TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 23, 2014) - Industry Canada

Ed Holder, Minister of State (Science and Technology), accompanied by John Carmichael, Member of Parliament for Don Valley West, was in Toronto today to celebrate the launch of the Refined Manufacturing Acceleration Process (ReMAP) network.

ReMAP was recently awarded $7.7 million over five years through the Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence (BL-NCE) program. The funding will support ReMAP's mission to bring together academic partners, research organizations and a wide range of companies to work on research and development (R&D) projects to develop technologies to benefit the electronics sector. ReMAP will help Canadian electronics manufacturers to compete globally by offering tools to bring innovative products to market faster. Sharing resources and knowledge will help the electronics sector lower costs, improve processes and products, and contribute to Canada's economic prosperity.

Quick facts

• On January 22, 2014, the Harper Government announced the results of the most recent BL-NCE competition. Four research networks, including ReMAP, were awarded $49.7 million over five years to address industry R&D challenges.
  
  
• To date, ReMAP has attracted over 25 network partners including Argyle Associates, Celestica, Cisco Systems, CMC Microsystems, Communitech, Concordia University, Curtiss-Wright, DuPont Canada, Honeywell, Juniper Networks, Kangaroo Design, McGill University, Microbonds, National Research Council of Canada, S2E Technologies, Solantro Semiconductor, SunWash Technologies, TeraXion, Tornado Spectral Systems, University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo and Western University.
  
  
• As the lead industry partner, Celestica provides advanced manufacturing solutions for customers in markets such as health care, green technology and aerospace. Celestica will work with companies in the ReMAP network to increase its exposure to new markets and leverage best practices.
  
  

Quotes

"Our government is investing in science and technology that drives business innovation and moves ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace more efficiently. The business-led research network ReMAP is positioning Canadian manufacturers to improve processes and materials in high-tech industries that create jobs and prosperity for Canadians."

- Ed Holder, Minister of State (Science and Technology)

"Partnerships between research institutions and the private sector allow Canadian companies to grow and thrive. ReMAP will allow Toronto manufacturers to improve their processes and develop even more products, while supporting our economy and creating jobs."

- John Carmichael, Member of Parliament for Don Valley West

"Companies are attracted to business-led networks because they see clearly how these kinds of collaborations will add value to their bottom line. The program provides a way to bring together competing companies in pursuit of solutions to shared problems."

- Janet Walden, Chief Operating Officer, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

"As products are being launched exponentially faster than ever before, the role of the network is to accelerate researchers' innovative ideas and emerging technology through to product commercialization. Working together, large industries, start-ups, and small and medium-sized enterprises will help build and strengthen a manufacturing ecosystem-compounding the creation of further intellectual property and jobs at every point on the value chain to complement Canada's existing infrastructure. In turn, this will also enable new import and export opportunities to help Canada compete globally."

- Irene Sterian, Executive Director, ReMAP

"To participate in today's highly competitive global marketplace, companies need access to the expertise and infrastructure required to launch products on a global scale. As the lead industry partner of ReMAP, Celestica will support product enablement by providing access to engineering, manufacturing and global supply chain expertise to enable innovative companies to launch products worldwide. ReMAP is creating a global centre that is attracting organizations from around the world and helping local companies to be more competitive on the global stage."

- Mike Andrade, Executive Vice President, Diversified Markets, Celestica

Associated links

- remapnetwork.org

- Celestica Inc.

- 2014 Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence program competition

- Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence program information

- Current Business-Led Networks of Centres Of Excellence

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Networks of Centres of Excellence

The Networks of Centres of Excellence, which manages the BL-NCE program, administers a suite of national funding programs on behalf of the three federal granting agencies-the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada-in partnership with Industry Canada and Health Canada. NCE programs support large-scale, multidisciplinary collaborations between universities, industry, government and not-for-profit organizations. These programs help focus Canada's research capacity on economic and social challenges, commercialize and apply research breakthroughs, increase private sector R&D, and train highly qualified people.