On Friday January 25th, 2019 MTechHub was one of the presenters at TechConnect an event organized by Milton Chamber of Commerce’s AMS Halton working group. Why it was well attended there were only a few manufacturers present. This concerned us because the program is specifically for manufacturers who need to understand how to get involved and the importance of connecting and collaborating with the technology industry.
This event brought together manufacturers (a few), continuous improvement consultants and technology service and solution providers designed to do the following:
- To ignite collaboration in Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster
- To bring together the many dynamic technology, manufacturing and support organizations in Halton region to connect and starting building relationships
- Discuss some of the challenges facing manufacturers
The event included presentations by:
- Pierre Cleroux, BDC, VP, Research and Chief Economist
- Jayson Myers, CEO of Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGM)
- Shann McGrail, Executive Director, Haltech and MTechHub’s Mark Corker
Below are their presentations with some key important notes and takeaways for each.
Digitize Your Business: Gain a competitive advantage with a step by step plan
- Manufacturers who adopted digital technologies benefited in 3 key areas: 1) 60% boosted productivity; 2) 50% reduced operating costs, and 3) 42% improved overall product quality (Source: BDC)
- Manufacturers who invested, between $10K and $1M, in digital technologies saw revenue grow between 5 and 10% (Source: BDC)
- Manufacturing should invest in digital technologies around these four key process areas: 1) Distribution and logistics; 2) Sales and marketing; 3) Manufacturing/production, and 4) Management, finance and human resources (Source: BDC)
About NGen Canada and How You Can Partner
- To participate in Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster program you need to join the supercluster.
- Supercluster project funding will focus on three streams of work: 1) Ground-breaking process transformation; 2) High potential technology development, and 3) Ecosystem development.
- Projects must be collaborative and involve at least four industry players in project consortia and be industry led.
Logistics Optimization: Halton’s Road to Competitive Advantage
Key Takeaways from presentation:
- This is a proposed Supercluster project led by MTechHub, HalTech, AMS Halton, Laurier University and the Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster Tech (AMS Tech) working group
- There are 352 small to midsize manufacturers in Halton region representing, annually, $170M in inbound and outbound expenditures.
- Solution incorporates Cloud and AI technologies.
What’s Next?
Pay a visit to MTechHub by signing up for one of our upcoming events or book some time to chat with Mark Corker to learn more about how to get involved in the MTechHub community.
NGen Canada is holding its first Supercluster Project Pitch Day to identify potential Supercluster investments. The event will take place at The Tannery in Kitchener-Waterloo on April 16. The event is filling up fast so if you’re a manufacturer you should sign up now.
