Manufacturing Matters 2026 is coming to London on October 1 — a free half-day conference built specifically for manufacturers and the service providers who work alongside them. If your operation is anywhere near southwestern Ontario, this is one worth putting on the calendar.
The Basics
- What: Manufacturing Matters 2026, a half-day conference themed around Trade Diversification
- When: Thursday, October 1, 2026, 7:30 AM – 12:30 PM
- Where: RBC Place London, 300 York St, London, ON N6B 1P8
- Hosted by: London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), in partnership with the London Region Manufacturing Council
- Cost: Free for manufacturers (registration required); $113 for non-manufacturers
Who's Speaking
The keynote comes from Heather Damaren, P.Eng., Director of Manufacturing – Canada Operations at General Dynamics Land Systems–Canada. From there, the morning splits into five concurrent sessions (running at 10:15 AM and 11:15 AM) covering:
- Cybersecurity for manufacturers
- AI in manufacturing operations
- Funding and training programs
- Supply chain access into mining and nuclear
- Recruitment, and qualifying as a defense sector supplier
Afternoon Plant Tours
For anyone who wants to see the theme in action, limited-availability plant tours run at 1 PM and 3 PM at three local manufacturers: URSA Manufacturing, Amstead Automotive, and Jones Healthcare Group.
Why It's Worth the Morning
Trade diversification isn't an abstract topic for manufacturers right now — it's the difference between a supply chain that holds up and one that doesn't. A morning spent with a room full of other operators, funders, and program leads working on exactly that problem tends to be worth a lot more than the time it costs.
And for manufacturers, it's free. The only real cost is showing up.
Registration
Registration is required even though the event is free for manufacturers. Full details and registration are available directly on LEDC's event page.
If You're Going
Half-day conferences like this one are also a real chance to represent your company well in a room full of the people you actually want to be talking to — funders, other manufacturers, potential partners. If your leave-behinds, one-pagers, or booth presence for events like this haven't been touched in a while, that's exactly the kind of work we do — see our Trade Show & Event Materials page for what that can look like.
