Inc.Posts Tagged ‘’

2018 Illinois Manufacturing Day / Month

Huge thanks to all of our local companies who opened up their doors for tours in celebration of Manufacturing Day and Illinois Manufacturing Month! More than 175 attendees joined us for tours at local companies, including several area high school students.

Advanced Filtration Systems Inc.
Champaign, IL
Established in June 1986, Advanced Filtration Systems Inc. (AFSI), manufactures liquid filters using automated, computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) techniques. Highly automated production techniques enable AFSI to manufacture filters of the highest quality at competitive prices. The filters are used in lube, fuel, and hydraulic applications. Learn more at http://www.afsifilters.com/.

Litania Sports Group 
Champaign, IL 
Litania Sports Group is the parent company of two market-leading brands in the sports facility market, Gill Athletics and Porter Athletic. Learn more at http://www.litaniasports.com/.

ShapeMaster, Inc. 
Ogden, IL 
In January 1990, ShapeMaster was formed because they saw a need to provide buyers, engineers, inventors, and designers with the ability to order small or large quantities of solutions in plastics and other materials for the manufacturing of their products; regardless of their size, they receive the same high level quality of service. Learn more at https://www.shape-master.com/.

Illinois MakerLab 
Champaign, IL 
The Illinois MakerLab is the world’s first Business School 3D Printing Lab. The lab was co-founded by Dr. Aric Rindfleisch (Executive Director) and Dr. Vishal Sachdev (Director) and opened in Spring 2013. Learn more at https://makerlab.illinois.edu/.

Riggs Beer Company
Urbana, IL
Riggs Beer Company, opened in June 2016, is a family-owned production brewery and tap room in Urbana, Illinois that features Lagers and other German and American beer styles. Learn more at http://www.riggsbeer.com/.

The Product Manufactory
Urbana, IL 
The Product Manufactory (TPM) is a product design and R&D firm composed of highly skilled engineers, designers, coders, and fabricators. The products they’ve developed have ranged from research instrumentation to consumer electronics to railroad power supplies. Learn more at https://www.theproductmanufactory.com/.

Inprentus, Inc. 
Champaign, IL 
Inprentus manufactures the most efficient high line density diffraction gratings in the world. Inprentus was founded in June 2012 by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign physics professor Peter Abbamonte to commercialize an innovative nano-scale scribing technology, which is a technique for carrying out precision lithography via mechanical deformation of metallic surfaces. Learn more at https://www.inprentus.com/.

What is Manufacturing Day?
Manufacturing Day® is a celebration of modern manufacturing meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers and occurs on the first Friday in October. Manufacturing Day addresses common misperceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is – and what it isn’t. Learn more at http://www.mfgday.com/.
Illinois Manufacturing Highlights:
* Manufacturing is the third largest industry in Illinois by employment with more than 580,000 workers.
* Illinois is the fourth largest manufacturing state in the nation by output.
* Manufacturing makes up 93.6% of all Illinois goods exported.

Special thanks to The Atkins Group, our official sponsor of Illinois Manufacturing Day / Month in Champaign County.

Veriflow Systems, Inc. Announces Expansion in Champaign

From the press release:

San Jose, CA based Veriflow Systems, Inc., has announced its expansion in Champaign, Illinois with the leasing of 4,200 square feet of office space on the 2nd floor of One Main Plaza at 1 East Main Street in Downtown Champaign. Verifow is relocating from its current space at Enterprise Works at the Research Park at the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign campus. Veriflow will join fellow high tech company, Volition, in occupying the majority of the office space at One Main Plaza.

Veriflow was created by a team of computer science professors and PhD students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Veriflow is the first networking company to use continuous network verification to eliminate network outages and vulnerabilities. Veriflow’s mission is to apply formal mathematical verification to complex networks, preventing outages and breaches that lead to astronomical losses.

Veriflow is backed by a strong team of investors, including New Enterprise Associates, Menlo Ventures, the National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Defense. In October, Veriflow won Barclays 2016 Open Innovation Challenge award, beating out more than 100 global technology companies for the honor. Veriflow was founded by Matthew Caesar, PhD, Brighten Godfrey, PhD, and Ahmed Khurshid, PhD. All three hold Associate Professor positions in Computer Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Veriflow is planning to occupy the space at One Main Plaza, after renovations are completed on the existing office space, with a target move date of April, 2017. With their expansion, Veriflow will increase employment in the Champaign market, capitalizing on the strength of the computer science program at the University of Illinois.

“With the physical Tier 1 amenities, access to public transportation and proximity to the university, One Main in Downtown Champaign was an ideal location to for our expansion,” said James Brear President and CEO of Veriflow.

“One Main Development is excited to welcome Veriflow Systems, Inc. to join the prestigious businesses that make their home in Downtown Champaign,” says Dave Jones, President. “As downtown has been evolving back into a central business district, we are pleased that such a respected tech company will be taking advantage of the environment for their own business growth and development. It has been a great pleasure working with the Veriflow team and we are looking forward to welcoming them into One Main Plaza.”

“I’m excited to welcome Veriflow as it expands into Champaign’s booming downtown tech center. World leading technology companies continue to grow and thrive in Champaign, and we welcome the new opportunities and jobs this will mean for our community” stated Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen.

