Innovation
A History of Leading Innovation
Four decades of patents, product launches, certifications and industry awards. I-Gard is proud of every milestone and focused on continuous innovation to make electrical systems safer and more reliable.
1982
Founded in Mississauga, Ontario
40+
Years of electrical safety engineering
4
EC&M Product of the Year awards
1995
First North American resistor business ISO certified
Milestones
i-AVT Plus named EC&M Product of the Year
The advanced absence of voltage tester was recognized by EC&M for reducing the exposure involved in verifying a de-energized state.
SIGMA3-C redesigned and relaunched
A refreshed platform for high-resistance grounding monitoring and ground fault detection.
Surface-mount production line operational
In-house SMT assembly brought relay electronics manufacturing under the same roof as engineering and test.
Launched the VTi voltage indicator and voltage test port
Voltage can be checked and troubleshooting done without opening the panel door.
Shipped the largest neutral grounding resistor in I-Gard history
A Fluor project order that pushed the in-house resistor line and test facility to their largest build to date.
Launched the i-AVT absence of voltage tester
Permanently mounted testing moved verification of a de-energized state to the outside of the enclosure.
AVT wins the EC&M Product of the Year Award
Industry recognition for taking a routine lockout step out of the arc flash boundary.
AVT production line installed
Dedicated assembly and test capacity for people-protection products.
Launched the TDM touchscreen interface
A user-friendly display module that made relay setup and diagnostics readable at the panel.
Quality system updated to ISO 9001:2015
Certified by Intertek, carrying forward a registration first earned in the 1990s.
DSP-ADM arc detection module wins EC&M Product of the Year
Optical arc detection recognized as a practical route to lower incident energy.
Launched the DSP-223 retrofit kit
Modernization of installed ground fault protection without replacing the switchgear.
New patent and the launch of Optima
Patented resistor technology applied to a new grounding platform.
Launched the Gemini fail-safe ground fault circuit
Fail-safe monitoring for systems where a missed ground fault is not an acceptable outcome.
Launched Arc-i-Tec optical arc flash mitigation
Optical sensors detect the light of an arc flash and de-energize the hazard in milliseconds.
Expanded to the Bath Road facility
Engineering, manufacturing, testing and support consolidated into one Mississauga building.
Sentinel HRG wins EC&M Product of the Year
Recognition for high-resistance grounding built as a complete, matched system.
Brand moved from “The Power to Protect” to “Unparalleled Protection”
A positioning built around engineering out risk rather than surviving it.
Launched the Sentri relay
Ground fault protection for solidly grounded systems.
Launched the Falcon arc flash mitigation system
An early step into fast arc flash detection and clearing.
Opened a sales office in Mexico
Regional application support for growing industrial demand.
Launched the SIGMA relay
Neutral grounding resistor monitoring and ground fault relaying in one device.
Professional Engineers of Ontario Certificate of Authorization
Formal authority to provide professional engineering services.
IPC becomes I-Gard Corporation
One name for the resistor and relay businesses that had grown together.
Resistor operations expanded through strategic acquisition
Acquired resistor operations from Halma, broadening manufacturing capacity.
Launched the GCHK-100 ground check monitor
Continuous ground conductor monitoring for trailing cable applications in mining.
First ground fault protection sales in Australia
Ground fault protection specified outside North America.
First ground fault protection sales in South-East Asia
Regional expansion into heavy industry and process plants.
Launched the On Track ground fault system for transit
Ground fault detection engineered for DC traction power environments.
UL listing for all high-resistance grounding packages
Complete packaged systems listed rather than assembled from separately rated parts.
Launched Sleuth pulsing ground fault detection
Pulsing lets crews trace a ground fault to the faulted feeder while the system stays online.
Purchased Federal Pioneer ground fault electronics from Schneider Canada
Brought an installed base of Canadian ground fault protection into the portfolio.
Cutler-Hammer resistor product line acquired by the Halma Group
A consolidation that set up the resistor operations I-Gard runs today.
SuperGrid power resistor patent
A resistor grid design built for repeated ground fault duty.
Fusion hybrid grounding system patent
Hybrid grounding that limits fault current without giving up fault clearing.
CSA membership
Active participation in the standards that govern grounding and protection in Canada.
First North American resistor business to achieve ISO 9000 certification
Quality management formalized ahead of the rest of the industry.
Canada Award for Business Excellence
National recognition for engineering and manufacturing practice.
Founded in Mississauga, Ontario
A resistor and grounding business started on the idea that risk should be engineered out at the source.
How the Work Gets Done
Engineering, manufacturing and testing sit in the same building, which is why a design change can be proven at rated current before it reaches a customer site.
Designed in-house
Resistors and relays are engineered by the same team, so both halves of a grounding system are matched to each other.
Proven on the floor
The only CSA approved in-house resistor test facility in the industry lets every design be verified at rated current before it ships.
Driven by the field
Most launches on this timeline started as a problem a consultant or maintenance team brought to our application engineers.
Put Four Decades of Engineering to Work
Whatever industry you’re in, I-Gard can help identify the right electrical safety and reliability solution for your facility.