On a beautiful day at Worcester’s baseball stadium, Polar Park, manufacturers, startups, suppliers, students, and legislators met to celebrate manufacturing in Massachusetts. To kick off the day, we presented a mixture of live remarks and recorded messages from Massachusetts leaders including Speaker Ronald Mariano, Senate President Karen Spilka, Secretary Mike Kennealy, Senator Eric Lesser and…
Robots + $25k in prizes = A FANTASTIC time John Killam, President of MassMEP, visits the FORGE Showcasing partners as they set up FORGE hit the ground running this fall with the Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up on Tuesday, September 28th. We collaborated with our event partners, The Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) at MassTech Collaborative, MassMEP,…
What did we learn from bringing together 3 of the most cutting edge agtech startups and a panel of manufacturing veterans? In short, most design challenges are not one-size fits all. Here are 3 key takeaways from FORGE’s Rocket Roundtable, featuring Carl Palme from Boundless Robotics, Andrew Meersand from Adaviv, and Kaan Armagan…
How do I make my product more durable? Here are 4 key lessons. Ruggedize: to strengthen (something, such as a machine) for better resistance to wear, stress, and abuse FORGE’s Rocket Roundtable for Ruggedization on June 24th was a success for all those who attended, and can provide a few powerful lessons for all…
May 20, 2021 FORGE hosted a collaborative event with our Iron partner PEKO Precision, a precision tool fabricator which has grown to provide a full range of equipment manufacturing solutions based in Rochester, New York. PEKO Masterclass: From Prototype to Production was presented by Mark Frosino, Scott Baxter, and Bill Melvin, and covered the process…
September 17, 2019 Informal networking anchored by a high-energy supplier showcase was combined with a structured program of startup finalist pitches for $15,000 in non-dilutive Engineer in Residence (EIR) grants. The event drew over 200 attendees from across the robust Massachusetts innovation and manufacturing ecosystems. Five finalist startups gave live pitches describing their company and…
April 30, 2021 FORGE hosted a public, virtual Rocket Roundtable for Supply Chain Solutions, where an autonomous vehicle startup pitched their physical product challenges and received live advice from the supply chain expert panelists. This Rocket Pitch was more of a “Drone Pitch”, as it centered on a single startup, Airgility, which is an early-stage…
April 23, 2021 FORGE hosted its first collaborative event with our new Titanium partner Mintz, one of the most innovative and successful IP Law firms in the country. The Mintz Masterclass: Patents 101 focused on intellectual property rights for the nearly 50 startups and innovators in attendance. It was presented by attorney Michael Van Loy,…
March 18, 2021 FORGE hosted its first Design Challenge, allowing three startups to pitch their mechanical design challenges to supplier experts. The panel featured representatives from ICSN Group, a product development firm with a branch office right here in Massachusetts! ICSN specializes in design for manufacturability, engineering, and contract manufacturing. The first startup, Urbx, is…
On October 22, FORGE hosted its second annual Manufacturing and Innovation Showcase, held virtually this year. The event included main stage keynote speakers, startup pitches, a virtual manufacturer expo, and the opportunity to network across the innovation ecosystem. Hundreds of registrants came from over 15 different countries. Innovators and supply chain experts connected with high…
