With the ever-evolving NeoCity landscape and continual increase in activity here at BRIDG, the vision has truly come to life these past couple of months. You can actually feel the energy as you drive onto the 500-acre tech campus and physically see all of the construction surrounding the BRIDG facility – the new office building, the KUA Sub Station, and NeoCity Academy – way before you even walk through our front doors. And to top it off, our team of process engineers and technicians have begun working on our 500
th
wafer!
In keeping with that vision, it remains vital to continue leveraging the local public investments made in infrastructure with state appropriations that would enable additional tool procurement critical to winning and successfully executing government contracts dedicated to ensuring our nation’s security. With the added capabilities that allow us to develop and demonstrate competencies, BRIDG impact to industry becomes even greater and allows us to be an even stronger catalyst for exponential industry-led growth.
While we continue to work on all elements of our strategy, our Florida legislatures are working hard to wrap up the last week of session. As they consider our requests for the enabling state investments, please join me in viewing this
video as we express encouragement and appreciation
to the members of the Florida legislative community for their continued support. Together, we grow a stronger economy as we invent the future here at BRIDG and around NeoCity.
Chester Kennedy
CEO
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BRIDG and Darden Host Smart Kitchen Workshop
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BRIDG and restaurant industry leader Darden – a restaurant company featuring a portfolio of differentiated brands that include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V's – hosted a group of food industry experts at the start of the year for an inaugural Smart Kitchen Workshop focused on advancing technology and sensor-based solutions for the restaurant and food production supply chain.
Held at the Darden headquarters in Orlando, the workshop addressed key challenges facing food production and the kitchen of the future in efforts to create more efficient and gratifying customer experiences throughout the industry. Attendees participated in a full day of roundtable discussions and group exercises as they shared their respective knowledge to help guide the future of the food production industry and associated supply chain.
Doug Milanes, Chief Supply Chain Officer for Darden, was instrumental in creating this collaborative event and commented, “The partnership with BRIDG offers a great opportunity for us to utilize the experience and knowledge of leaders in the technology industry and academia to address opportunities which face our restaurant teams every day. The Smart Kitchen Workshop was an excellent start in developing a roadmap for technologies which can be used to help our restaurants become more effective and solve key challenges of the future.”
Future workshops are in the works with goals that include developing the first Smart Kitchen / Food Production Technology Roadmap and identifying solutions to promote efficient food production and management from Farm to Fork. As the largest public company headquartered in Central Florida, the Smart Kitchen Workshop series will enable Darden to leverage BRIDG’s intellectual infrastructure to address critical concerns and lead the restaurant and food industries into the future.
Thank you to the team of food industry experts across the complete food production ecosystem for establishing the key drivers and associated food-based challenges that require technical innovations and food manufacturing environment upgrade. Special thanks as well to the joint leadership team that coordinated this important initiative: Dan Holladay (Director, Strategic Alliances, BRIDG), Dr. Amit Kumar (Associate Director, Research/Technology Services, BRIDG), Keith Kelly (Vice President, Supply Chain, Darden), and Steve Otto (Director, Supply Chain, Darden). In addition, we greatly appreciated Dr. Bob Porter and Dr. Melissa Francisco of Management Insights, Inc. for volunteering their time to facilitate this event.
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As Orlando solidifies its recognition as a tech and creative hub, Dr. John J. Callahan, BRIDG VP of Technology, joined an impressive list of speakers from various tech industries at
Digital Orlando
this past month to explore how technology and innovation will shape our culture, companies, and community. As part of the panel session on
Developing Industries: New & Advanced Tech
, Dr. Callahan discussed how BRIDG is tackling the issue of making devices smaller, while simultaneously increasing operating power and decreasing consumption.
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Junior Achievement Inspire
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On April 11, BRIDG participated in the second annual
Junior Achievement Inspire
program that took place right across the street from NeoCity at the Osceola Heritage Park. Several of our community partners joined us in support of this interactive exploration of local career pathways – including imec, Massey Services, Tupperware, and Manufacturer’s Association of Central Florida – to inspire and encourage 8
th
grade students to pursue STEM careers. It was wonderful to connect with nearly 4,000 young individuals who make up the talent pipeline of the future— including many incoming NeoCity Academy students!
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BRIDG Facility Key Stop for Local Professionals
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Not only was it a busy month filled with offsite community engagements, we also helped welcome several hundred visitors into NeoCity over the past couple of months. This included bus stop tours for both the City of St. Cloud Economic Development Summit and
Leadership Osceola
. It was great to meet so many local leaders from a variety of industries and share the value that BRIDG and NeoCity bring to Central Florida. Thank you to everyone who joined us!
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Florida Economic Development Conference | May 20 - 22, 2019
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The 2019 FEDC Conference is the premier annual event attended by economic, workforce, and community development professionals serving Florida, where professionals come to learn the best practices to grow Florida’s economy. Fran Korosec, vice president of program management at BRIDG, will be part of this year’s
FEDC conference
panel session focused on
Increasing Productivity in Florida’s Manufactures
, moderated by Kevin Carr, CEO of FloridaMakes. Learn more at https://fedconline.org/fedc-conference/.
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Siemens Spotlight on Innovation | May 22, 2019
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Chester Kennedy will join high-tech industry leaders to discuss the power of AI and the Digital Twin at this year’s
Siemens Spotlight on Innovation
. Coming to Orlando for the very first time, this event will bring together many of the country’s foremost technologists and innovators to share a real-world look at the technologies helping business and cities around the world unlock their potential. Forward-thinking discussions and interactive technology exhibits spanning topics from cybersecurity to city infrastructure will demonstrate how technology is elevating what’s humanly possible.
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BRIDG is located at NeoCity in Osceola County, Florida.
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