MVCC, Herkimer startup to use FuzeHub grant award to buy 3D scanner

UTICA, N.Y. — Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) and Casestry, LLC of Herkimer will use a $35,000 grant to purchase a 3D scanner.

FuzeHub, an Albany–based nonprofit, awarded the grant funding. The organization says it “connects New York’s small and mid-sized manufacturing companies to the resources, programs and expertise they need for technology commercialization, innovation, and business growth.”

MVCC is one of eight organizations that secured FuzeHub grant funding that totaled $350,000.

The grant will pay for a 3D scanner which will benefit the college’s programs and provide local businesses “access to high-tech tools not normally available to them.” Casestry LLC, a local startup, is partnering with MVCC on the grant.

Casestry is “a [business-to-business] white label manufacturer that prints, packs, and ships personalized merchandise globally. Our company works directly with enterprise retailers, influencers, celebrities and traditional media networks,” the company says in a description on the Herkimer County Chamber of Commerce website.

“Highly accurate digital scanning is a crucial step” in Casestry’s manufacturing process, FuzeHub said. Having the ability to scan items locally at MVCC will “greatly” reduce the time to get new products to market.

“This has been the most competitive cycle of manufacturing grants since the inception of the Innovation Fund and it is exciting to see the funding being awarded to such a diverse list of projects,” Julianne Clouthier, industry-engagement manager for FuzeHub, said in the release. “From biotech and life sciences to automation and food processing, the latest round of awardees is collaborating on innovative research and development, process improvements and design methods that stand to benefit the manufacturing sectors both in New York State and beyond.”

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