Thursday, 6/29/2017
The IAPMEI – Agency for Competitiveness
and Innovation recently recognised 20 national competitiveness clusters. The
Engineering & Tooling Cluster is the highlight of this edition and counts
on the intervention of the School of Engineering of the University of Minho
(EEUM).
With the aim of developing molds and optimising products and
manufacturing processes, the Engineering & Tooling Cluster aims to maximise
the quality of its final products, which are molds and special tools, commonly
used for the production of products in polymer materials and high precision
machined parts. This aggregation brings together more than 100 entities from
the most varied areas such as business, associations, universities and
polytechnics, and research and training centres.
The
Engineering & Tooling Cluster operates in the automotive, aeronautics,
electronics, packaging and healthcare sectors, and it is in these large markets
that the cluster is positioned and maximises its potential. Its competences
focus on several areas of activity and this cluster also aims to take the
Engineering & Tooling brand out of Portugal, in order to expand and enhance
its own brand. “When the Engineering & Tooling brand goes to large events,
it is naturally aggregated of competencies, so its added value is much greater.
People
who see the brand realise that the competences of this cluster are not
isolated and can be shared”, António Pontes, member of the Fiscal Council of
the Engineering & Tooling Cluster and representative of the EEUM through
the Institute of Polymers and Composites (IPC), clarifies.
Alongside the incentive to entrepreneurship and innovation, this cluster
has promoted a set of projects which are divided into «anchor projects» and «complementary
projects». The development and production of a monobloc valve for gardens, or a
packaging developed for the production of «molotof» dessert are some examples of
a wide range of innovative actions. “We also had a large mobilising project
that was Tooling Edge, an anchor project that developed a set of applications,
namely biodegradable thin-walled packaging, with the aim of packaging dry
products. We have had considerable projects in recent years – in partnership
with this cluster – and many of them are being prepared or under evaluation”, António
Pontes highlights.
The Engineering & Tooling Cluster includes not only entities of
national scientific and technological system – such as universities and
technological centres, but also companies linked to product development, the manufacturing
of products in polymers and composites, and even in special tools and molds.
The cluster was created in 2008 and currently has more than 20 running projects.
The Engineering & Tooling Cluster counts on the main intervention of the
IPC, as well other EEUMs’ R&D&I centres such as the ALGORITMI Research
Centre and the Centre of Biological Engineering.
+ info: https://www.iapmei.pt/; http://www.toolingportugal.com
