Pôle MecaTech

Achievements

What are the key figures for the Walloon mechanical engineering sector and the MecaTech cluster?

If we assess the first seventeen calls for projects, we count a total of 102 projects (69 research projects, 14 investment projects and 19 training projects) involving 272 players (44 large corporations, 125 SMEs, 77 university laboratories, 18 research centers, 5 higher schools and 3 competence centers; e.g., overall 536 participants). This represents an investment of €285 million, of which €94,3 million derive from private funding (€79,5 million for large enterprises and €114 million for small and medium enterprises).

 The companies involved in MecaTech have experienced an important growth as well in terms of employment as in added value. Employment developed from 2005 to 2014: + 66% for SMEs, and + 20% for large corporations, whereas the sector of mechanical engineering indicates a fall of 5%. The same applies to added value: + 107% for SMEs and + 76% for large corporations vs + 11% for the sector. Gross tangible and intangible assets reveal a healthy vitality: + 125% (from 1,285 to 2,889 million) for all member enterprises, and even + 152% (from 470 to 1,186 million) for SMEs alone.

Furthermore, the MecaTech cluster participated in the setting up of 3 platforms in order to respond to the sector’s new opportunities: Symbiosis (use of molecular biomimicry technologies in functional coatings), Reverse Metallurgy (metals recycling involving the CRM and various industrials), and Proton therapy (IBA and various partners).