About Us

2004

Upon completing college, Kevin took a trip to Hong Kong and China. After a chance meeting with a Chinese national, whom he hired, Kevin founded Smartrend Canada Ltd. To fund the single-person operation in China, Kevin worked as a business development consultant for two Manitoba companies while delivering pizza at night.

2006

SMG gained New Flyer Industries and Motor Coach Industries as customers.

2007

Kevin brought in investors to help fund growing SMG sales, the new partnership created Smartrend Supply Ltd.

Kevin bought out his investors and Kevin’s wife, Cam Quan-Smith, joined the company. Cam immediately made an impact by growing the customer base and taking a critical leadership role.

2014

Kevin established a U.S. based entity, co-owned by friend and then business partner, Daryn Parnham.  Daryn was the owner of a well-regarded long standing powder coating facility in North Carolina.  Daryn, regarded as Kevin’s first mentor, played a key role in SMG’s growth; onboarding such customers as Panasonic and Superior Trim, and helped Kevin navigate various challenges. 

2017

Kevin identified a need within the pupil transportation industry to improve critical school bus safety signage. Determined to increase safety in the school bus industry, First Light Safety Products was formed. Since then, First Light has been granted over 20 patents for its disruptive industry changing products that would set the new standard for enhanced visibility of the words “SCHOOL BUS” and “STOP”.

2020

First Light introduced the Illuminated School Bus Sign (ISBS) to the student transportation industry.  The first schools to adopt the ISBS were South Colonie, led by Peter Tunny, Transportation Director, and his friend Al Karam, Transportation Director of Shenendehowa in New York.  Not only the first adopters, Pete and Al were two school representatives that prototyped the ISBS in 2018 and provided the First Light team with access to buses, important feedback on product experience, and vital industry knowledge.

2021

First Light introduced the Fully Illuminated Stop Arm (FISA) to the student transportation industry.  The FISA is the first stop that doesn’t rely on 30+ year old reflective technology to be visible as a stop sign.  As the epidemic of stop arm violations has continued to grow year-over-year, the FISA has proven to be a groundbreaking innovation that significantly reduces stop arm violations, resulting in saving children’s lives.

2024

After an exhaustive process led by Ernst & Young, Kevin and Cam sold a minor position to Weathervane Investments. Aligning SMG with Weathervane was a key initiative to support expansion and help fuel growth plans.  Within days of the transaction closing, SMG and Weathervane got to work on a $30,000,000 investment in the future – buying land and developing plans for SMG’s Canadian manufacturing headquarters.

2025

Announced a long-term agreement with the student transportation industry’s market leader, IC Bus, on a partnership that makes the ISBS and FISA standard on IC buses.  Certification to IATF 16949 is planned for Q3.

2026

A 140,000 sq.ft. state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located at 1455 Clarence Ave., in Winnipeg, SMG’s Canadian headquarters is scheduled to be ready by Q4.  Certification to ISO 14001 is planned for Q4.   

We enjoy what we do, who we do it for, and the team we do it with. It’s not just about building a business. It’s about working with companies and people who like to work with us and manufacturing and supplying products that make a difference.