Make it Here: FORGE Connecticut Product Development Grant Awards and KUBTEC facility tour presented by M&T Bank
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 manufacturing and the latest recipients of the FORGE Connecticut Product Development Grants – a program supported by the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund to accelerate in-state manufacturing, supplier engagement, and production readiness.
We heard from event sponsor M&T Bank’s SVP David Femi and a panel of local manufacturing, innovation, and capital experts. Kubtec, a specimen imaging systems and gamma probe technology company, gave everyone an exclusive tour of its Stratford, CT headquarters – our last chance to see the research, engineering and assembly space before the company’s upcoming move to a 112,544 square foot facility in Trumbull, CT.
Remarks: the importance of local manufacturing
After guests enjoyed an array of snacks and desserts, FORGE President and Executive Director Laura Teicher welcomed them to the event.
Teicher told KUBTEC’s origin story. Co-owners Preeti and Vikram Butani started KUBTEC out of a spare bedroom in their Fairfield, CT home. It grew from an idea to a successful Connecticut-based manufacturer. She described how many physical product innovators fail to reach KUBTEC’s scale because of a lack of access to manufacturing-specific and relevant knowledge, relationships, and capital – and how FORGE, with the support of the Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund, helps these emerging manufacturers bridge the gap to scale.
Teicher said, “Today is about recognizing the manufacturers who open their doors, the companies who choose to build here, and our partners who share our belief that if you can invent it locally, you should be empowered to make it locally.”
FORGE Vice President Adam Rodrigues introduced representatives from the event sponsor, M&T Bank Vice President and Business Banking Relationship Manager Laura Krauss and Business Banking Relationship Manager Addoneys Cruz. Krauss and Cruz invited everyone to an upcoming M&T Bank manufacturing event.
The pair welcomed KUBTEC CEO and co-founder Vikram Butani. Butani discussed KUBTEC’s upcoming move to Trumbull, as well as KUBTEC’s relationship with M&T Bank and FORGE.
“We were very excited when we were approached by M&T Bank and FORGE for this event,” Butani said. “We’ve been great for M&T Bank, and they’ve been great for us, helping us grow.”
Discussion: funding and managing manufacturing in Connecticut
Next, Rodrigues introduced the day’s panel discussion: Fueling Connecticut’s Emerging Manufacturers: Capital, Collaboration and the Future of Regional Manufacturing. The panelists were:
- David Femi, Senior Vice President, M&T Bank
- Dan Babajanyan, Chief Financial Officer, KUBTEC
- David Ellis, Owner, CPS Fluidics
- Casey Pickett, Incubation Managing Director, ClimateHaven
Femi said “M&T was founded in 1856. It stands for manufacturers and traders…We are truly a bank for manufacturers. We’re deeply embedded in the strategy, day to day decision making, and the growth of these manufacturing businesses.”
Ellis said “When you think about it, the business relationship is not that different from any human relationship. It’s built on trust. The same rules apply when engaging with a supplier.”
Babajanyan said “From a medical device perspective – lots of inventory, needy customers, looking at partnerships and joint ventures – you need a bank that’s a full-service house that will work with you to set aside extra capital and work with your operations to manage more difficult inventory.”
Pickett said, “We know founders are ready for manufacturing when they move beyond questions of product performance, and toward questions of cost, scale, tolerances and lead times…Moving from questions of ‘can it work?’ to ‘can it be built reliably at scale by someone other than us?’”
M&T Bank Supplier of the Year Award announcement
John Hamara, M&T Bank vice president and business banking relationship manager, announced that KUBTEC was the winner of M&T Bank’s Supplier of the Year Award.
He gave Butani the award, saying “Vikram has been really great to work with, as has Dan, the new CFO. Seeing the growth from when you built this place…you’ve done so much over the years and it’s rewarding to see where you’re going.”
Butani said, “This is just the beginning for us….as long as you have that will to survive, success is ahead.”
Connecticut Manufacturing Innovation Fund grant winner announcements
Rodrigues announced the winners of FORGE’s Product Development Grants.
First place FORGE Product Development Grant winner
Hera Materials, an emerging manufacturer developing sustainable renewable plastics, won first place and a $100,000 grant – the largest single grant FORGE has awarded to date, and the maximum grant size FORGE currently offers with the Connecticut MIF. The grant will support Hera’s engagement with Connecticut manufacturers to validate high-throughput production processes and advance toward commercial-scale manufacturing.
Tara Gensure, a mechanical engineer at Hera Materials, accepted the award.
Second place FORGE Product Development Grant winner
The second-place winner, earning a $64,853 grant, was OHM, whose exercise equipment redefines training by enabling users to express variable force through complex, functional, multi-planar movement. Funding will enable OHM to work with Connecticut manufacturing partners to advance production-ready equipment builds and refine manufacturability for broader market deployment.
David Pritchard, OHM Partner – Business Strategy/Development, accepted the award.
Third place FORGE Product Development Grant winner
Clémence Bruguier, co-founder of Mirabelle Medical, accepted the third grant for $62,978.
Mirabelle Medical is making breast health accessible to every woman with its breast cancer screening devices for individual self-exams and non-invasive screening by healthcare workers. The grant supports Mirabelle’s transition from prototype to early production with Connecticut manufacturing partners, accelerating delivery to customers while keeping manufacturing local.
“This funding is literally life-changing,” Bruguier told CT Insider. “We’re going to go from our five prototypes to being able to create our products and send them to our customers.”
KUBTEC facility tour
Members of the KUBTEC team showed guests around KUBTEC’s current facility, from the manufacturing areas downstairs, up the transparent blue stairs to the offices and communal areas. One team member said that KUBTEC hosts breakfast every day from 7 to 9 am, a ritual many employees partake in and a great place for different departments to cross-pollinate ideas.
After the tour, some attendees kept the celebration going at ManufactureCT’s Manufacturing Happy Hour at Archie Moore’s in Branford, CT.
This event would not have been possible without our partners at the Manufacturing Innovation Fund, whose investment enables FORGE to turn innovation into manufacturing activity, helping Connecticut companies move from early builds to real production with in-state partners. That impact is only possible because of the broader ecosystem around it, including our presenting sponsor M&T Bank, our Connecticut partners, the generosity of our hosts at KUBTEC Medical, our panelists, and all who joined us to celebrate Connecticut manufacturing.
Want to become part of the FORGE supplier network? Looking for a right-fit connection to a manufacturer who can take your prototype or production to the next level? Reach out to FORGE. We are here to support you.
