New Facility Ready to Support London's Advanced Manufacturers

LONDON, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 23, 2014) - Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDevOntario)

Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for FedDev Ontario, and Joe Preston, Member of Parliament for Elgin-Middlesex-London, took part in the grand opening of Western University's Collider Centre for Technology Commercialization (Collider), in London today.

The Minister congratulated Western on the important milestone, and spoke about the Government of Canada's commitment to supporting the manufacturing sector in southern Ontario. He also mentioned a series of new funding initiatives, launched by FedDev Ontario in December 2013, which will continue to support the economy of the region, including the $200-million Advanced Manufacturing Fund, which is being delivered throughout Ontario.

Quick Facts

• On November 5, 2012, FedDev Ontario announced a non-repayable contribution of up to $13.7 million toward total project costs of $37 million for Western University to create the Fraunhofer Project Centre @ Western (FPC) and the Collider. The FPC is an applied research facility and a collaborative project between Western and the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology, a world leader in the development and testing of advanced composite materials.
• The Collider is a centre for commercialization of advanced manufacturing technology and will provide manufacturers with industrial research space, business services, contract research services, and access to research staff and expertise, as well as production and testing equipment. It has the capacity to house 10 to 20 businesses at once and aims to accelerate the research and development process and help the region's manufacturers get products to the global market.
• It is anticipated that these centres will create 20 high-quality research and technical jobs. The facilities will collaborate with up to 80 businesses a year and are home to world-class researchers from Western University and the Fraunhofer Institute, who will share their expertise with these businesses and contribute to their accelerated commercialization and global opportunities. This will lead to more investments and high-quality jobs in southern Ontario.
• The FPC has already partnered with 21 businesses, including two U.S. entities and 19 Canadian entities. These businesses include small- and medium-sized enterprises and subsidiaries of large multinational enterprises with headquarters located in countries around the world.

Quotes

"FedDev Ontario's investment in this project is supporting the manufacturing industry-an important contributor to southern Ontario's economic growth. Today's grand opening is a great example of how our Government is backing our advanced manufacturers to bring new opportunities to the London area, and establish it as a hub for this sector."

Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for FedDev Ontario

"I am proud to support projects like this that give London an advantage. This new centre will help products and ideas from the region's manufacturers reach global markets."

Joe Preston, MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London

"As a research-intensive university, Western is working deliberately to create world-class facilities and developing new partnerships in support of excellence. The Collider is another step toward achieving our vision, bringing researchers and industry together under one roof to make new discoveries and bring innovative products to world markets."

Gitta Kulczycki, Vice-President, (Resources & Operations) Western University

Associated Links

- Western Advanced Manufacturing Park

- Advanced Manufacturing Fund

- Original Announcement

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