RICHMOND, VA - June 25, 2015- The Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) and the Korean Institute for the Advancement of Technology (KIAT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate collaborative research between Korean companies and U.S. companies through the CCAM research network.
The agreement was signed during the first-ever Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Forum held June 15-17 in Arlington, Virginia.
"As the only collaboration of its kind in North America, the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing is a tremendous asset for Virginia," said Governor Terry McAuliffe. "The agreement between CCAM and KIAT will expand the research center's global reach and further strengthen Virginia's economic relationship with Korea. Collaborations of this kind bolster our efforts to market Virginia on an international level to increase jobs and investment as we build the new Virginia economy."
The signing ceremony included distinguished representatives from the U.S. and Korea. Participating were Senator Mark Warner (D-VA); Bruce Katz, Vice President, Brookings Institution; Lorin Sodell, Vice President, Rolls-Royce North America; Hahk Sung Lee, Senior Vice President, LSIS Co., Ltd.; and Dae-Soon Kim, Vice President, Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Joseph F. Moody, CCAM President and Executive Director, said, "This is an historic moment and a tremendous new partnership. Global expansion will provide new opportunities in manufacturing innovation for CCAM's university, industry and government partners. KIAT will participate in today's most innovative, leading-edge manufacturing developments."
Under the agreement, KIAT, a Korean public institute that conducts activities to promote policy, infrastructure, and transfer and commercialization of industrial technology, will provide up to $1 million per year over the next three to five years to fund Korean companies who engage in collaborative research through CCAM.
Mr. Jae-Hoon Chung, President of KIAT, expressed his hopes that successful advanced manufacturing innovation cases can be benchmarked through the forum, and valuable ideas on how to revive the Korean manufacturing sector can also be obtained. He furthermore emphasized the need to strengthen the industrial technology cooperation partnership between the two countries, based on advanced manufacturing innovation.
The Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Forum, designed to foster collaboration on innovative R&D, was organized by KIAT, the Korea Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE), Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), and CCAM.
Keynote speakers for day one of the Forum were Senator Warner, Katz of the Brookings Institution, Sodell representing Rolls-Royce North America, Lee of LSIS Co., Ltd., and Hyundai top executive Kim.
The second day brought together representatives of Korean companies and U.S. companies operating in the automotive, aerospace, electronics and shipbuilding industries to network and explore potential collaborative research opportunities.
The Forum concluded with tours of CCAM and the Rolls-Royce Crosspointe facility, both in Prince George County, Virginia.
CCAM's industry and government consortium now numbers 28 members: Aerojet Rocketdyne, Airbus, Alcoa, Canon Virginia Inc., Chromalloy, Newport News Shipbuilding, Oerlikon Metco, Rolls-Royce, Sandvik Coromant, Siemens, Blaser Swisslube, EOS, GF Machining Solutions, Hermle Machine Co., Mitutoyo, Paradigm Precision, RTI International Metals, Inc., Buehler, Cool Clean Technologies, Mechdyne, National Instruments, Spatial Integrated Systems (SIS), and the NASA Langley Research Center. Academic partners are Old Dominion University, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, and Virginia Tech.
CCAM is based at a 62,000 square foot facility that has computational and engineering research labs, high bay production space and commercial scale equipment, and specialized equipment and tooling for research in surface engineering, manufacturing systems, additive manufacturing, machining technologies, composite materials processing, and welding and joining.
Leveraging the combined strengths and capabilities from CCAM and the network of university, industry, and government partners, CCAM bridges the gap between research and commercialization, accelerating new developments to market.
About CCAM
CCAM delivers innovative solutions for manufacturing better products. An applied research center, CCAM provides production-ready advanced manufacturing solutions to member companies across the globe. Members guide the research, leveraging talent and resources within CCAM and at Virginia's top universities, through a collaborative model that enables them to pool R&D efforts to increase efficiencies. Results can then be applied directly to the factory floor, turning ideas into profit faster and more affordably than ever before. CCAM is located in a state-of-the-art research facility in Prince George County, Virginia. For more information, visit www.ccam-va.com.
