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星期五, 12月 16, 2016

Second Bay State Business Link Forum Focuses on Manufacturing in the Innovation Economy

Second Bay State Business Link Forum Focuses on Manufacturing in the Innovation Economy
Massachusetts Thought Leaders Discuss Workforce Development across the Commonwealth
[BOSTON] - Statewide business leaders convened today at the State House for the second Bay State Business Link (BSBL) forum. BSBL is a collaborative initiative led by House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber) to encourage B2B collaboration across all regions of the Commonwealth and to identify opportunities for small and new business to connect with established companies.
Since 2009, the House of Representatives has sought to integrate Massachusetts’ historically-strong industries with emerging sectors in an effort to provide jobs to individuals of all skillsets. With that goal in mind, the forum focused on “Putting talent to work: Manufacturing in the innovation economy” with a specific emphasis on clean technology.
“Long before it became politically fashionable to talk about those regions left behind by the global economy, I have been traveling across the Commonwealth and trying to create jobs,” said Speaker DeLeo. “The Bay State Business Link is one way we are working to extend the success of Kendall Square and the Innovation District across Massachusetts. Today’s forum, focused on the intersection of innovation and manufacturing, highlights an area where Massachusetts is poised for national and global leadership.”
Creating statewide connections through initiatives like the Bay State Business Link helps deliver the economic development opportunities and jobs that come with innovation to regions throughout the Commonwealth,” said James E. Rooney, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. “Our organization will continue to work with Speaker DeLeo and other statewide business leaders to make Massachusetts more competitive and to help businesses and people across the state connect and thrive.” 

The discussion centered on workforce development, attracting and retaining talent, and making Massachusetts more competitive by focusing on the clean tech industry. Panelists included:

·         Secretary Rick Sullivan, President and CEO, Economic Development Council of Western Mass
·         Emily Reichert, PhD, CEO, Greentown Labs
·         Phil Guidice, CEO, Ambri
·         Kumble Subbaswamy, PhD, Chancellor, UMass Amherst
“Making it in Massachusetts for our small energy-technology company with global aspirations has been fun and rewarding,” said Phil Giudice, President & CEO of Ambri. “Potential partners, customers, employees and visitors from around the world come to Massachusetts to see Ambri as an example of our Commonwealth’s great innovation ecosystem and as a connection to great Massachusetts learning institutions.”
“Economic development for all of Massachusetts requires a partnership between government, employers and institutions of higher education,” said UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy. “As the Commonwealth’s flagship campus, UMass Amherst plays a critical role in the state’s innovation economy, and we have nationally-recognized strengths in fields such as advanced manufacturing, applied life sciences, big data, cybersecurity, climate science and alternative energy. We are thrilled to join Speaker DeLeo and the House of Representatives to foster new connections that will help bring economic prosperity to all regions of the Commonwealth.”
“Western Massachusetts has a rich economic history, strong business communities, diverse industries and a deep talent pool,” said Rick Sullivan, President and CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council. “Too often these resources go overlooked. Fostering connections between companies in Western Mass and Boston will have mutually-beneficial results and I look forward to seeing new business partnerships develop from the Bay State Business Link.”

At the forum Speaker DeLeo joined Dr. Reichert to announce that Greentown Labs Manufacturing Initiative will be opening an office in Springfield. The new site, funded in part by the Davis Foundation, will create a bridge between hardware startups in the Boston area and manufacturers and startups in Western Mass. These linkages will help ensure that before companies look out-of-state for a service, they are able to connect with Massachusetts businesses and potential employees.

“Massachusetts has a rich history of manufacturing innovation and Greentown Labs is proud to support statewide efforts focused on workforce development and job creation across the industry to ensure we remain a leader in this space for many years to come,” said Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs. “Through our Manufacturing Initiative we’ve had the unique opportunity to work with both local startups and manufacturers to bridge communication and education gaps and ultimately develop working relationships between both parties. From this experience it has become clear that manufacturers play a critical role in our broader innovation economy—specifically in supporting hardware-focused startups —and we must continue to identify engagement opportunities with manufacturers around the Commonwealth.”

“There has been a long-term negative disconnect between the manufacturing growth in the Metro Springfield area as compared to the more favorable growth rates of the Metro Boston and Worcester areas,” said John Killam, President of MassMEP. “Through the direction of Speaker DeLeo and his vision for the Bay State Business Link, MassMEP is pleased to be part of this initiative to grow the manufacturing economy in Western Massachusetts.”

BSBL is backed by its partner organizations MassChallenge, Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) and the Western Mass Economic Development Council.

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