The Manufacturing Initiative connects hardware startups with manufacturers - the Commonwealth's newest companies with some of its oldest ones - to keep jobs and manufacturing in Massachusetts. "Launched just over a year ago with a $267,500 grant from MassDevelopment, the state’s industrial development agency, the initiative is working with a group of 32 local startups and 83 Massachusetts manufacturers. So far, that work has resulted in 14 partnerships between manufacturers and startups, including seven that have already shipped made-in-Massachusetts products," says reporter Jon Christian in his January 12, 2016 Boston Globe article "Program connects old, new to boost manufacturing jobs."
If startups want tighter control over quality and process, they no longer have to try to get that tighter control in China from here. And manufacturers benefit too. They see working with startups as an investment. "The first run can be difficult, time consuming, and costly as designs are tweaked to make it easier to manufacture in volume, production lines are set up, and kinks are worked out. But if the startup takes off and places larger and larger orders, those initial costs can pay off," says Christian.
The Manufacturing Initiative is made possible by:
Morrill and Russo help startups:
If startups want tighter control over quality and process, they no longer have to try to get that tighter control in China from here. And manufacturers benefit too. They see working with startups as an investment. "The first run can be difficult, time consuming, and costly as designs are tweaked to make it easier to manufacture in volume, production lines are set up, and kinks are worked out. But if the startup takes off and places larger and larger orders, those initial costs can pay off," says Christian.
The Manufacturing Initiative is made possible by:
- The Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP), the Worcester organization that supports local manufacturers (contact: Peter Russo)
- Greentown Labs, a Somerville business incubator (contact: Micaelah Morrill)
- A MassDevelopment grant
Morrill and Russo help startups:
- Simplify design
- Standardize parts to make manufacturing easier
- Connect with manufacturers