HAMILTON, Ontario, Sept. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the industry-led organization leading Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster, is expanding Canada’s manufacturing ecosystem with their funding of a project supporting the digitization of services for 200 companies who serve the industrial, mining, and energy sectors in Saskatchewan.
“In addition to funding innovative manufacturing projects, one of our key goals is to develop new clusters with significant innovation and commercial potential,” said Jayson Myers, CEO, NGen. “Supporting SIMSA’s digitization project speaks directly to this, linking SIMSA and its members with other businesses, organizations and clusters across the country. It’s a huge step in building the ecosystem we need to position Canada as a global leader in advanced manufacturing technology.”
The Saskatchewan Industrial Mining Supplier Association (SIMSA) represents 200 mining suppliers that are responsible for over $10 billion in revenues, $8 billion in GDP, and impacts 21,000 jobs. The pandemic has impacted the activities of the association, which included procurement events and tradeshows that were critical to the survival of many of the member companies. With the support of NGen, SIMSA is creating a new, digital platform, SIMSA Digital, that will allow members and members’ clients to continue to do business together by digitizing current practices and developing new partnerships and business opportunities. The new platform also allows SIMSA and its members to link virtually to other mining industry associations across Canada, encouraging innovation and collaboration with new partners in both traditional and non-traditional industry sectors.
“The Next Generation Manufacturing Supercluster brings together the best of Canada’s manufacturing and technology capabilities to give our products a competitive edge. This new ecosystem development project will bring digital transformation opportunities to a community of 200 Saskatchewan mining suppliers, most of them small to medium enterprises (SMEs),” said the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
“SIMSA Digital will impact our members through the growth of direct and indirect revenues and exports, resulting in growth in GDP and number of employees,” said Eric Anderson, SIMSA’s Executive Director. “The new platform also gives members the ability to attract foreign investment and buyers, and opens opportunities for collaboration, innovation, IP development and cross-channel selling, both domestically and internationally.”
This project is the first of many cluster building projects being supported by NGen under the Canadian Government’s Innovation Supercluster Initiative. NGen plans to leverage Supercluster funding through co-investments to help build clusters that will facilitate broader collaboration and cooperation among SMEs and supporting organizations in order to accelerate the implementation, scale-up, and commercialization of advanced technologies for manufacturing in Canada.
About NGen - Next Generation Manufacturing Canada
NGen is the industry-led not-for-profit organization that leads Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster. Its mandate is to help build world-leading advanced manufacturing capabilities in Canada for the benefit of Canadians. NGen works to strengthen collaboration among its membership of more than 2,800 manufacturers, technology companies, innovation centres, and researchers, and provides funding and business support to industry-led initiatives that aim to develop, apply, or scale-up transformative manufacturing solutions in Canada for commercialization in global markets.
Associated links
Next Generation Manufacturing Canada
Innovation Superclusters Initiative
NGen All Capacity Building Application Guide
Media contact:
Robbie MacLeod, Next Generation Manufacturing Canada
robbie.macleod@ngen.ca
+1-613-297-3578