Production Innovation Accelerator (PIA)
Stop Designing in a Vacuum
We are opening our Greater Vancouver facility to design teams who want to build faster, smarter, and more reliably.
By co-locating your team at our production hub, you gain immediate access to Design-For-Manufacture (DFM) expertise, advanced injection molding technology, and a BC-based, quality certified domestic supply chain. Whether you are an emerging startup or an established player scaling for defense contracts, let’s together build the future of Canadian manufacturing.
Most product manufacturing failures happen in the gap between the design office and the factory floor.
At Manterra, we’re closing that gap.
The "Zero-Latency" Feedback Loop
In traditional product development, a design team sends files to a manufacturer and waits days or weeks for a DFM (Design for Manufacturing) report. Co-location turns this into a real-time conversation.
- Immediate Iteration: A designer can walk from their desk to the production floor to see exactly how a 2-shot part is ejecting or how an elastomer overmold is bonding.
- Rapid Prototyping to Production: Moving from a 3D-printed concept to a bridge-tooling trial happens in hours, not weeks, because the engineers and the mold technicians share the same lunchroom.
Strategic "Sovereign Supply Chain" Positioning
With the 2026 Defence Industrial Strategy and ITB (Industrial and Technological Benefits) requirements in focus, co-location offers a massive advantage for companies bidding on Canadian government contracts.
- Proof of Domesticity: Having a design team physically based at a BC-certified production facility provides undeniable proof of Canadian content and regional investment.
- Security & Compliance: For sensitive defense or drone projects, co-location ensures that intellectual property stays within a secure, domestic facility throughout the entire lifecycle—from CAD to crate.
Access to Advanced Material Science & Machinery
Emerging and established companies often have great ideas but lack the $1M+ specialized hardware required to execute them. Co-location grants them “insider access” to:
- Specialized Molding: Direct access to multi-material (2-shot) machines and high-tonnage presses for large rigid enclosures.
- Arctic-Ready Engineering: The ability to consult directly with material experts on-site to test polymer performance for extreme environments in real-time.
Who The Production Innovation Accelerator Is Built For
This isn’t just office space; it’s a manufacturing partnership. You are targeting two specific “sweet spots”:
- The Established Scaler: A company with a proven product that needs to redesign for high-volume mass production without losing the “soul” of their design through a disconnected overseas manufacturer.
- The Emerging Hardware Startup: A team moving out of the “garage/incubator” phase that needs the mentorship and mechanical infrastructure of a professional plant to survive the “Valley of Death” in hardware scaling.
We work closely with product development companies and are accepting applications from established or emerging companies for co-location of your design team at our product design and production facility in the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia.
Successful applicants get the following benefits :
- Office space at a discount to market rates.
- Access to lab space and specialized machining and die making equipment.
- Design For Manufacturing (DFM) support from engineers specializing in mass production of plastic products.
- Tutoring on and use of a suite of software products that facilitate product design and production engineering (Solid works, Fusion 360, and Flow Analysis solutions).
- Use of a streamlined system for completing and submitting SRED claims.
- Participation in a stimulating and energized work environment populated by a group of like minded Type ‘A’ entrepreneurs seeking to change the world with their products.
- Daily in-house Cafe style food support to provide the calories needed to fuel the innovation we expect to get.