Precision Machining Gets A Boost

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Included as part of the new progam will be:

In an editorial entitled “Precision is needed to prime economy,” published on September 6, 2007, The Springfield Republican wrote: “Annual wages in the state's manufacturing industry last year were about $62,000. With the pool of skilled machinists aging, the precision manufacturing sector needs new blood. So it's imperative that the region take steps to grow the industry. The STCC program will help the region capitalize on the industry's competitive advantages while positioning Western Massachusetts for a role in the increasingly global economy.”

Larry A. Maier, president of Peerless Precision in Westfield, told The Republican that these internships "will give the engineering students some real-world experience to go along with their classroom training, so you should come out with a more qualified engineering student.”

In recent testimony before the Massachusetts Legislature, Maier said that the member companies of the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association employ more than 3,000 people within 20 miles of Springfield. Within the entire Western Massachusetts region, there are about 250 companies employing more than 7,500 workers. The primary markets served include aerospace, defense and medical devices.

“Our employees are engineers who think with their hands,” he said, explaining that the industry regularly makes parts that are accurate within .000005 to .0001 inch.

Further, Maier said that based on a recent survey of companies, he believes that there are more than 400 openings for highly skilled machinists and engineers in the region. However, local vocational high schools graduate about 30 students in this area a year, not enough to fill the current, much less future openings.

M2D2 wins first Regional Project Award

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The award is the first made under the Innovation Institute’s Regional Project Award program under its Innovation Institute Fund. It will support prototyping activities and product concepts in the medical device sector to advance them to a state of sufficient readiness to attract seed and start-up capital from investors, including venture funds, corporate sources, or from angels (high net-worth individuals).

It builds upon the work of the existing M2D2 strategic pipeline for medical device projects, which received a $150,000 Regional Priority Award in February 2007. Since May of 2007, M2D2 prepared six proposals for federal funding and has received notification of two STTR awards, totaling in excess of $1.2 million.

The new program has developed working protocols to collaborate with MedTech IGNITE project at MassMEDIC, the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council. The MedTech IGNITE initiative provides mentoring by industry executives and related business assistance services to start-up companies in the sector.

 It has also formalized its steering committee, drawing upon expertise of medical doctors drawn from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. The steering committee is chaired by Hooks Johnston, retired senior vice president from Smith & Nephew, a London-based global medical device company.

The project activities include selecting, from a pool of 40 product concepts and/or business plans, at least six technologies for business plan development, and at least three products for prototyping, which will result in at least one new investment by industry, venture funds or private angel investor.

The project will also document and codify the processes for M2D2’s intake, screening, business-planning, prototyping and investor matchmaking.

Further, the project will develop a best practices for “crossing the valley of death” to secure new investment in the medical device industry, working in a coordinated effort with external stakeholders.