Conference drives home what success through product-led future means

Technology is growing at an ever-increasing pace, and collaboration is key to keeping up with this, Gerry Fedchun, president of the APMA, said while kicking off the APMA-AUTO 21 conference.

"There must be more co-operation than ever between all of the tiers in the automotive production chain," said Fedchun.

Peter Frise, CEO and scientific director of the AUTO21 Network of
Centres of Excellence, agreed. "Technology is changing at a rate faster
than ever before. The companies that will achieve success are the ones
who are now actively investing in new materials, new manufacturing
processes and business processes, and new opportunities for business
growth. Innovation is the key to Canada’s economic success. We cannot
compete just on price point. We must compete on brain power to create
premium products."

The two organizations jointly hosted the conference this year to
facilitate communication and interaction between researchers and
industry so that they can start to or continue to work together to
develop innovative products, making the industry stronger than ever.

For more information, visit AUTO21 at www.auto21.ca or the APMA at www.apma.ca.