2024 Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up: a touchdown for local manufacturing
For its fourth year, the annual Manufacturing Mash-Up moved to Gillette Stadium for even more manufacturing ecosystem networking, panels, grants, and awards. FORGE joined in the fun as an event partner again.
We brought some of our favorite manufacturers, suppliers, and startups to table at the event. Mark Michalski, one of our manufacturing experts in residence, led a panel on design for manufacturability (locally!). Best of all, we gave out $22,000 in funding during our cleantech startup pitch contest. More than 2,000 people signed up for the event. It was a great day to be a part of the Massachusetts manufacturing ecosystem!
Modern manufacturing keynote, FORGE pitch contest, and more
MIT Urban Studies and Planning Professor Elisabeth Reynolds and Re:Build Manufacturing CEO Miles Arnone kicked off Mash-Up with their keynote address about the future of manufacturing in Massachusetts, including sharing insights into how technological advancements and workforce development can generate economic prosperity and American power on the world stage.
FORGE Cleantech Pitch Contest
After a live pitch contest, FORGE awarded three Product Development Grants and an Audience Choice Award. FORGE executive director Laura Teicher kicked off the contest by highlighting why FORGE was hosting the competition. FORGE Product Development Grants, she said, help startups overcome a specific manufacturing or innovation challenge. The funding helps the startups move their product development from physical prototype to commercialization and impact at scale.
Previous Product Development Grant winner and SpadXTech CEO/founder Lina González said the grant helped her startup significantly. It let her startup purchase its first bioreactor and advance in scaling its technology. She also pointed to FORGE’s educational support as being helpful for small innovative companies.
Three manufacturing and innovation experts judged the contest:
- Elisabeth Reynolds, MIT Professor of the Practice, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
- Jerod Colley, M&T Bank Vice President Relationship Manager
- Ian Goodine, rStream Recycling CEO and Cofounder
Product Development Grant pitch finalists
FORGE chose highly professional innovative companies to pitch from more than 20 applicants. FORGE prioritized pitches focused on highlighting the companies’ cleantech innovations, current stage of development and prototyping, next challenge to overcome, and how the FORGE Product Development Grant award would help.
The finalists were:
- Active Surfaces – Ultra thin-film solar technology
- Arbon – CO₂ removal with humidity-swing-DAC technology
- Atlas Urban Farms – Enhanced crop growth with hydroponics
- AutoPCB – Automating PCB design
- Highland Park Technologies – Energy-efficient retrofit cladding for wood-frame buildings
- Quant AQ Inc – Professional-grade air quality sensors
The audience and judges listened closely to the innovators’ pitches. The judges asked questions about target audiences, the significance of the grant for the innovators’ products, and details about product safety and potential downsides.
One judge asked Evan Smith, Highland Park Technologies’ co-founder, about the safety of Highland Park’s bio-based insulated cladding system and its installation. Smith told a story from his experience in construction, where handling building materials posed a hazard and sometimes injured people. He explained that, besides the need to make deep energy retrofits more accessible and cost-effective for building owners, the team at Highland Park Technologies developed its product with safety as a key element.
FORGE grant winners
There were three grant winners. FORGE partner M&T Bank provided support to power the Product Development Grants.
- First place ($10,000): Highland Park Technologies
- Second place ($6,000): Active Surfaces
- Third place ($4,000): Atlas Urban Farms
- Audience Choice ($2,000): Atlas Urban Farms
Re:Build Manufacturing sponsored the Audience Choice Award grant. To choose the Audience Choice Award winner, Mash-Up attendees voted for their favorite startup by scanning a QR code.
Congratulations to our grant winners and thank you to our partners for their sponsorship of the grants!
MMAP and NEMC grants
Massachusetts Economic Development Secretary and MassTech board chair Yvonne Hao announced 2024’s Mass. Manufacturing Accelerate Program (MMAP) Grant recipients. The MMAP program provides grants supporting capital expenditures by smaller Massachusetts-based manufacturers as they prepare to meet the demands of Industry 4.0 with new technologies and innovations that align with key industries in the state. This year’s grants represented $3.5 million in funding.
