March 6, 2015 — London — Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario)
Fanshawe College will introduce a collaborative, integrated facility for companies to test their products, with the aid of an investment of up to $8.1 million towards $16.2 million in project costs, announced today by Minister of State (FedDev Ontario) Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology); Ed Holder, Susan Truppe, Member of Parliament for London North Centre; and Joe Preston, Member of Parliament for Elgin-Middlesex-London.
Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology will establish the Canadian Centre for Product Validation, which will allow companies to test and validate their products in one centralized space. Funding will be used towards the construction and start-up of this 20,000-square foot facility in London. This project will help accelerate both the development and the commercialization process for new, southern Ontario businesses and their products, which will benefit from having multiple modes of testing performed in one place.
This federal contribution is the first through FedDev Ontario's Investing in Commercialization Partnerships initiative, which is aimed at encouraging business-led partnerships with post-secondary institutions and not-for-profit organizations to create innovative products, technologies and services. Increased collaboration will help bring ideas from the lab to the marketplace, contributing to southern Ontario's productivity and competitiveness.
Following the announcement, Minister Goodyear and the MPs will visit Sciencetech Inc., an export-oriented manufacturer of innovative instrumentation based on spectroscopy, such as solar simulators that provide light comparable to sunlight used by researchers to test the next generation of solar cells being developed. The company has previously received a contribution of more than $10,000 to help train its workers and increase efficiency, with the support of the Yves Landry Foundation's AIME Global Initiative. The company also hired a Western University graduate student as an intern in 2013 with FedDev Ontario support.
Erica Furtado
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Gary Goodyear
613-943-7599
Media Relations
FedDev Ontario
416-954-6652
FedDevMedia@FedDevOntario.gc.ca
Toll Free: 1-866-593-5505
Website: www.FedDevOntario.gc.ca
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