Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Clare Machine Works Ltd. (CMW) is a proud Canadian company providing a wide range of engineering services and developing products for the fishing industry. With the growing lobster fishing industry, the company has identified the development of an innovative lobster bait automatic chopping and bagging system as key to increase their sales. As the market continues to grow, CMW now seeks Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC)'s support to become more cost-effective, and efficient in production via a high output process with improved consistency of the product. This will be done through innovation in process quality for enhanced competitiveness in their production process. Accessing NSCC's product development and process optimization resources will help CMW gain valuable knowledge regarding its proposed technology. In addition to the exposure of CMW personnel to applied research, this type of collaboration will support the company in its efforts to grow its business in the sector. The information from this applied research project will also support overcoming the hurdles in the optimization process to move the proposed system to market. The skills gained will be transferable to other industry partners in need, as effective modular design can evolve to a financial force that can greatly improve the competitive environment within the private sector. Moreover, the outcome from this project will enable CMW to innovate in ways that permit the company to adapt to changing market demands; this can be achieved through the increasingly common vertical integration in all sectors of the seafood industry.