NGen and industry partners invest $28.8M in emerging technologies

HAMILTON — Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) and its industry partners have invested $28.8 million to support nine cutting-edge projects across Canada that will enhance the manufacturers’ capabilities.

NGen’s contribution of $11.3 million combines with $17.5 million from 27 industry partners to fuel projects that engage new and emerging technologies. Twenty-four of the partners are small and medium-sized companies.

“The advanced manufacturing projects we support combine some of the best in knowledge, technologies and production capability that Canada has to offer,” said Jayson Myers, NGen’s CEO. “Collaboration allows Canadian companies to create leading edge solutions for Canada that can then be leveraged to capture new market opportunities around the world.”

The projects include:

• The digitization of a hot-ladle steel production process to minimize manual intervention, reduce process variation and improve final metal properties. Project lead is ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton and partners IBM Canada Ltd. (Markham, Ont.), Tenova Goodfellow Inc. (Mississauga, Ont.) and i5O Canada (Windsor, Ont.).
• The creation of the world’s most sophisticated steel forming press to support domestic shipbuilding on Canada’s East and West coasts. Project lead is Conrex Steel Ltd. (Toronto) and partners Macrodyne Technologies Inc. (Concord, Ont.) and Source Industrial Services Inc. (Brampton, Ont.).
• The integration of medical science and precise imaging and measurements with industrial 3D printing to revolutionize the manufacturing of orthopedic implants. Project lead is Orthopedic Innovation Centre (Winnipeg) with partners Pega Medical Inc. (Laval, Que.), Spinologics  (Montreal), Conceptualiz (Halifax, NS) and Precision ADM Inc (Winnipeg).
• New technologies designed to reduce the environmental impact of oil sands production. Project lead is Exergy Solutions (Calgary) with partners Suncor Energy (Calgary) and Precision ADM Inc. (Winnipeg).
• The development of a system to manufacture flexible, transparent electrodes and heaters with clean technology applications such as batteries, electronics and solar cells. Project lead is NanoCnet (Waterloo, Ont) with partner Evercloak (Kitchener, Ont.).
• Development of a process for production of graphene and thin-film membranes to be applied primarily in the cleantech sector. Project lead is Evercloak (Kitchener, ON). Partner: ZEN Graphene (Thunder Bay, Ont.).
• A new manufacturing process designed to transform the way automotive components are made, allowing cycle times to be cut in half, increasing productivity and decreasing costs. Project lead is MPC (Oro-Medonte, Ont.) and partner Niigon Machines Ltd.  (Vaughan, Ont.).
• A solution to improve tool life and lower costs by reducing the amount of lubricant required in manufacturing processes. Project lead is KSL (Burlington, Ont.) with partner Wolfedale Tool & Stamping (Mississauga, Ont.).
• A Microsoft Azure software platform to enable real-time monitoring of production assets to help manufacturers identify inefficiencies, boost productivity and reduce waste. Project lead is Panevo (Vancouver) with partner Accuenergy (Toronto).

Click here for more information on each project, including industry partner quotes.

NGen is a not-for-profit based in Hamilton that leads Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster.