Peter Krzesinski, MEE Cluster Executive Director, recently traveled to Germany to participate in the Hannover Messe. The Cluster attended the Messe to connect with a variety of organizations from across Europe that fill a similar role of advancing manufacturing by de-risking its digital transformation. The Messe is one of the world’s largest trade fairs with topics dedicated to manufacturing and industrial development in general, with more than 2,500 exhibitors present.
The Cluster was able to connect with several organizations with similar mandates and exchange insights on how to best serve the industry and explore ideas for future collaboration. This included clusters from Germany, Poland, Switzerland, and Quebec. Connecting with clusters from around Europe confirms that the challenges faced by industry on the path to digitalization are shared globally.
The second goal of attending was to connect with solution providers in the Industry 4.0 space. These included Siemens Canada, HitachiVantara, 42Q, MangoGem, Tulip, among many others. As the Cluster develops its offerings, it will rely on solution providers from across Canada to build awareness of Smart Manufacturing solutions, highlight the benefits of Smart Tech, and help de-risk implementation.
One of the highlights at the Hannover Messe was the Canadian Reception hosted by NGen, Canada’s Next Generation Manufacturing Supercluster, at the Canada Pavilion. Not only did the Canadian Pavilion have a great atmosphere during the day, with Canada represented by several companies and agencies from across the country, it also drew a big crowd for the reception on the evening of day two. Held on the main thoroughfare at the front of the pavilion, enhanced by a live band playing across the concourse at another booth, it instantly attracted a large hungry and parched crowd. Canadian manufacturers and solution providers were able to mingle over food and drinks with a large and diverse crowd, leading to great connections being made.
The MEE Cluster would like to thank NGen for hosting the Canadian mission and the Trade Relations Office with the Government of Alberta’s Ministry of Jobs, Economy, and Innovation for connecting the cluster with a number of companies and organizations at the Messe. The trip also served as inspiration for future Cluster activities on how it can connect manufacturers and solutions providers here at home. Stay tuned for a very exciting announcement coming soon!