SUPERCLUSTER SUCCESS

Federally backed advanced manufacturing network celebrated as boon to city

A new advanced manufacturing “supercluster” of area research and industry players announced by the federal government Thursday will pay enormous economic benefits for Hamilton, local business leaders say.

The move — part of a $950million series of initiatives across Canada — is being described as a major shot-in-the-arm to a burgeoning network powerhouse developing between Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton.

“We are evolving into a more regional economy and we have to be able to evolve it further to remain globally competitive,” says Keanin Loomis, president of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.

He says preliminary efforts putting together the network have “unlocked a lot of co-ordination between the three centres” and encouraged hundreds of millions of dollars in industrial investment.

The federal government did not say how much of the $950 million will go to the “advanced manufacturing supercluster” but Loomis believes it will be biggest local federal investment to date.

“As a centre of advanced manufacturing, we welcome the opportunity for our leading companies to work within a significant supercluster,” said Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger.

The local supercluster — which includes 140 partners between the three communities — is one of five networks announced by the federal government that will receive the funding over the next five years.

It’s part of the government’s so-called innovation agenda to bring together networks of small, medium-sized and large companies, academic institutions and not-for-profit organizations to generate economic growth and job creation.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains announced five winners on Thursday in a competition for the federal money. The others included a “digital technology supercluster” in B.C., a “protein industries supercluster” in the prairies, an “ocean supercluster” in Atlantic Canada as well as a “Scale AI supercluster” in Quebec that will build intelligent supply chains through artificial intelligence and robotics.

Bains said in total, the initiative would grow Canada’s economy by $50 billion over the next decade and create more than “50,000 middle-class jobs.”

The government says the Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster alone would lead to $13.5 billion in GDP growth and more than 13,500 jobs.

One company that has been particularly active in the local effort is ArcelorMittal Dofasco. Sean Donnelly, the steelmaker’s president, said the supercluster will “leverage and connect Ontario’s significant research assets, including universities, national labs and private sector organizations, to accelerate the adoption of technology and improve Canada’s productivity and global competitiveness.”

The advanced manufacturing supercluster, he said, would provide an “ecosystem” to allow businesses to “accelerate the adoption of technology and increase R and D in leading edge technology applications.”

McMaster University president Patrick Deane called it “vitally important.”

“This is a region that is already expanding and growing with advanced manufacturing ... it will bring tangible economic benefits to industry, to research and generally to the quality of life in Hamilton and the broader region,” Deane said.

“For McMaster it is an opportunity to continue to build on the work with industry ... This will facilitate more of this and help us scale up the contribution we are making.”