When Rob Ranson stood before NATO’s personal protection panel in Amsterdam this past May, he wasn’t just pitching a product, he was representing a bold new vision for public safety on a global stage.
Out of 20 companies, the Canadian government awarded his Winnipeg-based startup, Win-Shield Devices, a contract to build a first-of-its-kind inclusive safety respirator gear for federal law enforcement, one that accommodates facial hair and religious head coverings. Interest has since poured in from across the world.
“I’m a testament that we [Manitoba startups] are walking onto the world stage, and they’re saying, ‘We need to hear more,’” Ranson said.
For years, Canada’s respiratory protection policies have left some behind. Most respirators are designed to require a clean-shaven face to ensure a proper seal. But in law enforcement, many officers wear beards for religious, cultural, or medical reasons and cannot shave. As a result, they’re often unable to use standard respirators—leaving them out of critical, life-saving situations and creating a dangerous gap in emergency response.
While some commercial respirators claim compatibility with facial hair, they’re often unsuitable for the rigours of police work. Many impede communication, movement, or tactical readiness — all non-starters in high-risk situations. In an unpredictable world where officers may need to respond to chemical, biological, or airborne threats at a moment’s notice, the stakes are high.
That’s where Ranson’s respirator comes in.
The idea for Win-Shield Devices began not in a boardroom, but in the middle of the night during the COVID-19 pandemic. Back in March 2020, Ranson’s daughter, a front-line X-ray technician, had just been exposed to two patients with COVID-19. As managing director of University Medical Group in Winnipeg, Ranson was already scrambling to secure PPE for the hospital. That same day, a group of surgeons flagged serious concerns about the effectiveness of available face shields.
By 3:00 a.m., Ranson was sketching a solution, and by morning, he had turned to North Forge for help. Through North Forge’s FabLab™, one of the largest publicly accessible fabrication labs in North America, Ranson had access to the tools, talent, and machines needed to bring his vision to life.
“I needed somebody to help me do CAD drawings, somebody else to create a mould, and then someone to show me how to use a vacuum forming machine. All of which I knew I could find at North Forge. Within three days, I had a working prototype,” he said.
But North Forge gave Ranson more than just equipment , it gave him a business roadmap. He joined their no-cost Founders Program, which provides early-stage tech and manufacturing companies with mentorship, funding guidance, and go-to-market support.
And when hospitals tested his prototype — a shield that protects not just the face, but the forehead and top of the head — the response was overwhelming. An emergency ward trial led to immediate orders: 1,000 shields turned into 20,000, and then one million.
Soon, the province stepped in. A government response team ordered four million shields, sparking a months-long, multi-provincial fulfillment effort that saw Ranson partner with companies from Manitoba to British Columbia. North Forge FabLab members joined the effort. By January 2021, the order was complete.
“I knew COVID was going to change the culture and mindset of people, so there was an opportunity to better diversify into other products,” Ranson said. “The success of that one contract allowed me to quietly hire people and say, ‘Let’s build this.’”
Today, Ranson leads a team of 15 from inside the North Forge FabLab, where they design and manufacture affordable, cutting-edge gear for law enforcement, military, medical, and industrial applications.
As Win-Shield’s product line expanded beyond its original shield design into advanced PPE for law enforcement, healthcare, and emergency response, Ranson knew he needed to safeguard his innovations on a global scale.
That’s where ElevateIP, delivered through North Forge, made all the difference.
Before the program, Win-Shield had filed its own patents independently — a challenging, expensive process that slowed its ability to keep pace with product development. With ElevateIP’s mentorship and funding support, Ranson and his team built a comprehensive IP portfolio that now includes seven patent families and more than 60 international filings.
“When Canada’s IP Assist program was introduced, it proved to be a godsend,” Ranson said. “It allowed us to maintain our IP protection moat. ElevateIP took that foundation and turned our R&D into a defensible, globally filed IP portfolio that supports our commercialization and licensing strategy."
That protection has positioned Win-Shield to partner with two of the world’s largest PPE manufacturers and has drawn the attention of global defence organizations. Ranson has since been invited twice to present before NATO’s sub-committee on Physical Protection, and one of Win-Shield’s patent-pending technologies will be featured as a keynote presentation at the world’s leading respiratory protection symposium in Malmö, Sweden, this fall.
North Forge President & CEO Joelle Foster has watched Ranson’s journey unfold over more than a decade, but she says this venture is different.
“I have known Rob for over 15 years and witnessed his entrepreneurial drive across many ventures, but Win-Shield is transformative,” said Foster. “The world isn’t just noticing, it’s responding, and that speaks volumes about the scale and urgency of what Rob has created.”
Ranson acknowledges that building in Manitoba presents unique challenges.
“We have to do a little more work,” he said. “We don’t have the luxury of dozens of suppliers like you would in a city like Toronto. But the encouragement you get here is hard to compare.”
From small beginnings to global briefings, Win-Shield’s rise reflects not just one entrepreneur’s tenacity, but the resilience of Manitoba’s growing tech and innovation ecosystem.
“There is a disproportionate amount of success happening in Manitoba that a lot of people don’t know about.”
Free open house tours of North Forge’s FabLab run every Tuesday at 6 p.m. To sign up, visit northforge.ca/tours/. To learn more about the organization as a whole, including ElevateIP programming offered by North Forge, sign up for a virtual info session by visiting northforge.ca/event-list.
