RICHMOND, VA — The agreement was signed during the first-ever Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Forum held June 15-17 in Arlington, Va.

“As the only collaboration of its kind in North America, the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing is a tremendous asset for Virginia,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “The agreement between CCAM and KIAT will expand the research center’s global reach and further strengthen Virginia’s economic relationship with Korea. Collaborations of this kind bolster our efforts to market Virginia on an international level to increase jobs and investment as we build the new Virginia economy.”

The signing ceremony included distinguished representatives from the U.S. and Korea. Participating were Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.); Bruce Katz, vice president, Brookings Institution; Lorin Sodell, vice president, Rolls-Royce North America; Hahk Sung Lee, senior vice president, LSIS Co., Ltd.; and Dae-Soon Kim, vice president, Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Joseph F. Moody, CCAM president and executive director, said, “This is an historic moment and a tremendous new partnership. Global expansion will provide new opportunities in manufacturing innovation for CCAM’s university, industry and government partners. KIAT will participate in today’s most innovative, leading-edge manufacturing developments.”

Under the agreement, KIAT, a Korean public institute that conducts activities to promote policy, infrastructure, and transfer and commercialization of industrial technology, will provide up to $1 million per year over the next three to five years to fund Korean companies who engage in collaborative research through CCAM.

Jae-Hoon Chung, president of KIAT, expressed his hopes that successful advanced manufacturing innovation cases can be benchmarked through the forum, and valuable ideas on how to revive the Korean manufacturing sector can also be obtained. He furthermore emphasized the need to strengthen the industrial technology cooperation partnership between the two countries, based on advanced manufacturing innovation.

The Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Forum, designed to foster collaboration on innovative R&D, was organized by KIAT, the Korea Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE), Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), and CCAM.