Wellesley & Springfield, Massachusetts, January 24, 2011 – Business recruitment representatives from MassEcon, the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts, and Western Massachusetts Electric Company (Northeast Utilities) will be in San Francisco during the week of January 24 to meet with photonics companies attending SPIE Photonics West trade show and conference at the Moscone Center. The business recruitment team has 15-20 appointments with growth companies that have an interest in learning about the Commonwealth’s assets, and in particular, those of Western Massachusetts.
In addition to meeting with photonics companies, the team will meet with several Bay Area site location consultants to describe Massachusetts’s resources including workforce, universities, and research facilities. MassEcon will also highlight the Commonwealth’s MarketReady properties, showing that Massachusetts has a ready inventory of properties to meet companies’ needs. Susan Houston, Executive Director of MassEcon said, “Correcting misconceptions about the Commonwealth while showing off our site-readiness and ability to support business growth will mean new job opportunities for the state.”
The Western Massachusetts region is home to a growing cluster of companies developing photonics technologies including Kollmorgen, Prima North America, Hoppe Technologies, Takos Trading Company, Biolitec, and Instrument Technology. Photonics is an enabling technology that supports a variety of industries including life sciences, medical devices, defense and aerospace, information technology, and energy. Significant research in the field is occurring at the Boston University Photonics Center, which boasts several state-of-the-art research laboratories and is currently home to 14 start-up companies. Allan W. Blair, President and CEO of the Western Mass EDC, said that, “Our region is globally competitive in the photonics, laser and optics industry with the facilities, talent, workforce, research and training required for successful companies to compete.”
“The Patrick-Murray Administration has made supporting innovation a key component of its economic development strategy. The work of our partners at MassEcon and Western Mass ECD has allowed us to engage companies that are interested in locating here precisely because of the talent and resources we’ve helped to grow here in the Commonwealth,” said Greg Bialecki, the Commonwealth’s Secretary of Housing and Economic Development.
