House of Manufacturing: meeting point for innovation in the West Flanders manufacturing industry

POM West Flanders, PTI Kortrijk, Agoria and Sirris presented the new building of House of Manufacturing and Technicum in Kortrijk in virtual reality on Wednesday, March 22. As a meeting place for the manufacturing industry, House of Manufacturing stimulates sustainable technological innovation. The adjacent Technicum offers space to 600 students from technical and vocational secondary education to prepare them for a job in the manufacturing industry.

Once open, companies can visit House of Manufacturing for inspiration, support, advice, networking and talent development tailored to their Industry 4.0 challenge. "We are pooling our offer of training and research infrastructure and networking and meeting facilities for companies, knowledge institutions and training partners," says Jean de Bethune, president of POM West Flanders. "This site is a new trump card for our Factories for the Future, POM West Flanders' operation that stimulates innovation in companies. We want House of Manufacturing to grow into an open expertise center for technological innovation in the manufacturing industry."

Expertise & advice

Agoria and Sirris decided in mid-'21 to further develop their activities in West Flanders with Kortrijk as their base of operations. "We deliberately chose this location for our service provision to West and East Flanders. Companies and organizations can come here for advice and support," said Jolyce Demely, general director of Agoria Flanders. All the actors involved are present at this West Campus. It is therefore the intention to launch initiatives from House of Manufacturing, together with the partner organizations, to support the manufacturing industry in their transitions, in order to anchor them sustainably in the region. From here, we easily cover the entire Bruges-Kortrijk axis, center of gravity of the mechanical engineering and mechatronics sector."

Research & development

In Sirris' lab, companies can join the experience center for digital manufacturing to gain hands-on experience with the latest technologies around smart assembly," said Herman Derache, managing director of Sirris. "This research infrastructure opens up for companies to test new ideas, and to call on the expertise and guidance of the partner network in cocreation." The Factories for the Future partnership also works closely with other research labs around industry 4.0 such as the Mechanical Engineering & Mechatronics Labs.

Training & Education

Training is an important lever to bring knowledge and expertise to companies. "We connect companies and training partners to develop talents through upskilling and reskilling. With its Techniek & Design campus in Kortrijk, PTI has already firmly established itself as the secondary school for makers, designers and technical scientists," said Tim Claeys, director of PTI Kortrijk. "With Technicum, the school will have studios equipped with the very latest techniques and equipment." Thanks to the European UPSKILL program, new teaching tools will also be purchased for adult education. Other schools and training providers can also make use of this infrastructure.

The first classes in Technicum will start in the 2023-2024 school year. Opening of House of Manufacturing is scheduled for April 2024.