History
The founders of Glencoe Technologies, Paul Hart and Shari
Macdonald-Miller, have a combined experience of over 35 years in
customs and trade related information systems.
Mr. Hart joined the LIST Foundation at its inception in the spring
of 1989; the LIST Foundation had its genesis in the "Computers and the
Law" project undertaken by the Faculty of Law at the University of
British Columbia and IBM Canada. LIST assembled a team of trade experts
from the U.S. and Canadian private sector and governments, lead by Mr.
Hart and Chris Thomas, a former senior trade advisor to the
Canadian
Minister of International Trade. The team's goal was to
create a comprehensive source of current U.S., Canadian and
international regulations affecting trade. The product was called
TradeRef.
Ms. Macdonald-Miller joined LIST in the summer of 1990
bringing with
her twenty years of business and organizational experience. Shortly
after her arrival, Ms. Macdonald-Miller became Manager for the
research, acquisition and maintenance of all data.
Research indicated that regulatory changes were
frequent
and users
required the most accurate and up to date information available. The
first release of TradeRef was an online
service available
through IBM's global network. Unfortunately, this was prior
to the
general availability of the Internet and the cost of delivering the
service proved prohibitive. The LIST Board of Directors
located a
private sector organization better suited to further develop and market
the product. TradeRef was sold.
Mr. Hart and Ms. Macdonald-Miller left the LIST
Foundation in 1992
to join TradeRef Software Corp, the company contracted to market and
convert TradeRef to a PC-based CD-ROM
product. In 1994, a
distribution agreement was established with Tower Group International,
a subsidiary of McGraw-Hill, to market the product.
In 1995, Mr. Hart and Ms. Macdonald-Miller
left TradeRef Software Corp. to form Glencoe Technologies
Corp. Glencoe continued to maintain and manage the TradeRef product. As the
acceptance of the Internet increased, Glencoe developed a web
based product - a Customs Tariff / Regulatory Library - which was offered as
a part of TowerNet.
In 2000, when FedEx acquired Tower Group International, FedEx
included Glencoe's product as part of their "My Global Trade Data"
web site calling it Reference. Glencoe also supplied FedEx
with a desktop version of the Reference website,
for use by FedEx North American hubs, giving them a tool to assist with the
clearance of goods entering the United States.
Glencoe Technologies' exclusive arrangement with FedEx ended in the fall of 2007.
Glencoe rebranded their product as CustomsReference and offers it as a subscription service
to the international trade community.
For more information, contact:
CustomsReference
1883 Rufus Drive
North Vancouver, BC Canada V7J 3L8
Telephone: +1-604-990-0898
Facsimile: +1-604-985-4856
E-Mail: sales@customsreference.com
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