Press Releases
09/01/2021
Governor Lamont Announces Six Connecticut Manufacturers Receiving Grants for New Additive Manufacturing Equipment
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, and the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) today announced that six manufacturers in Connecticut will be receiving a total of $600,000 in grants to facilitate the adoption of additive manufacturing in their operations.
Under the Additive Manufacturing Adoption Program (AMAP), each company will receive a $100,000 matching grant to be leveraged with an equal or greater amount of company funding.
The grant recipients are:
- Accurate Lock and Hardware Co., LLC (Stamford)
- Beacon Industries, Inc. (Newington)
- Burke Aerospace (Farmington)
- Okay Industries, Inc. (New Britain)
- PTA Plastics (Oxford)
- Westminster Tool, Inc. (Plainfield)
“Connecticut is the Silicon Valley of advanced manufacturing, plain and simple,” Governor Lamont said. “These grants will help our brilliant manufacturers across the state continue to innovate, building bigger, faster, and more complex machines that drive our state, country, and world further into the 21st century.”
Additive manufacturing is rapidly changing the way companies design and manufacture products. Components that could not be produced just a few years ago can now be made to high standards using a wide variety of plastics and metals. When implemented properly, additive manufacturing can significantly reduce material waste, lead time, the amount of inventory being held, and the quantity of distinct parts needed for an assembly.
“Additive manufacturing technologies have advanced tremendously and continue at an accelerated rate,” Ron Angelo, president and CEO of CCAT, said. “Supporting the adoption of AM technology throughout the Connecticut supply chain is vital to sustaining the advanced technical capabilities Connecticut is known for. It is exciting to see the level of interest and commitment by Connecticut manufacturers to investing in leading-edge technology.”
AMAP is a competitive grant program developed by CCAT and the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund Advisory Board in 2020. Applications were accepted from April 1 through May 31, 2021. The program was open to manufacturing companies and allied service providers that expressed a strong interest and a compelling need to enhance their operations with new additive technologies such as high-end, 3D metal printers to produce functional parts and tooling, as well as high-end plastic printers.
AMAP is a component of the Additive Manufacturing Technology for the Connecticut Manufacturing Supply Chain Program developed by CCAT and approved by the Manufacturing Innovation Fund Advisory Board in February 2020 to drive the demonstration and adoption of additive manufacturing technologies to small and medium-sized manufacturers.
“Connecticut manufacturers are clearly striving to stay at the forefront of technology as evidenced by their eagerness to adopt new additive manufacturing techniques and equipment,” Paul Striebel, AMAP’s program manager, said.
“CCAT and the Manufacturing Innovation Fund Advisory Board worked diligently to bring this program to life,” Colin Cooper, Connecticut’s Chief Manufacturing Officer, said. “It has been gratifying to see the innovative ways these Connecticut manufacturers are approaching incorporating this emerging technology into their businesses. This program is a great example of using state funds as catalyst capital to spur significant private sector investment in advanced technologies and create opportunities for economic growth for Connecticut.”
The State of Connecticut established the Manufacturing Innovation Fund to support the growth, innovation, and progress of Connecticut’s advanced manufacturing sector. It provides financial support for a broad range of initiatives that ensure Connecticut’s manufacturers remain leaders in productivity, efficiency, and innovation. Legislation was approved earlier this year that provided $20 million in new funding for the Manufacturing Innovation Fund over the biennium.
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