| Bill Clearihue states "With over 1,000 IMAX screens in some very impressive buildings around the world, it is indeed a Canadian success story. It was at EXPO '67 in Montreal that the NFB commissioned an "immersive" or big screen film experience. Some enterprising lads from Galt, ON came up with that production, and for the OSAKA '70 Fair, Fuji Film in Japan commissioned that same group to take it one step further, which they did. A special camera and technology was built for the Osaka project and at its conclusion it was brought back to Canada. Its first use here was at the newly opened Ontario Place in 1971. The iconic Cinesphere there was built specifically to show film using this new camera which at that time became known as IMAX. By 1971 Bill Breukelman was already involved with IMAX Corp and when it was sold to US interests in 1995, Bill was the Chairman and classed as a Co-Founder. He has since gone on to develop other ground-breaking imaging technologies in the Medical and Geological fields." In 2012 he received the Diamond Jubilee Medal and in 2013 was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada and that citation reads; "William Breukelman has combined business acumen with scientific innovation to create leading-edge technology companies. As the former principal and chair of IMAX Corporation, he helped shepherd the company from a pilot project to a brand that has revolutionized the cinematic experience. He also co-founded Sciex Limited, a breakthrough imaging company that produces instrumentation with broad applications, including environmental testing and clinical diagnosis. He continues to support the growth of promising start-ups through Business Arts Inc., his technology development firm." |
