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Combining the strengths of both organizations solidifies the Hamilton-Halton region’s status as a hub for high-tech innovation and entrepreneurship
HAMILTON, ON, April 2, 2024 – Two leading innovation centres, Innovation Factory and Haltech, have announced their amalgamation and a renewed commitment to fostering technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable economic growth in southwestern Ontario.
Long recognized for their success in helping entrepreneurs and start-ups launch, build, and scale their businesses, Innovation Factory and Haltech made the move to combine their strengths and resources to provide even greater services and support for the region’s innovation ecosystem.
“By coming together and representing a larger region, we’ll be able to build a stronger network of innovative companies in diverse industries and provide more opportunities to develop programming that attracts new clients and influential strategic partners,” said David Carter, CEO of Innovation Factory who will lead the joint organization.
The formal integration of the two organizations took effect on April 1. However, it will be business as usual for all clients who will continue to access services from the offices located at TechPlace in Burlington and McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton.
Since their inception in 2010 and 2011, Innovation Factory and Haltech respectively have supported more than 3,000 Ontario technology start-ups, by providing over 50,000 advisory hours, mentorship, networking, tools, and resources to help them grow and thrive. Their combined efforts have had a major impact on the regional economy, including:
“The mentorship and support from Innovation Factory has been invaluable in getting our company to this stage,” said Eric Zimmerman, co-founder and CEO of Enhanced Medical Nutrition (EMN). “We were matched with business leaders and technical experts with direct experience in our sector who helped fine-tune our product and go-to-market strategy. The amalgamation will provide companies like ours with even more opportunities to tap into the kind of expertise we need to help take our business to the next level.”
Carter said the Hamilton-Halton region is uniquely positioned to become an even stronger hub for start-ups because of the diversity of its industries, wealth of executive talent and expertise, and access to markets. The area is home to over 30,000 businesses, six world-class higher education institutions, highly developed multimodal transportation networks, and 1.4 million people generating about 10 percent of Ontario’s GDP.
“The region is already an essential economic engine driving prosperity for Ontario and Canada, and there’s so much more we can do,” said Carter. “The amalgamation will help us pivot towards a more strategic and deliberate approach to developing ecosystems of industry and investment that support entrepreneurs and scale-ups, bring more value to all stakeholders, and make a larger economic impact on our region.”
The decision to amalgamate follows years of close partnership and cooperation on joint programs and events demonstrating the advantage of uniting efforts. Supported by their respective boards of directors, Carter and Haltech CEO Shann McGrail began to explore the idea of combining forces to maximize the programs, services, and funding available to clients.
“It was a strategic move done with the objective to embrace the incredible potential in this region. I am happy to have been part of the idea and process and am excited for the opportunities it will create for clients and the community. It has been an honour to be part of Haltech’s evolution and it only makes sense to take the successes of both organizations to the next level,” said McGrail.
Innovation Factory is a not-for-profit business accelerator, serving as the catalyst for technology innovation in the Hamilton-Halton region. Innovation Factory provides business services, training, mentorship, and strategic connections to drive market adoption, leverage intellectual property, and increase revenues, investment, and jobs. Innovators can also access sector-specific resources including exclusive smart transportation test environments and data; and a formal life science and health innovation ecosystem.
Haltech is a non-profit corporation that empowers all innovative companies to realize their full potential through education, advisory services, and strategic connections. Haltech launched in 2011 and is the go-to strategic connector and educator for startups in Halton and beyond. To date, Haltech has helped boost more than 1,000 startups and scale-ups.
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