Bold Proposal Centrepiece of September 7 Gathering of  Manufacturing and Technology Companies

The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with area chambers and municipalities to organize a targeted event to help drive the growth of modern manufacturing as a mainstay of economic development, job creation and community prosperity.

The Manufacturing Supercluster Forum will be held on Thursday September 7 from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm at McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton. It will bring together select stakeholders from Hamilton and surrounding communities — including leading manufacturers, technology providers and academics — to engage in ongoing work to build an advanced manufacturing supercluster in Ontario. This forum is among similar events to be held in other Ontario communities in the coming weeks in the lead up to a federal funding deadline.

A supercluster is defined as a high concentration of complementary companies linked through a shared reliance on specialized inputs, including technologies, talent and infrastructure. In Ontario, the key sector ripe to form a supercluster of global significance is advanced manufacturing.

The purpose of the forum is to showcase progress to-date on a comprehensive, industry-led plan to develop this supercluster. The plan emerged out of discussions initiated by the Toronto Region Board of Trade, Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, and their partner network across Southern Ontario. A major catalyst is the opportunity to secure significant matched funding through the Government of Canada’s Innovation Supercluster Initiative (ISI).

Forum guest presenters will include Jan De Silva, CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade and Avvey Peters, VP Partnerships, Communitech Corporation. Local presenters will include senior representatives from ArcelorMittal Dofasco and McMaster University.

Attendees will hear details of the initial bid submitted to the ISI by a working group co-chaired by two leading innovation hubs: MaRS Discovery District and Communitech Corporation. This bid — which outlines a strategy to “lead at the intersection of manufacturing and technology” — has support letters from industry partners totalling $573 million in cash and $148 million in in-kind contributions to help unlock the requested $250 million in ISI funding. All these amounts are over a five-year period.

The bid has a strong focus on helping large and small manufacturers and emerging companies seize an economic advantage by exploiting Industry 4.0 tools and the Internet of Things.

The forum will also include a panel discussion with Q and A moderated by Hamilton Chamber CEO Keanin Loomis and focused on identifying opportunities for local companies to engage and benefit from the advanced manufacturing supercluster.

One example is a proposed collaborative project facilitated by Hamilton-based ArcelorMittal Dofasco to improve the strength of lightweight steel. It would involve a research institute at McMaster University and two SME suppliers.

“It’s vital that Hamilton area stakeholders help shape this game changing initiative alongside counterparts in Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and other participating communities,” said Keanin Loomis. “It’s an opportunity for companies of all sizes to join an expanding manufacturing ecosystem and adopt new technologies needed to compete and win in the age of Industry 4.0.”

Outcomes from the forum will help inform a full application and business case to be summitted to the federal government this October.

Seats for this free event are very limited and preference is given to representatives from the manufacturing industry. To learn more, please contact Whitney Eames at w.eames@hamiltonchamber.ca or 905-522-1151 x 100.

 

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