NRC expanding reach of industrial materials cluster

Ottawa, ON March 13, 2003 The National Research Council (NRC), along with Canada Economic Development and Valotech, recently announced new investments toward the creation of a new Industry Partnership Facility at the NRC Industrial Materials Institute (NRC-IMI) in Boucherville, QC.

Known as the Crossroads for Industrial Materials Innovation, the new facility will play a critical role in NRC’s ongoing cluster-building efforts in the Montreal region. Industry Partnership Facilities (IPFs) help bring industry and researchers closer together, cultivate business and scientific networks and attract new resources to the region.

“This future facility represents NRC’s commitment to nurture the growth of high tech clusters in communities across Canada,” said Dr Arthur Carty, president of NRC. “It will enable some of the world’s best researchers in the field of industrial manufacturing technologies from NRC, universities and the private sector to work side-by-side, fostering innovation and commercialization opportunities for Canada.”

The new 20,000 sq foot facility should be complete by the end of 2003 and will have space to incubate more than 15 companies.

NRC-IMI has played an active role in the region since 1978 and carries out research on industrial materials (aluminum and composites, for example), their formulation and forming, as well as the control of their processes. The organization provides solutions for the metallurgy, polymer, aerospace, automotive and biomedical sectors and contributes to a number of NRC-wide research initiatives, such as nanotechnology and fuel cells.