Week in Review: May 9 – May 13, 2022
Stay up-to-date on business and economic development happenings in the Capital Region with the CEG Economic Development Week in Review. Don’t miss out on the developments that are transforming the region by following us on:
REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Albany Inno – His automation startup’s HQ is his garage, but business is booming
“Max Egdorf’s custom automation manufacturing startup is still operating out of his two-car garage, but that’s only because real estate is expensive now. He says there’s more potential work than he would be able to handle, and he doesn’t foresee that slowing down any time soon.
Egdorf has worked on about 25 projects, some of which take six months to a year to complete, since he founded Forged Automation in 2019. Automation manufacturers use industrial robots to make products with processes that would typically be too daunting for humans to handle.”
New York marijuana: More farms licensed to grow for state’s recreational market
“Eight of the 36 farms most recently approved by New York state to grow recreational cannabis are in the Capital Region. One of those farms is owned by Hudson Hemp, one of the more prominent hemp and CBD operations in the state. The company’s president, Ben Dobson – also on the board of the New York Cannabis Growers and Processors Association – told the Albany Business Review last summer that he would be prepared to spend millions to enter the recreational cannabis market.”
Albany Inno – ReVivo Medical products used in two spinal procedures in clinical trial
“An Albany medical device startup has taken a critical step on its path to potentially getting clearance for its products from the Food and Drug Administration.
ReVivo Medical said Monday that Dr. Darryl DiRisio has successfully completed the first two of 50 planned surgical procedures using its proprietary products.”
M.J. Properties seeks tax incentives for Saratoga County warehouse project
“The escalating cost of building materials is fueling M.J. Properties of Clifton Park Inc.’s decision to apply for tax incentives on a proposed $3.92 million warehouse on Tabor Road in Halfmoon.
The second-generation development company is asking the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency for an incentive package before it starts construction of a 43,250-square-foot warehouse at 113 Tabor Road.”
“New research from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute shows that innovative business models that tap into extra warehouse space can be a potential solution for companies with changing demand requirements or tight fulfillment windows.
Jennifer Pazour, an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer, and Kaan Unnu, a doctoral graduate of the department, found that a firm’s use of on-demand warehousing is supported if it has tight response requirements, for example, for same-day delivery. However, if a firm has relaxed response requirements, then on-demand warehousing is only recommended if capacity availability of planned on-demand services is high.”
“Hudson Valley Community College trustees have approved five contracts totaling $13.8 million for the expansion of its Malta campus, part of the two-year Troy school’s strategy to quadruple enrollment in Saratoga County.
The region’s second-largest public college is constructing a 17,000-square-foot expansion next to its Tec-Smart building off Hermes Road in the state-owned Saratoga Technology + Energy Park.”
Former Google CEO’s charity betting on connecting the Capital Region
“A charity created by the former CEO of Google – before it changed its name to Alphabet – is betting on the Capital Region’s ability to connect people and improve their lives through computing.
Three prominent local nonprofits announced Wednesday that they had collectively been awarded $410,000 by Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic venture of tech billionaire Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, and his wife, Wendy.”
