Dutch manufacturing industry gets physical place for innovation in IJmond region
On Tuesday, March 8, Techport announced the Techport Innovation Centre. This physical location in Velsen-Noord, after construction is completed, will be the place for innovations in the Dutch manufacturing industry from 2023. The Techport Innovation Centre will have an important role in properly training sufficient technical personnel with new skills and deploying digital technology within the industry. It will also contribute to the energy transition by developing solutions that enable more efficient and cleaner production. The content of the innovation center will be determined in the coming year by representatives from business, education and government. To this end, Techport is looking for these so-called Innovation Makers.
The manufacturing industry is facing a major challenge. It must produce cleaner and smarter. This is a challenge, but above all an enormous opportunity. After all, the manufacturing and maintenance industry has its own knowledge and expertise to develop new technologies and production methods needed for the energy transition. And by using digitalization, the manufacturing industry can actually produce smarter and more efficiently. This requires creative innovativeness and also sufficient well-educated personnel with new skills, competencies and abilities. No single company is big or strong enough to innovate and train staff alone. Only through cooperation with other companies and education is it possible to take the step towards a smarter, more efficient and cleaner industry. To facilitate and drive innovation capacity, Techport will open a physical location at Rooswijkweg in Velsen-Noord in 2023: the Techport Innovation Centre.
Attractive location in IJmond
With the Techport Innovation Centre, Techport is creating an attractive place for IJmond to study, work, do business and innovate. A place for companies and schools in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area and beyond to work together in multidisciplinary teams, in networks and ecosystems, on a sustainable and digital manufacturing and maintenance industry.
The ambition at the Techport Innovation Centre is to accelerate innovations and link them directly to education. Mark Denys, chairman Techport: "We want to support companies and educational institutions to accelerate technology applications for digitization and the energy transition and to collect, analyze and market data. In doing so, we always have a focus on sustainability, digitalization and sufficient well-educated personnel with new skills, abilities and competencies. In the building itself, we create inspiration and innovation spaces. Here, companies test and demonstrate innovations. The spaces are a learning environment for students full of impressions of the latest technologies."
More than just a building
At the Techport Innovation Center, innovation teams work. These innovation teams consist of talented students, smart researchers, ambitious entrepreneurs and inspiring teachers. Over a defined period of 3 to 36 months, the teams actively work on a new product or service, a process optimization or an energy-efficient application. They focus on both a cleaner form of energy supply, on energy efficiency in the manufacturing and maintenance industry and on the digitization of maintenance. In addition, a fund is available for companies. This fund is intended for the purchase of pilot installations and project-related hardware and software.
Techport
Techport is committed to the future of the manufacturing and maintenance industry. A powerful network of more than 70 companies, schools, knowledge institutions and regional governments. Together they work on innovation, sufficient well-trained technical talent and challenging technical education. Mark: "Since the start in 2013, we have inspired tens of thousands of young people for technology, the technology training programs in IJmond have been renewed and enriched and are better aligned with practice. We have set up continuing education programs for the maintenance mechanic of the future, allowed dozens of SMEs to accelerate their innovation, and new innovative companies have become active in our region."
Wanted: Innovators
The content of the Techport Innovation Center has yet to be determined. This involves looking at what innovation needs there are within the manufacturing industry when looking at smarter and more efficient production. Based on these needs, issues will be identified and the necessary facilities, such as hardware and/or software or test rigs, will be examined. Together with representatives from business, government and educational institutions, the so-called innovation makers, Techport wants to think about this interpretation of the Techport Innovation Centre in the coming year. To this end, Techport will organize a meeting every month starting in April 2022. Are you interested in participating in this process and would you like to make your mark on the innovations that will be launched within the manufacturing and maintenance industry? Then become an innovation maker and sign up. For more information visit techport.nl/innovationcentre.
The Techport Innovation Centre is made possible by Tata Steel, Nova College, Province of North Holland, Municipality of Velsen.
Photo caption: Hans van den Berg, director of Tata Steel, Florus Roelofsen, chairman of the Board of Governors ROC Nova College, Jeroen Verwoort, alderman of the Municipality of Velsen, Ilse Zaal, deputy of the Province of North Holland and Mark Denys, chairman of Techport announce the Techport Innovation Centre together with Spot the Robot.