In Manitoba, an extreme cold testing center joins forces with a center in Hungary
The Thompson Cold Weather Test Center in northern Manitoba.
The center cold weather testing facility in northern Manitoba and a testing, research and innovation center in Hungary are now partners. They signed a memorandum of understanding at a ceremony on Wednesday.
The Thompson center allows companies to test their products, such as car or airplane engines, for example, in extreme conditions.
The Mayor of Thompson and a dozen representatives from organizations and businesses in the region gathered at the test center for the event. Representatives of the Hungarian ZalaZONE test center participated virtually.
The Thompson Regional Airport Authority acquired Ford's former cold weather testing facility adjacent to the airport in December. It was named Area 55, in reference to Area 51 of the United States armed forces, and the 55th parallel on which Thompson is located.
The mining town of 13,000 people is located at 650 km north of Winnipeg and has sought for years to become a benchmark in testing cold weather technologies. Community development organization SubZero North is responsible for promoting this industry.
It was she who led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the airport authority and ZalaZONE. This is, according to SubZero North spokesperson Laura Finlay, the end of a year of collaboration.
During the ceremony, representatives of the center in Hungary underlined that they hope that the two establishments can collaborate in a complementary way.
Indeed, if the Hungarian test center is at the forefront of the needs of automotive companies (among other things) in temperate conditions, it does not have the harsh climate of northern Manitoba.
The Thompson center could therefore attract customers from the Hungarian center who need to make testing in extreme weather conditions, and vice versa.
The Thompson facility is equipped with a cold room that can reach -40 degrees Celsius and more than a dozen hoists capable of lifting over five tons, in addition to other pieces of equipment.
