August 2021 Newsletter
Dear Reader,

This month we celebrate the aggregated result of the many successes experienced by our clients and recent graduates through the release of our annual economic impact report. Each year with this release, it is incredibly rewarding and affirming to assess, reflect, and ensure continued relevance and progress. Despite struggles and uncertainty this year, the Innovation Center (IC)'s impact remained strong.

Following that top story, be sure to read more about the two things that make the IC thrive - our committed and qualified team members and our determined and steadfast current and graduate founders.

As always, we have a round-up of events and training opportunities and another (maybe final) peek at our renovation progress.

If you or someone you know is a visionary like Sean Jones of QuickLoadz and you are looking for support from experts like Misa Hata, we want to hear from you.

Keep innovating,
Stacy Strauss, Director
Top Story
IC's Economic Impact Report Highlights Another Great Year
A third-party produced 2020 Economic Impact Report shows that the IC's work created 269 total jobs (direct, indirect, and induced). IC-supported companies generated an estimated $23 million in employee compensation and an estimated $62 million in economic output in Athens County.

“We are very proud of the efforts made by our current and graduate companies during what was an incredibly difficult year,” said IC director, Stacy Strauss. "These numbers reflect a commitment on behalf of our clients to not only survive but thrive in a global pandemic. Additionally, some of the ventures developed new product lines or launched other initiatives to combat the negative effects of COVID-19."

To read the full press release, click below.
News From The IC
IC's Misa Hata Featured by MidStory
Misa Hata, the IC’s laboratory director, was featured by MidStory, a leading regional media organization, on her background, career, and commitment to building successful startups. Armed with master’s degrees in both industrial and biomedical engineering from Ohio University and a career background leading engineering initiatives for several Athens-based startups, Misa directs the IC’s lab services. Her invaluable expertise and support to clients engaged in research and product development helps them on their pathway to commercial success and supports the IC’s mission of bringing jobs and economic development to the Southeast Ohio region.

To learn more about Misa's exceptional accomplishments and her role at the IC, click below.
IC Graduate QuickLoadz Inks Critical Partnership
The IC is happy to promote an announcement from QuickLoadz Intermodal Robotics, based in Athens. Quickloadz signed an agreement with fellow Ohio company Path Robotics to automate the production of their truck beds and trailers.

Ohio University engineering graduate Sean Jones founded QuickLoadz in 2013 when he needed to move empty and loaded sea shipping containers for his mobile storage and construction company. QuickLoadz makes the only truck beds and trailers in the world capable of automatically moving the 168,000,000 sea shipping containers that make up 90% of the world's freight. With encouragement and direction from the IC and TechGROWTH Ohio, the company quickly attracted clients including the US Army, Pac-Van, and United Van Lines then rapidly scaled up production.

"When manufacturing heavy trailers that will be hauling 60,000-pound containers at 70 MPH down a busy highway, weld quality and consistency is supremely important. I have been looking at robotic welding systems for years and suddenly right here in Ohio, 60 miles away, I find an exciting new startup that has the most advanced robotic welding system in the world. Path Robotics' system will allow QuickLoadz to scale and shows that innovation in heavy manufacturing is alive, well, and taking off in Ohio," says founder and CEO, Sean Jones. The Path Robotics system will use a vision-based robotic welding cell to complete the final welding on the beams and undercarriage parts that make up a QuickLoadz trailer, like the Stealth 40 pictured above.

"Freight and logistics automation has really come to the forefront of awareness with the autonomous truck and the enormous backlogs at the ports and distribution centers. QuickLoadz is a solution to many of these problems and the timing couldn't be better to scale," Jones adds.

To learn more about QuickLoadz, click below.
TechCred Announces Changes
TechCred is a program offered by the State of Ohio that provides reimbursement to businesses for technology-based training in order to upskill current and future employees.

New updates have recently been made to the program, including reducing the length of the grant from 18 to 12 months from the award date, changing the training start date to on or after the date of the award and the completion date to within 12 months, and eliminating reimbursement for in-house training.

To learn more about TechCred and how your company can benefit, click the link below.
Innovation Center Updates and Renovations
The IC is in the final stages of our $1.5 million renovation project. The project is funded, in part, by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).

New signage (with more to come), completed exterior finishes, and nearly completed upgraded audio-visual in conference rooms are the final touches pictured to the left.

The laboratories are now ready for use! We welcome any technology or tech-enabled startups to contact us for more information and to learn how the IC can help lead a startup's vision to commercial success.
Upcoming Events
News & Events from Our Partners
How We Can Help
The IC is the recipient of the 2019 Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year Award (InBIA) and the 2019 Rural-Based Entrepreneurship Center of the Year Award (InBIA). The center was ranked the third best University-Based Incubator in the U.S. (UBI Global Ranking 2015-2017), and was named the 2016 Rural Incubator of the Year (InBIA).

Our 36,000 square foot building has some space available.
For details, please visit our website or give us a call at (740) 593-1818.
Make A Gift
The Ohio University Innovation Center provides valuable business incubation resources to fuel the economy in Athens, Ohio and the surrounding region. Your gift supports our mission to connect entrepreneurs with the people and resources needed to grow businesses and create jobs in Southeast Ohio.
Support for the Innovation Center is provided by Ohio University and TechGROWTH Ohio through funding provided by the Ohio Third Frontier Commission. Support is also provided by the Economic Development Administration, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.