FuzeHub, an Albany–based nonprofit, awarded the grant funding. The organization says it provides small to medium-sized manufacturing companies in New York with “guided access to a network of technical and business resources.”
The Clarkson and Alfred grants are among close to $300,000 that FuzeHub awarded six projects in this year’s second round of funding through the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund.
As part of the fund, FuzeHub offers two rounds of manufacturing grants funding each year.
The grant recipients in the second round plan to add almost 100 new jobs to both established businesses and startup companies across New York over the next two years.
“The manufacturing grants continue to be a valuable resource for [nonprofit] and industry collaborations and there is no shortage of quality applications coming into the program,” Julianne Clouthier, industry-engagement manager for FuzeHub, said in a news release. “The latest round of awardees continues to signify the tremendous amount of innovation that exists throughout New York State, and the impact of these awards will provide a pathway to increased jobs and business growth.”
Clarkson grant
Clarkson University’s Shipley Center for Innovation will use its $50,000 grant for installation of a paint booth in Clarkson’s Damon Hall.
Damon Hall is one of three buildings that make up the North Country Business lncubator network.
It has been renovated to house light manufacturing startups, including LC Drives, the incubator’s “flagship tenant.” The firm is developing manufacturing processes and needs a paint booth to make its product.
Besides helping LC Drives, the paint booth will also provide “long-term benefits” for future manufacturing startups in the region, “including some that are already in the pipeline,” per the release.
Alfred grant
Alfred University will use its funding in its work with Free Form Fibers, LLC (FFF), a company working to develop a “critical concept design” for a fiber-manufacturing facility in New York.
It will prepare FFF for investment and scale-up of its approach that uses laser chemical vapor deposition (LCVD) to grow a “variety of value added” fibers, FuzeHub said.
Holly Shulman, a professor at Alfred University, will serve as principal investigator, leading a design team of engineering students to work with FFF to “analyze facility needs to accommodate a completely new concept in fiber manufacturing.”
The group will specify the physical and technical parameters of laser banks, power, cooling, gas handling, and analytical equipment, with a goal of minimizing handling and optimizing process flow, per the release.
Jeff Lawrence Fund
FuzeHub awarded the funding from the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund.
Lawrence, who died in 2015, was a top executive at the Albany–based Center for Economic Growth, the manufacturing extension partnership (MEP) center for the Capital Region, and a supporter of New York manufacturing and entrepreneurial communities.
The manufacturing-innovation fund, which was established with $1 million annually for five years, supports activities designed to “spur technology development and commercialization” across New York state.
FuzeHub is administering the fund as part of its role as the Empire State Development (ESD)-designated statewide MEP center. As part of the fund, FuzeHub offers manufacturing-innovation grants.
The grants are available to New York nonprofit organizations, including higher-education institutions, proposing “innovative” projects involving small and mid-sized manufacturers or early-stage companies, FuzeHub said.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com