Western New York Firms May Apply For SPIR Grants

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The local branch of the Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR), based in the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and administered by the UB Business Alliance, has up to $50,000 available to help small and medium-sized companies in Western New York create and retain manufacturing and high-technology jobs.

In 1998, the state-funded program awarded nearly $200,000 in grants ranging from $500 to $30,000 to more than 40 local companies that were able to add jobs, achieve standards certification and launch new products.

Local firms that would like to apply for SPIR grants should submit applications to the UB Business Alliance, which accepts them on an ongoing basis. For more information, contact Tim Mattulke, SPIR project manager at the UB Business Alliance, at 636-2568, fax at 636-5921 or email at .

"The SPIR grant allowed us to expedite a very important new product launch as a result of the provided technical assistance, laboratory facilities and other relevant resources," said Richard Greco, senior vice president of operations/regulatory affairs for Silipos, a medical-device manufacturer based in Niagara Falls, which was awarded a $20,000 SPIR grant.

Ohmcraft, Inc., based in the Rochester suburb of Honeoye Falls, a manufacturer of specialty resistors for electrical components, received an $8,500 grant that allowed it to improve processes, develop a new product line and create new jobs.

"In just two years, we've tripled our total employment, from 20 to 60," said Frank Collins, president of Ohmcraft, Inc. "Most of those jobs were created as an outgrowth of new business stimulated by our SPIR grant."

FlexOvit USA, Inc., based in Angola, which manufactures abrasive grinding wheels, used its $9,800 grant to improve productivity and reduce scrap materials.

The link to UB through the SPIR program is "crucial in order to maintain a competitive posture in our world market through advanced technology," said Jacob Iliohan, FlexOvit USA chairman and chief executive officer.

SR Instruments of Tonawanda, which manufactures medical scales, used its $4,990 SPIR grant to help the company achieve IS0 9000 certification.

To qualify for a SPIR grant, projects must be tied directly to retaining or creating manufacturing and high-technology jobs, increasing company productivity or sales, and/or maintaining company facilities in New York State.

Through the UB program and similar ones at the SUNY university centers at Binghamton and Stony Brook, SPIR aims to bolster the state economy by promoting the transfer of knowledge from university to industry and by providing consultation, technical assistance, research facilities and resources for industrial restructuring.

Funded by New York State, the SPIR grants will cover up to 50 percent of a project's cost for utilizing faculty members, students and other technically trained personnel and fees for using sophisticated research facilities, such as those available at UB.

The UB Business Alliance is UB's one-stop shop for economic-development and industrial-outreach activities. It provides key services to industry, such as training and work-force development, process improvement, business incubation, and technology transfer and licensing.

Additional information is available on the UB Business Alliance Web site at www.uballiance.buffalo.edu .