“Veriflow’s decision to grow in the Champaign-Urbana community is fantastic news,” said Craig Rost, Executive Director of the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation. “Evolving from their location in EnterpriseWorks, the University of Illinois Research Park incubator, into the downtown Champaign location with other high tech employers is the perfect success story for the company and for Champaign County. We look forward to working with Veriflow, another great example of our ‘Heart of Innovation’ legacy here in our community and University.”

One Main Plaza offers retail and office space for lease at its premier location on the corner of Neil and Main Streets in downtown Champaign. Its largest office tenant is Deep Silver Volition, a well-known gaming design firm. Big Grove Tavern, Kofusion, Snow Meets Coffee and Merry Ann’s Diner restaurants occupy the first floor, along with Hada Cosmetic Medicine.

Guth & Associates/Fairlawn Real Estate represented Veriflow Systems in securing their space at One Main Plaza and Coldwell Banker Devonshire Realty represented One Main Development, LLC in the transaction.

Veriflow is the first networking company to use continuous network verification to eliminate network outages and vulnerabilities. The company was created by a team of computer science professors and Ph.D. students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is backed by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Menlo Ventures, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Defense. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California. To learn more, visit veriflow.net and follow us on Twitter @veriflowsystems.

Other Veriflow Information and Links:

Download a PDF of the press release here.

TINKER by IntelliWheels, Inc. Selected as National Finalist in SBA InnovateHER Business Challenge

From the January 21, 2016 press release:

SBA Names Finalists for InnovateHER Business Challenge

10 Game Changing Entrepreneurs Selected to Pitch Their Innovative Products and Services During Women’s History Month

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today announced the finalists of the 2016 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge, a nationwide business competition to highlight innovative products and services created and launched by cutting-edge entrepreneurs.

In making the announcement, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet said: “From precision medicine to agriculture to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, America’s entrepreneurs are transforming society and creating businesses that promise to be game changers. The incredible talent and ability of these 10 finalists is boundless and their creativity sends a message that is loud and clear: American entrepreneurs are launching and growing businesses across all fields of endeavor that will disrupt the status quo and improve lives around the world. Finding and rewarding these visionaries is the message of InnovateHER. Entrepreneurship makes anything possible.”

An executive committee of SBA officials reviewed more than 180 semi-finalist nominations and selected 10 finalists whose products and services best met the competition criteria and presented the greatest potential for success.

“I am honored to announce the finalists of the second round of the SBA’s InnovateHER Business Challenge, building on the success of our 2015 challenge where we engaged over 100 organizations and reached over 1,000 entrepreneurs across the nation,” added Contreras-Sweet.

The SBA congratulates the following finalists, who will have the opportunity to compete for the top three awards totaling $70,000 in prize money provided by Microsoft:

  • Dr. Agnes Scoville from Scoville & Company (Pacidose), St. Louis, Mo.: Pacidose allows mothers and caregivers to accurately dose and deliver medicine to babies through a soft pacifier nipple.
  • Anna Daily from Ascendant DX LLC (Melody), Springdale, Ark.: Melody is a simple and highly effective diagnostic to detect early stage breast cancer by identifying specific proteins present in tears.
  • Jennifer Shipp from Brilliant Inventors LLC (Knife Glider), Mission, Texas: The Knife Glider is a cutting shield that has been statistically proven to reduce the probability of being injured or cut when preparing food with a knife by more than 90 percent.
  • Sascha Mayer from Mamava, Inc., Burlington, Vt.: Mamava makes freestanding lactation suites and other design solutions for nursing mothers on the go.
  • Marissa Siebel-Siero from IntelliWheels, Inc. (Tinker), Champaign, Ill.: Tinker is the first ever 3D product configurator in the wheelchair marketplace that gives customers feedback and control.
  • Susan Leary Shoemaker from Undercare, Inc., Bronxsville, N.Y.: Undercare offers innovative undergarments that accommodate persons who have difficulty dressing.
  • Cassandra Curtis from Once Upon a Farm, San Diego, Calif.: Once Upon a Farm creates quality, eco-friendly and nutritious baby food products for children.
  • Dr. Pu Wang from Vibronix, Inc. (MarginPAT), West Lafayette, Ind.: MarginPAT is an intraoperative assessment of breast tumor margin using photo acoustic/ultrasound imaging system.
  • Dawn Dickson from Flat Out of Heels, Miami Beach, Fla.: Flat Out of Heels are a convenient way for women to relieve stiletto sore feet on the go.
  • Elizabeth Caven from UpCraft Club, Des Moines, Iowa: UpCraft Club is changing the way digital goods are found and sold using a patent-pending process allowing brick and mortar retailers to receive revenue from the sale of a digital good.

These 10 finalists are invited to the National InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge during Women’s History Month in Washington, D.C., where they will pitch their products and ideas to a panel of expert judges.

The 2016 InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Challenge was launched in August 2015 with over 200 local competitions across the country hosted by universities, accelerators, clusters, scale-up communities, SBA’s resource partners and other local community organizations. The SBA sought to unearth products or services that will fill a need in the marketplace and have the greatest potential for commercialization.

For details on the competition, visit www.sba.gov/innovateHER. This site will be updated as more information regarding the event is made available.

Press:

UIUC Startup IntelliWheels Selected As Finalist In A National Small Business Competition, ChicagoInno