Binghamton University SBDC honors two firms in green space

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The Binghamton University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) honored a pair of businesses working in the environmental space — iM3NY and KLAW Industries — at its annual business awards luncheon, held Aug. 29 at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator at 120 Hawley St.

Located on the former IBM campus in Endicott, iM3NY is a lithium-ion cell manufacturer that commercializes cell chemistry developed in the U.S. 

“Our teams have been working hard for the past 10-plus years to make sure New York remains at the forefront of clean energy transition, and Binghamton continues to lead this effort as a favorite place to offer a place for new-age energy technologies to call home,” iM3NY Chairman Shailesh Upreti said in a Binghamton University news release. “We are super-charged and excited about the NY-SBDC award and would like to thank the entire SBDC Binghamton team for providing us with the desired handholding and wonderful mentorship throughout our journey.” Upreti is also CEO of C4V, an intellectual-property company.

KLAW Industries engineered and developed a process of converting contaminated glass from recycling facilities into Pantheon, a cement replacement for use in concrete.

“SBDC made the difference for us, and the support in our backyard was a big reason we decided to grow in Binghamton,” Jacob Kumpon, co-founder and COO of KLAW Industries, said in the release. “From knowledge of grant contracts to finding manufacturing space, everyone at SBDC helped us overcome the variety of challenges we faced starting KLAW Industries.”

The New York SBDCs, located across the state, provide small-business owners and entrepreneurs with business counseling, training, and research at no cost.