Sarnia, ON, September 17, 2014 — In an ongoing commitment to strengthen industry partnerships and support local businesses, Lambton College Applied Research & Innovation continues to develop suitable working models for collaborative applied research and commercialization activities. These initiatives range from direct research contracts to collaborative projects supported by public funding. All of them are faculty-led and involve students, thus providing a real-life applied research experience on campus.
One such collaboration involving Feher Machine & Manufacturing Inc. has proven to be mutually beneficial between the college and the precision and custom CNC machining company. Family owned and operated for 35 years, Feher aims to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction by continuously improving their manufacturing processes.
The local business has an extensive collaborative history with Lambton College, which started with an initial partnership funded through the FedDev Applied Research and Commercialization program. The goal of the project was to mechanically improve Feher’s patented technology to manufacture flexible composite hose. Riding on the success of the project’s first phase, the college was granted further funding through the Ontario Centre of Excellence (OCE) to develop a collapsible mandrel that allowed Feher to produce composite hose at different diameters to meet customer needs. The result meant a significant improvement from the original technology and, consequently, the company’s growth.
After experiencing the positive effects of the first two collaborations, Feher turned to Lambton College a third time, seeking assistance in improving the efficiency of their production line with a focus on automation and instrumentation. The college was able to secure funding for this project from the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program to execute an assessment of the company’s FlexComp production line. Based on the results of this assessment and support from the college, Feher received additional funding from the NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program to implement these findings into their own processes using college faculty and students, which included the installation of various instrumentation and automation systems.
Overall, these projects have helped Feher to decrease their production time by nearly 30 per cent, cut labour dependency by nearly half, and improve production line safety by 50 per cent.
“Partnering with Lambton College has given us access to knowledge and technologies pooled from resources that are not readily available to small businesses,” says Paul Feher, Vice President, Operations, Feher Machine & Manufacturing Inc.
Additionally, the upgrades to the FlexComp production line proved so successful that Feher saw a need to market their composite hose separately from their existing product line and target a more defined customer base. Once again, the manufacturer partnered with Lambton College to develop a website for FlexComp (flexcomp.ca). The e-commerce project was funded through the OCE Voucher for E-Business (VEB) program and developed by a Lambton College student, who was actually hired by the company as a marketing consultant upon completion.
“The multi-faceted partnership between Feher and Lambton College has proven to be mutually beneficial for both parties,” says Mehdi Sheikhzadeh, Dean, Applied Research & Innovation, Lambton College. “Our students have gained valuable experience from their involvement in the projects, our faculty are able to further develop their skills and expertise, while a company like Feher is given the opportunity to improve their technology and production lines along with the ability to market their product.”
Lambton College would like to share more stories like Feher’s to showcase the advantage and value of local collaborations. If you are interested in learning more about applied research at Lambton College, please contact Andrea Hands, Research Development & Outreach Coordinator, Lambton College at 519-542-7751 ext 3523 or via email at andrea.hands@lambtoncollege.ca.
For more information on Applied Research & Innovation at Lambton College, please visit lambtoncollege.ca/research.
For media inquiries or more information, contact:
Jami Kloet
Corporate Communications Coordinator
Lambton College
Telephone: 519-542-7751 ext. 3337
Mobile: 519-328-2081
Email: jami.kloet@lambtoncollege.ca