Take advantage of advanced manufacturing support

You are not alone.

If you are a Canadian manufacturer, especially a small or medium-size enterprise (SME), then you’re in the same situation as many of your peers. Surviving COVID-19 as a business was tough. The good news, however, is that there are “vaccines” for your shop too.

One of them comes from Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the industry-led group behind Canada’s advanced manufacturing superclusters, which cofunds projects to take some of your risk out of advanced manufacturing development and implementation projects.

“Canada’s Innovation Superclusters Initiative has always been about breaking down silos and supporting collaboration across a range of highly innovative industries and among SMEs to generate bold ideas and ambitious solutions,” said François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science, and industry. “Smaller, earlier-stage projects, such as those supported by NGen, are a critical component in creating an advanced manufacturing ecosystem to develop and scale high-potential technologies in Canada.”

This initiative is not about supporting the big projects at Fortune 500 companies, it’s about helping small companies take big steps forward.

In this process, SMEs get paired with experienced partners and are provided with financial support that mitigates some of the risk that comes with developing new technology, processes, and products.

According to NGen’s CEO Jayson Myers, this collaboration ultimately leads to larger projects, improving the capacity of Canada’s manufacturers and technology companies to innovate and create the technologies that will help Canadian manufacturers be more competitive.

These SME-led projects are part of the increasing portfolio of NGen-funded advanced manufacturing initiatives under the Innovation Superclusters Initiative. NGen has committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to these pilot projects and feasibility studies so far to help SMEs scale up project plans for implementation; prepare technologies for deployment in production; and de-risk technology adoption and scale-up by facilitating access to the expertise, training, tools, and testbeds that are available within the Superclusters.

Dave Dennis, president of KSL Lubricants, Burlington, Ont., has gone through theprocess.

“NGen’s support was invaluable, allowing a nine-month trial of the technology in a production environment. Similarly, IRAP’s support is allowing our new technology to be tested in grinding applications,” he said. “Both NGen and IRAP supported a percentage of the project. Each program is monitored with regard to IP development, milestones achieved, environmental benefits, and contribution to Canada’s advanced manufacturing goals.”

IRAP, or the Industrial Research Assistance Program, comes from the National Research Council of Canada and is another “vaccine” that shops can use to help with projects. Canadian shops shouldn’t be shy about taking advantage of these programs. They have been put in place to support the shops, technology, workers, and processes of Canada’s manufacturing future.