Mar. 26, 2026 – FORGE joined forces with BusinessWest and Innovate413 to co-host the first in a series of events to help businesses develop practical AI strategies, smarter operations, and stronger growth. AI developers, AI experts and manufacturers convened at the Brian Corridan Center at STCC Technology Park in Springfield for “StratAI: AI in Manufacturing”…
Jan. 22, 2026 – On the ground floor, an expert team manufactured radiography systems. Upstairs in KUBTEC’s plant-filled, sunny offices, manufacturers, suppliers, investors, innovators and ecosystem partners gathered under a screen displaying a quote from NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang: “Our will to survive exceeds everybody’s will to kill us.” This crowd came to celebrate innovative…
Nov. 6, 2025 – Fall is one of our favorite seasons at FORGE because it means it’s time for another annual Fall Startup Showcase. This year, as always, we got to show off the most amazing physical products made by regional startups and innovative companies. More than 150 innovators, local suppliers and manufacturers, investors, and…
On April 17th, FORGE brought together state leaders, industry, and educators for a factory tour at Advance Welding in Springfield, Massachusetts to spotlight regional innovation and workforce development in advanced manufacturing. The event also highlighted a strong partnership between Advance Welding and Western New England University (WNE), a collaboration equipping students with hands-on experience in…
Apr. 22, 2025 – FORGE’s Spring Startup Showcase celebrated some of the leading hardtech startups in our local innovation ecosystem, as well as 10 years of the FORGE Manufacturing Initiative. Tickets for the Showcase sold out early, so the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham, MA was packed with enthusiastic attendees. Local…
Apr. 8, 2025 – A custom Cybertruck and a Volkswagen Buzz sit on the lawn out front. Shelves of innovative products line the entry hallway. It’s easy to tell interesting things are happening at product development company Gyre9’s Southbury, CT facility, even before you set foot on the factory floor. Gyre9 took us behind the…
Nov. 21, 2024 – We spent the night with some of Connecticut’s brightest and most enterprising minds! FORGE teamed up with Innovation Nights to show off physical products from amazing local companies at Innovation Nights Connecticut. It was a chilly, rainy day at GE Appliances’ CoCREATE Facility in Stamford, CT. But the arrival of more…
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…
Sept. 17, 2024 – The lobby of Novo Precision in Bristol, CT, is deceptively quiet. Aside from the wire-forming and -cutting equipment on display, there’s little indication that beyond the lobby doors, ultra-accurate machines are clicking and clacking as they manipulate wires as thin as hairs into neat and perfect shapes. And this is just…
May 2, 2024 – In New Haven, Connecticut, regional manufacturing experts came together at the ClimateHaven innovation hub to advise startup founders on solving their hardest hardware challenges. Three hand-selected startups presented their physical product prototypes to a panel of eight seasoned manufacturing experts at the ClimateHaven and FORGE Rocket Pitch. Approximately thirty people joined the…
