Our Executive Director, Mark Corker joined key leaders including the CEOs of Canada’s Supercluster program, in attending the 2019 Hannover Messe event in Germany. During his time in Europe MTechHub participated in a cluster exchange networking event organized, in part, by the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP) initiative.

Some key takeaways from our trip:

  • Hannover Messe is a must attend event. According to Wikipedia the event covers all areas of industrial technologies. Watch the “Best of Hannover Messe” video below.
  • Europe is more advanced in two key areas: cluster development and collaboration and industry 4.0 adoption
  • MTechHub is now a formally registered cluster on the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP).

For more about Mark’s trip and his first hand experience listen to his interview, below, on “The Leading Edge” interview series with Chris Herbert.

Best of Hannover Messe

Interview with Mark Corker on The Leading Edge

Show Notes

00:00 Hannover Messe: tell us about the tradeshow and why did you attend? What were some of the predominant Industry 4.0 technologies being showcased? How was Canada represented compared to other countries? Robotics ping pong?

06:35 IoT for air compressors: You attended the leading trade show for compressed air and vacuums . How come? What’s the connection to IIoT and MTechHub? The connected air compressor!

07:20 Factory tours: what challenges are they facing and how well have they been adopting industry 4.0 technologies? Are they further ahead of Canada industry and manufacturers?

10:58 Cluster Development: What is a cluster? What’s the EU’s approach to cluster development? What cluster examples exist in Canada? How many are there in Europe and do any exist in Canada? MTechHub on being the 1000th cluster on the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP).

15:09 Canada and EU cluster matchmaking event: What was it like and what European clusters did MTechHub connects with?

16:10 Canadian clusters: Are Canadian organizations and leaders ready, willing and able to build clusters and ecosystems? Why are clusters important for Canada and how is MTechHub contributing? How can Canadian companies and industries work together, maybe better together, using the cluster development approach.

21:43 What advice would you give a new tech entrepreneur to help increase her chances of success?

Final Thoughts

MTechHub, along with other organizations, are committed to making Canadian companies stronger and more competitive. Collaboration and working together in developing a strong cluster will transform our industries.