and has continued, to this day, to expand into the North American market. 

You can read more on this interview on page 49-51 for the full article.

WipWare is pleased to announce that we have signed an agreement with Haver & Boecker OHG in Oelde, Germany to handle our products. Haver & Boecker is a leading manufacturer in processing, storage, mixing packing, filling, palletizing and loading systems. The company’s mission is to deliver the best of these technologies to the marketplace.
See their website here: Haver & Boecker Canada

“One of their divisions, W.S. Tyler is renowned for their standards in screen media and it is a complementary and natural fit to be working together to characterize materials,” says Tom Palangio, President of WipWare.

The company founded by Carl Haver and Eduard Boecker in 1887 has been producing products for quarries, sand and gravel, fertilizers, paint, powder coating, chemical and pharmaceutical companies and the food industry – Haver & Boecker analytical equipment is used in almost all areas of industry.

On December 6th Wipware signed a license agreement with Datamine to support and distribute WipWare software products and services globally.
“We are extremely happy to work with Datamine as our vision and plans are closely aligned and we have much to gain in working together,” said Tom Palangio, President of Wipware.

With a global presence, Datamine provides solutions ranging from exploration data management and orebody modelling to mine planning and operations. These solutions are provided to over 1,600 companies around the world. Their software solutions integrate with consulting and training services to ensure that clients are provided with industry-leading support and expertise.

Established in 1981, Datamine revolutionized the industry as a pioneer of 3D computerized resource modelling and estimation tools. Over a period of 30 years Datamine became a leading supplier of geology and mine planning software. In 2010, CAE Inc purchased Datamine and Century Systems Technologies. They made significant investments to create an end-to-end portfolio of products and developed several new products. One of these included the innovative Summit cloud-based technical mining platform. In July 2015, Constellation Software Inc (TSX: CSU) acquired Datamine, Canada’s largest software company. Building on their history of domain expertise, coupled with CSI’s deep capabilities in the software industry, Datamine continues to develop the mining industry’s most advanced range of technical software and complementary services.

The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding achievement in the mining industry, celebrates individual leadership and aims to inspire future generations in mining.

Tom Palangio, President of WipWare Inc, was inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame. SAMSSA presented the award at Dynamic Earth in Sudbury December 5th. After 15 years, Tom decided to retire as President of SAMSSA. SAMSSA honoured him last night at the SAMSSA AGM.

From Humble Beginnings Come Great Things

Thomas Palangio, Chief Technical Officer at WipWare spoke at the induction and had the honour of introducing his father, Tom. Thomas spoke about Tom’s life in the early years including his academic accomplishments and early career. The full speech is available in the here.

Tom’s story began when a couple of Italian immigrants chose to call Northern Ontario home. In 1965 Tom moved to Southern Ontario and dabbled with electrical and mechanical engineering. Also, while there he met and married his wife, Phyllis. Eventually, he completed his education in architectural design and returned to Northern Ontario.

When an opportunity arose with Dupont, he accepted and so began is love affair with explosives. After 27 years with Dupont, later ETI, he became the Technical Specialist. He quickly realized measuring the blast might be lucrative niche in the mining industry. In 1986, Tom Palangio, in collaboration with John Franklin and Norbert Marez created the Waterloo Image Enhancement Process, or WIEP.  John and Norbert worked in Waterloo’s Earth and Computer Sciences divisions. Recognizing the importance and sales potential of their discovery, the trio formed WipWare to further develop and market the technology internationally. 

Tom has taken some leaps

Prior to Tom’s induction into the Mining Hall of Fame, Hugh Kruzel wrote a featured SAMSSA article on October 17th. In this article, Hugh speaks with Tom about the leaps Tom has taken as an entrepreneur and innovator.

When Hugh asked Tom about his childhood, Tom explained how he liked to build things.

“I was always drawn to art, mechanical, electrical and scientific topics at a time when space was in the news. I’m a real boomer. I liked to build things and take them apart and was resourceful, but never thought I’d earn a living playing with the stuff that interested me. Leonardo da Vinci would be my history hero. My teachers said I was “disruptive” and it took me many years to realize that’s a good thing”.

Image Analysis Technology – Mining Industry

In 1995, Tom started Topex Inc – his own explosives consulting firm. Later, he formed WipWare Inc. to commercially market and sell image analysis technology that improves blast fragmentation results.

“The explosives business was ‘booming’ and I worked in Peru, Chile, South Africa, Australia and Hong Kong in the next few years providing training, troubleshooting, blast designs, vibration control, high speed camera work and other specialized services.”

Tom Palangio, President and CEO WipWare Inc.

One thing Tom has always believed in – mentoring newcomers to the world of business because this creates new jobs and he tries to participate in organizations that support this. After 15 years as President of SAMSSA, Tom decided to retire.

Tom has more than 40 years in the mining and explosives industries, over 22 years as an entrepreneur and won various awards and recognitions including: the NOBA Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2003; Export Development Awards in 2001 and 2002; the Ontario Leadership Award in the Provincial Global Traders Award category in 2003; the OACETT Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in 2009; was recognized by PROFIT 500 as being in the top third of growth companies in Canada in 2013 and received the Northern Ontario Business Award for Innovation in 2015.