National Research Council front and centre in new "Factory of the Future" program

The federal government is committing new infrastructure funding to a Factory of the Future (FoF) program that will see significant upgrades to National Research Council (NRC) laboratories in Montreal and London and the construction of a new facility in Winnipeg. Initially focusing on aerospace and automotive technologies, the FoF will be funded out of $380 million allocated to major repairs and upgrading of federal laboratories and research facilities.

The funding is part of a new $5.8-billion tranche of infrastructure investment under the New Building Canada Plan, most of which will be spent in the next three years. The announcement was made by prime minister Stephen Harper on November 24th at Western Univ's Collider Centre for Technology Commercialization following a tour of NRC's London facility.

"We shall build a new NRC facility in Winnipeg and we will be expanding our facilities in Montreal and the one right here in London. As part of the Factory of the Future program, this expansion in London will allow NRC employees to fully participate in this important initiative," said Harper. "It's about keeping Canada innovative (and) competitive with the best in the world and creating new jobs and opportunities."

Harper said the FoF program will modernize federal laboratories to assist Canadian manufacturers that are "under enormous pressure to innovate". And while the initial focus is on aerospace and automotive technologies, the advances in advanced manufacturing technologies and techniques hold "significant potential for a spill-over to a large number of industrial sectors".

It's unclear whether NRC will administer the FoF program or undertake a significant portion of its activities. NRC referred queries to the Prime Minister's Office, which declined to provide additional details.

London and Western Univ are a significant hub of automotive R&D. Western's Collider Centre is located at the Fraunhofer Project Centre @ Western — a joint venture between the university and the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology, Pfinztal, Germany

NRC has a major component of its aerospace portfolio in Montreal and the region is home to Canada's largest concentration of aerospace R&D and manufacturing.

Winnipeg has a significant aerospace industry presence, with an emphasis on operations and maintenance. The city is also home to New Flyer Industries Inc, a globally focused manufacturer of urban transit buses.

The FoF program is a welcome development for advanced manufacturing in Canada, which has lagged other countries like the US, Germany and Japan in terms of investment. The US President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recently released a second report on advanced manufacturing, calling on the government to fund new infrastructure, develop a coordinated strategy between the public and private sectors and establish an advisory body to coordinate private sector input on priority R&D areas (R$, November 12/14).

"Around the world the manufacturing industry as we all know is changing radically," said Harper. "The factories of the future will be known for their efficiency, frugality, flexibility and intelligence.

Further details on the FOF initiative will be released in the coming weeks.

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