TechStory
Waterloo Region’s techstory
Waterloo Region was once famous for distilleries, textile mills and farm fields. Now, it’s recognized for growing Blackberries, digital eyes for Mars rovers, hardware for satellites, virtual reality technology, laser systems, innovations for web acceleration, and a host of other cutting-edge innovations.
We actually got our start way back in 1907 with technology pioneer, Electrohome, and we haven’t looked back since. Waterloo Region has been at the centre of major innovations in the last century, creating breakthroughs in computing, radio, automobiles, food, finance and other industries.
Waterloo Region already had a strong industrial heritage and a dynamic entrepreneurial culture. But the ball really started to roll for technology once start-ups started spinning out of the University of Waterloo. Global success stories like RIM, Open Text, Dalsa and Northern Digital have led the way for next generation companies.
Technology concentration launched our region into a brand-new era and today´s business community is characterized by highly diverse sectors: Toyota vehicles are made not that far away from Blackberries, in highly advanced manufacturing facilities. Centres of excellence span a knowledge range from engineering to robotics to nanotechnology.
Diversity is what makes us unique and what makes us strong. Industries here learn from one another as professionals exchange tech know-how knowledge to grow their ventures and grow our community.
That’s the way we’ve always done it here. It’s a community that celebrates and supports hard work and innovation, surrounded by cooperative leaders, strong support networks, an incredible concentration of world-class universities and a thriving entrepreneurial spirit. Nowhere else in Canada will you find the level of active business support that you find in Waterloo Region. And it keeps growing, with more focus on innovation and support from organizations like our own.