Manufacturing Readiness Grants Spur Technology-Based Capital Investment
December 8, 2021 at 12:24 a.m.
By Staff Report-
"Historically, manufacturing has been the bedrock of Indiana’s economy, and Hoosier manufacturers continue to prepare for the future by investing in smart technologies," said Governor Eric J. Holcomb. "Supporting advancements in the manufacturing industry through the Manufacturing Readiness Grants program, Indiana is accelerating our state’s digital transformation, preparing for the economy of the future and creating more opportunities across the state."
Launched in 2020, the Manufacturing Readiness Grants program was created to stimulate private sector investments to modernize Indiana’s manufacturing industry. Based on the program’s success, the Indiana General Assembly appropriated $20 million in additional funding to the two-year state budget that runs through June 30, 2023, to help position Hoosier operations for future growth and prosperity. Availability of the new funding on July 1, 2021, has enabled a total of 169 awards to date totaling more than $13.4 million in grants to Hoosier companies in 54 counties, supporting technology-based capital investment projected to be nearly $93 million.
The 44 grant recipients in this round include companies from 24 Indiana counties and cover a variety of specialties, including entertainment and decor, industrial applications, injection molding and medical devices.
"As Indiana continues its march toward Industry 4.0 technology adoption, we are seeing a lot of momentum with companies implementing cobots, machine vision, advanced sensor technologies and automation to increase quality, flexibility and agility, employ lights-out manufacturing and launch digital plant initiatives. There have really been some impressive digital investments," said Mitch Landess, vice president of innovation and digital transformation for Conexus Indiana. "At the same time, we are collecting and publishing substantial data on the technologies and their positive impact on the workforce and business growth to the Conexus Indiana website and later as part of a detailed study measuring the effectiveness of the program."
Local recipients include:
• 80/20 Inc. (Whitley County; $150,000 grant award) is an originator and manufacturer of the modular T-slot aluminum building system for essentially every industry or application. The company is purchasing automated equipment to integrate with its manufacturing execution system to enable custom order fulfillment in real time.
• DOT America (Whitley County; $100,000 grant award) is a medical technology company that provides specialty services to medical and dental industries in the form of surface preparations and coatings, including physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings, titanium plasma spray and titanium anodizing. The company is upgrading its titanium plasma spray capabilities by purchasing an automated vacuum plasma spray chamber.
• Micropulse Inc. (Whitley County; $17,125 grant award), a contract manufacturer of orthopedic instruments, implants and cases and trays, is developing its own digital system to record and maintain product inspection data to improve its manufacturing processes.
• Red Star Contract Manufacturing Inc. (Whitley County; $100,000 grant award recipient) is a medical device contract manufacturer that excels at injection molding for various medical products including biopsy needles, single-use sterile procedure kits and orthopedic implants and instruments. The company is investing in several cobots to automate production and improve efficiency, resulting in additional manufacturing capabilities.
• WishBone Medical Inc. (Kosciusko County; $100,000 grant award) is a manufacturer of proprietary pediatric orthopedic products equipping surgeons with innovative, anatomically appropriate implants and instruments in single-use, sterile packed procedure kits. The company is investing in additive manufacturing to enhance design potential and accelerate the production of cleaned and sterilized medical devices.
Grants must be matched by the applicant on a minimum 1:1 basis. Grants undergo a rigorous peer review and recommendation process by a statewide committee of manufacturing professionals representing industry, academia, private equity and more.
"Historically, manufacturing has been the bedrock of Indiana’s economy, and Hoosier manufacturers continue to prepare for the future by investing in smart technologies," said Governor Eric J. Holcomb. "Supporting advancements in the manufacturing industry through the Manufacturing Readiness Grants program, Indiana is accelerating our state’s digital transformation, preparing for the economy of the future and creating more opportunities across the state."
Launched in 2020, the Manufacturing Readiness Grants program was created to stimulate private sector investments to modernize Indiana’s manufacturing industry. Based on the program’s success, the Indiana General Assembly appropriated $20 million in additional funding to the two-year state budget that runs through June 30, 2023, to help position Hoosier operations for future growth and prosperity. Availability of the new funding on July 1, 2021, has enabled a total of 169 awards to date totaling more than $13.4 million in grants to Hoosier companies in 54 counties, supporting technology-based capital investment projected to be nearly $93 million.
The 44 grant recipients in this round include companies from 24 Indiana counties and cover a variety of specialties, including entertainment and decor, industrial applications, injection molding and medical devices.
"As Indiana continues its march toward Industry 4.0 technology adoption, we are seeing a lot of momentum with companies implementing cobots, machine vision, advanced sensor technologies and automation to increase quality, flexibility and agility, employ lights-out manufacturing and launch digital plant initiatives. There have really been some impressive digital investments," said Mitch Landess, vice president of innovation and digital transformation for Conexus Indiana. "At the same time, we are collecting and publishing substantial data on the technologies and their positive impact on the workforce and business growth to the Conexus Indiana website and later as part of a detailed study measuring the effectiveness of the program."
Local recipients include:
• 80/20 Inc. (Whitley County; $150,000 grant award) is an originator and manufacturer of the modular T-slot aluminum building system for essentially every industry or application. The company is purchasing automated equipment to integrate with its manufacturing execution system to enable custom order fulfillment in real time.
• DOT America (Whitley County; $100,000 grant award) is a medical technology company that provides specialty services to medical and dental industries in the form of surface preparations and coatings, including physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings, titanium plasma spray and titanium anodizing. The company is upgrading its titanium plasma spray capabilities by purchasing an automated vacuum plasma spray chamber.
• Micropulse Inc. (Whitley County; $17,125 grant award), a contract manufacturer of orthopedic instruments, implants and cases and trays, is developing its own digital system to record and maintain product inspection data to improve its manufacturing processes.
• Red Star Contract Manufacturing Inc. (Whitley County; $100,000 grant award recipient) is a medical device contract manufacturer that excels at injection molding for various medical products including biopsy needles, single-use sterile procedure kits and orthopedic implants and instruments. The company is investing in several cobots to automate production and improve efficiency, resulting in additional manufacturing capabilities.
• WishBone Medical Inc. (Kosciusko County; $100,000 grant award) is a manufacturer of proprietary pediatric orthopedic products equipping surgeons with innovative, anatomically appropriate implants and instruments in single-use, sterile packed procedure kits. The company is investing in additive manufacturing to enhance design potential and accelerate the production of cleaned and sterilized medical devices.
Grants must be matched by the applicant on a minimum 1:1 basis. Grants undergo a rigorous peer review and recommendation process by a statewide committee of manufacturing professionals representing industry, academia, private equity and more.
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