Waterloo Region Promoted as Top Canadian Innovation Hub at Los Angeles SIGGRAPH 2012 Exhibition

WATERLOO REGION, ON, Aug. 7, 2012 /CNW/ - Innovation leaders from throughout Waterloo Region are joining forces on the Province of Ontario pavilion, promoting the Region as a thriving tech hub and one of Canada's best places to live, at the SIGGRAPH 2012 exhibition which gets under way today in Los Angeles. The SIGGRAPH conference and exhibition August 7-9 is billed as the premier international event on computer graphics and interactive techniques, drawing 20,000 attendees from five continents.

"We're pleased to partner with the Province and the City of Kitchener to showcase Waterloo Region's strengths in both innovation and lifestyle, and build awareness for talent attraction and investment," said Karen Gallant, Senior Director Talent Networks at Communitech.

The Waterloo Region presence will promote innovation in digital media, gaming and other fields as well as the lifestyle benefits of living in a medium-sized urban area that features arts and culture, sports and recreation, and more. There are almost 1,000 tech companies in Waterloo Region generating over $30 billion in annual revenues, and employing 30,000+ professionals with another estimated 1,000 job openings currently available.

Community leaders involved in the SIGGRAPH exhibit emphasize that sharing the growing reputation of Waterloo Region as a North American tech hub is critical to future economic success.

"It's exciting to see that Waterloo Region holds a strong place in the digital media industry. Investments such as the Communitech Hub in downtown Kitchener -- where 100 digital media and mobility startups innovate every day -- are really starting to have an impact," said Rod Regier, Executive Director Economic Development, City of Kitchener. "These startups will need investors keen to capitalize on their innovation, and SIGGRAPH puts the community and the tech cluster on the map."

"Events like SIGGRAPH are important for building the brand of the community as Canada's hottest tech hub and a great place for foreign companies to expand their operations," said John J. Jung, CEO of Canada's Technology Triangle (CTT). "Access to talent and collaborative R&D are just two reasons that companies like Google and Electronic Arts choose to expand operations to Waterloo Region."

Conestoga College's School of Media and Design is supporting the booth at SIGGRAPH, adding to the buzz about Waterloo Region in digital media.

"We're pleased to participate to extend the brand recognition of our Region as a leading centre of design innovation in an increasingly digital world," said Mark Derro, Chair of the School of Media and Design at Conestoga College.

Waterloo Region has numerous points of pride to share with SIGGRAPH attendees including the fact that its tech sector generates over $30 billion in revenues annually in a talent-rich community of just 550,000 people. Waterloo Region tech highlights include:

• $535 million in deal flow in 2011
• 400+ burgeoning startups plus 400 small-to-medium sized businesses, and 30 large and/or multi-national companies including:
• Canada's largest software company OpenText; the country's largest satellite company COM DEV; Canada's largest eLearning company Desire2Learn; the world's largest digital projection company Christie Digital Canada Systems Inc.
• Over $ ½ Billion in acquisitions over the last 12 months
• Invested venture capital, private equity and angel financing grown from $7 million in 1997 to more than $300 million today
• 150 research institutes, pre-eminent research facilities in quantum-nano and theoretical physics
• 631 patents granted per million (3x national average per CTT)
• 98,000 post-secondary students, including 26,000 co-operative education students (58,000 full-time, 40,000 part-time)

Christie, which has its manufacturing facility in Waterloo Region, is a platinum sponsor of SIGGRAPH and has a major presence at the event. In addition to moderating a high frame rate industry expert panel on August 8 with Jon Landau, Douglas Trumbull and Dennis Muren, Christie will showcase its latest personal visualization solution prototype, the Christie HoloStation in exhibition Booth #1123.

For further information regarding Waterloo Region in digital media, go to: http://www.waterlooregionstarthere.com/

SOURCE: Communitech Ltd.

Media Contact:
S. Grandy, Sr. PR Advisor Communitech, 905-866-2656, [email protected]