Ottawa, Canada and Taipei, Taiwan–October 9, 2018–The intelliFLEX Innovation Alliance and Taiwan Smart Textiles Association (TSTA) announced today that the two organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for mutual cooperation.
The agreement states the organizations will cooperate in three main ways:
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To accumulate research and development experiences from related institutions to connect smart textile products supply chains;
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To support mutual visits between members in both parties and create an environment for the cooperation and development in wearable technology and smart textile products; and
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To encourage members in both parties to develop value-added projects to effectively accelerate the activities mentioned above.
“Taiwan is a leader in semiconductor manufacturing and in textile industries. Unlike in Canada, the smart textile industry has strong links with traditional textile manufacturers. Canadian companies looking for scaling up in areas where we lack manufacturing in Canada, could explore manufacturing with Taiwanese companies,” said intelliFLEX President and CEO Mark Majewski. “These companies are often active in low cost countries beyond Taiwan, creating a path for the cost reduction that’s so critical to volume production.
“If intelliFLEX members don’t find resources in Canada through intelliFLEX or its members, they now have a single contact at the association who can assess their needs and introduce them to qualified local resources in Taiwan,” added Kallai. “Our intelliWEAR Leadership Council requested that we pre-qualify suppliers in Asia, and this seemed like a good first step.”
The TSTA actively promotes the development of smart textiles as part of the Taiwanese government’s overall industrial development strategy, and for the purpose of achieving common prosperity.
Its other mandates are to promote various enterprises within the smart textiles industry, develop product testing standards and industry norms, and to hold related seminars and academic or industry forums.
About intelliFLEX
intelliFLEX, a not-for-profit industry alliance, is a vital partner for accelerating the growth of the printable, flexible and hybrid electronics sector of more than 300 organizations across Canada. Our technologies add intelligence and connect ordinary objects to enable the Internet of Everything. We unite our growing global membership to build an effective ecosystem of supply chains for flexible, 3D printable electronics, 2D large area printable electronics, wearable electronics, smart textiles and hybrid electronics including related semiconductors, integrated circuits and software. Our programs accelerate the adoption of these innovations for Smart Packaging and Retail, Intelligent Buildings and Connected Homes, Aerospace and Defence, Automotive and Industrial Applications, Health and Wellness, Intelligent Documents and Wearables.
Contact:
Jim Donnelly
613.505.4775 ext. 102