"In February, MassDevelopment selected Algonquin Industries, Boston Engineering Corporation, the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, and WPI to provide such services and expertise to companies that employ 100 or fewer employees and need assistance in product development, prototyping, scaling up, cost reduction and other areas. MassDevelopment pays the lesser of 75 percent or $75,000 of the cost of a contract between a manufacturing company and the Innovation Center of choice.... Since the program’s launch, 60 companies have applied through the four centers and 10 projects are underway so far. Independent Plating was WPI's first project; the school has others in the pipeline. MassDevelopment has committed $1.3 million overall, and once the projects are complete, hopes to better understand the multiplier effect of this work on jobs created."
Jones and Towner
Massachusetts has a rich entrepreneurial community:
- Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives in Worcester, a lifesciences incubator
- Greentown Labs in Somerville
- EforAll in Lowell
- Cutting-edge companies such as Bose, New Balance and Raytheon.
Worcester County is home to 950+ manufacturers that employ roughly 33,000 workers.