Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Wood Manufacturing Cluster of Ontario (WMCO) has been awarded $2.9 million from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) to support digital initiatives by wood products firms operating in the region.
The announcement was made by Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger at the WMCO’s Quarterly Networking Event held Oct. 4 in Kitchener.
Ontario is home to the largest concentration of advanced wood manufacturing in Canada with more than 3,000 companies employing at least 35,000 workers. Their work contributes more than $7 billion in revenue each year.
WMCO will provide seed funding for up to 50 eligible SMEs undergoing digital adoption projects, creating 50 new jobs. As part of this investment, 50 new products, services and processes will be commercialized. WMCO will also prioritize SMEs in rural and Indigenous communities through targeted outreach activities.
“This project demonstrates the importance of industry-led clusters to deliver results for small- and medium-sized wood manufacturing companies, and government partners alike. SMEs who do not have easy access to support for digital transformation can work with the cluster to achieve global competitiveness through data integration and Industry 4.0 investments. The cluster provides an environment for companies to learn from each other’s projects and leverage the synergies to boost global competitiveness. WMCO is grateful to FedDev Ontario for this generous support.”
Established in 2011, the WMCO is a not-for-profit organization that acts as an industry-led cluster for the value added wood industry spanning across the province of Ontario.