Feds to aid manufacturing companies with funds, partnerships

The research facilities of the National Research Council Canada in London, Ont. are seen on Thursday, June 11, 2015. (Bryan Bicknell / CTV London)

Local companies will get a share of about $380 million directed to help Canadian companies better compete with lower cost manufacturing countries, CTV News has learned.

National Research Council (NRC) labs, including the one in London, will be lending their expertise and resources to Canadian manufacturers.

London West MP Ed Holder, the Minister of State for Science and Technology, will announce details Friday of a new partnership and a change in direction for the NRC and the development of a program called Factory of the Future.

In London, 3M Canada will become a partner with the council.

“We're working with them to commercialize new technologies,” says 3M's Randy Frank.

“To do that obviously they need to make investments in their capability. That's to bring unique and differentiated technologies that we don’t have in house today.  And that's where we're encouraged by the investment because at the end of the day, they're typically expensive pieces of equipment that are needed to do that.”

As well, Jones Packaging Inc. will also benefit from the program.

It's all part of an announcement Prime Minister Stephen Harper made last November in London, which will provide $5.8 billion over three years to improve federal infrastructure.

“The NRC over the last couple of years has changed their mandate a little. They've been a little more focussed on industry, on commercialization and innovation in Canada, which for us, is a great thing because historically they've done some academic work, which really hasn't been important for us. So we're excited about that sort of shift,” Frank says.

The goal of the new program is to position Canadian manufacturers to anticipate the future demands of the market by incorporating new technologies and new processes to produce high quality goods faster and at a lower cost.

The end result will be Canadian manufacturers that can get a leg up on lower cost manufacturing countries like China, India and the Philippines, while creating more jobs locally.