Six manufacturers will get $100,000 each from the state to speed up the adoption of additive manufacturing, Gov. Ned Lamont announced recently.
The grants went to manufacturing companies who showed a need for additive technologies, including 3D metal printers and high-end plastic printers.
Additive manufacturing (AM), which utilizes 3D printing in a range of materials, allows companies to produce components to high standards using plastics and metals while reducing waste, lead time, inventory and the parts needed for assembly.
The following companies got the grants: Accurate Lock and Hardware Co., LLC., of Stamford; Beacon Industries, Inc., of Newington; Burke Aerospace of Farmington; Okay Industries, Inc., of New Britain; PTAPlastics of Oxford, and Westminster Tool, Inc., of Plainfield.
Under the state’s Additive Manufacturing Adoption Program, the companies will each get a $100,000 matching grant to be leveraged with an equal or greater amount of their own funding. The program was
developed in 2020 by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) and the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund Advisory Board.
“Supporting the adoption of AM technology throughout the Connecticut supply chain is vital to sustaining the advanced technical capabilities Connecticut is known for,” said Ron Angelo, CCAT president and CEO. “It is exciting to see the level of interest and commitment by Connecticut manufacturers to investing in leading-edge technology.”
Lamont said, “Connecticut is the Silicon Valley of advanced manufacturing, plain and simple.”
“CCAT and the Manufacturing Innovation Fund Advisory Board worked diligently to bring this program to life,” said Colin Cooper, the state’s chief manufacturing officer. “This program is a great example
of using state funds as catalyst capital to spur significant privatesector investment in advanced technologies and create opportunities for economic growth for Connecticut.”
The state legislature earlier this year approved an additional $20 million in funding for the Manufacturing Innovation Fund over the next two years.
