National Recognition, More Inventions And Lower Rents For Start-Ups Mark First Year Of UB Business Alliance

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In its first year of operation, the UB Business Alliance has received a "Project of the Year" award from a national organization, boosted its royalty income and the numbers of inventions disclosed and made significant changes in its incubator facility, making it easier for start-ups to rent space.

The UB Business Alliance will mark these and other accomplishments at an anniversary celebration to be held from 4-6 p.m. Jan. 26 in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus. Charles A. Gargano, chairman of Empire State Development Corp., and John J. Rigas, chairman and chief executive officer of Adelphia cable and the Buffalo Sabres, will be keynote speakers.

Other speakers will include Darla Flatt, production manager at GM Powertrain-Tonawanda Forge, and David Grant, economic development coordinator at Praxair, Inc.

The UB Business Alliance was launched in November 1998 to improve the way that businesses access the university and to provide a central focus for UB's economic-development and industrial-outreach activities.

"The UB Business Alliance has built on our original plan to make the university's resources more accessible to Western New York and New York State," said Mark Karwan, Ph.D., dean of the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and chief executive officer of the UB Business Alliance.

"We've re-engineered the Technology Transfer and Licensing Office, and strengthened outreach, both with the local business community and with our researchers within the university," Karwan continued. "We also have actively enhanced our ties with the economic-development agencies in the region and the state, paving the way for UB and, through our partnerships, for SUNY to play a far more significant role in strengthening the economic climate in this region."

In its first year, the UB Business Alliance:

• Received the Project of the Year award from the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers (NAMTAC) for the assistance provided by The Center for Industrial Effectiveness -- part of the Business Alliance -- to OhmCraft, Inc. Under that project, Wayne A. Anderson, Ph.D., UB professor of electrical engineering, provided technical expertise that helped the manufacturer of specialty resistors for electrical components to expand its product line, resulting in the company tripling its total employment from 20 to 60.

• Reduced rents for first-year tenants in the UB Technology Incubator facility in Amherst by up to 40 percent through the allocation of low-cost electricity through the New York Power Authority's "Power for Jobs" program. Rents in the facility are increased gradually to market rates as companies mature and, eventually, graduate from the incubator into larger facilities. Operating savings also will be realized as a result of a $500,000 investment by the UB Foundation, Inc., to install an energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning system, which will pay for itself over the next few years.

• Graduated from its incubator Snyder Seed Corp., which has developed a squirrel-proof, pepper-coated bird feed. The company is building a pilot plant and plans to increase employment from four employees to 14.

• Boosted royalty income by 51 percent over the previous year to $274,000, in part as a result of new uses that IBM found for conducting pastes it had licensed from UB that resulted in increased sales for the computer manufacturer. The pastes were developed by Eli Ruckenstein, Ph.D., UB professor of chemical engineering and National Medal of Science winner.

• Increased the number of inventions disclosed to the Technology Transfer and Licensing Office by 37 percent over the previous year, a reflection of more vigorous outreach efforts to UB researchers

• Increased outreach efforts with regional economic-development agencies

• Joined the Western New York Business Development Fund, which provides seed and growth capital to high-tech entrepreneurs in the region

• Published two editions of its UB Business Alliance Directory of Resources for Business and Industry, a comprehensive "yellow pages" of UB resources that can aid business and industry in the region. A Web version of the directory is updated continually and is available at www.uballiance.buffalo.edu.

• Appointed a UB Business Alliance Advisory Board comprised of leaders from small and large businesses in the region, government, education and economic development

The UB Business Alliance combines four critical services that the university provides to industry:

• The Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE), affiliated with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, which offers training programs, research-and-development assistance, technical assistance and assessments and translation services

• Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing, which identifies patents and licenses to the private sector for inventions developed at UB

• UB Technology Incubator, operated in cooperation with the Western New York Technology Development Center, which supports the establishment of technology-intensive businesses -- many of which are run by UB faculty members, students or alumni -- commercializes UB inventions and provides applied-learning opportunities for UB students

• Health Care Business Center, a partnership with the Health Care Industries Association, which brings researchers, manufacturers and local health-care providers together with the university to enhance the health-care industry in Western New York

Businesses interested in the UB Business Alliance's services may contact Jacqueline Badura, industry contact coordinator, at 636-3651.