In January 2012, the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, NASA Glenn Research Center and the Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network (MAGNET) announced a program that will allow small- and medium-size manufacturers to use the services of NASA Glenn Research Center subject matter experts for free—and obtain special low-interest loans from the City or County—to help solve technical challenges they have with one of their new or existing products.
The deadline to enter this year's Manufacturing Innovation Project was Feb.15, 2012. More than 50 companies submitted projects for evaluation, and MAGNET announced the winning companies at a news conference on May 23, 2012. Read the Plain Dealer's feature story profiling the nine winning companies. View photos from the May 23 news conference.
The 2012 Manufacturing Innovation Project winners are:
About the Manufacturing Innovation Project
NASA Glenn will make its subject experts available on a pro bono basis via a Space Act Agreement with the City of Cleveland. The experts will be available to each manufacturer selected to participate in the program. Their expertise covers basic engineering disciplines, as well as the specialty fields that support the center’s core competencies:
- Air-Breathing Propulsion
- Communications Technology and Development
- In-Space Propulsion and Cryogenic Fluids Management
- Power, Energy Storage and Conversion
- Materials and Structures for Extreme Environments
- Physical Sciences and Biomedical Technologies
To help with any other costs that might arise from a selected project, the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are making $450,000 in low-interest loans available to the companies selected for the program.
Manufacturers interested in applying for this program:
- must be located in the City of Cleveland or Cuyahoga County;
- must be under $50 million in revenue;
- must have a technical challenge, which if solved, will lead to rapid growth in revenue and/or jobs.
To learn more about the Manufacturing Innovation Project, contact MAGNET today!