“We’re excited to showcase the strength of our ecosystem at the annual Mash-Up event, and to invest in the manufacturing sector through these MMAP awards,” Secretary Hao said.
Several FORGE network members received MMAP grant awards:
- Accutronics, LLC
- Allium Engineering
- Alogus Innovation & Design
- Bay State Machine
- Cartamundi
- Outcast Lures
- Wellness Croft Inc.
The Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub (NEMC Hub) also announced 13 PROPEL Manufacturing Program grant winners. These grants are collectively worth more than $1 million.
FORGE panel on manufacturing scaling for startups
Mash-Up featured panels and talks with dozens of manufacturing and innovation experts. Topics included partnering with the Department of Defense, digital transformation, Mass. manufacturing resources, and artificial intelligence.
FORGE Manufacturing Expert in Residence Mark Michalski led “Design and Transition for Manufacturability (Locally)”. The panel discussed how startups can accelerate product design through early engagement with local manufacturers and partners. The panelists were:
- Sebastien Mannai, Founder and CEO, Amplified Industries
- Tom Merle, General Manager, RE:BUILD Fikst
- John Erickson, President, Product Resources
- Sissi Liu, CEO and Co-founder, Metalmark Innovations
The group shared the biggest lessons they had learned while scaling or working with startups as they scaled. The discussion ranged from planning and design to finding good local product/supplier pairings. The major takeaway was that engaging with local manufacturers early allows hardware startups to integrate manufacturability into their design from the start. This collaboration provides insights on materials, production methods, and cost-efficiency, streamlining the transition from prototype to scalable manufacturing. It reduces the risk of costly design changes and ensures the product is optimized for performance and mass production. Local manufacturers also offer faster feedback, flexible support, and foster strong partnerships, crucial for startup success.
FORGE partner and startup demos
The Gillette Exhibit Hall featured innovators, ecosystem collaborators, and manufacturers. FORGE invited partners and innovators to demonstrate in the exhibit hall, giving them an opportunity to deepen their connections in the Mass. manufacturing ecosystem and share their stories, products and services with attendees.
The five cleantech pitch contest participants all demonstrated in the Exhibit Hall, along with these FORGE partners:
- Alternative Manufacturing Inc (AMI), New England’s best resource for your electronic contract manufacturing needs.
- Burt Process Equipment, a leader striving to create a better environment through the innovative and responsible use of water and natural resources.
- Cambridge Polymer Group, a contract research laboratory specializing in materials and products.
- ICSN, an international trade and development company.
- M&T Bank a multi-state community-focused bank providing banking, investment, insurance and mortgage financial services.
- New Page Associates, an engineering and operational support consulting firm.
- Plastics Manufacturing Resources, a firm of experienced plastics manufacturing professionals who connect OEMs with manufacturing solutions.
- Product Resources, a product design, engineering and manufacturing company with expertise in designing and building complex scientific, medical and industrial equipment.
- Samtec, a worldwide manufacturer of a broad line of electronic interconnects.
Massachusetts Manufacturing Awards ceremony
The Massachusetts Legislative Manufacturing Caucus (MLMC) presented awards to Mass. manufacturers for their leadership and contributions to the ecosystem. State Representative Jeff Roy and State Senator Paul Feeney, co-chairs of the MLMC, took turns announcing the 58 recipients of the 9th annual Massachusetts Manufacturing Awards.
“The diversity on display in this room shows why Massachusetts manufacturers are setting the global example in creativity and entrepreneurship,” said Sen. Feeney.
The MLMC recognized several companies in FORGE’s network with Mass. Manufacturing Awards. Congratulations to:
The event ended with a networking reception. Manufacturers, startups, ecosystem collaborators, students, and guests went home buzzing with new ideas and the potential of the new connections they’d made.
With the focus on manufacturing in the Commonwealth, Mash-Up continues to grow and expand its reach. The FORGE team is proud to be part of this celebration of the Mass. manufacturing ecosystem.
See you soon! October is Manufacturing Month!
