Contact: Phyllis Levine at 845.896.6934 X3001 or by Email
HVTDC PARTNERS WITH ULSTER COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
TO CREATE REGIONAL BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY INCUBATOR
The Ulster County Development Corporation (UCDC) in Kingston, and HVTDC announce the collaboration of their two organizations’ expertise to finalize plans for the creation of the Hudson Valley Center for Innovation. “While both our organizations are the facilitators in the development of the new Center,” explains Chester J. Straub, Jr., president of the Ulster County Development Corporation, “in the long run it will be a collaborative effort of business and economic development agencies, academia, and the investment community focusing on fostering the growth and development of emerging, high value business and technology development firms within the Hudson Valley region.”
As Ulster County’s lead economic development agency, the not-for-profit Ulster County Development Corporation (UCDC) (www.ulsterny.com) is a catalyst for creating wealth, improving the quality of life, and fostering economic opportunity for new and existing Ulster County-based businesses. The not-for-profit Hudson Valley Technology Development Center (HVTDC) (www.hvtdc.org) is the business and technology resource center for manufacturers, technology-based companies, inventors, entrepreneurs and other businesses throughout the seven counties comprising the Hudson Valley region. It is one of ten regional technology development centers funded cooperatively through the NYS Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR) and the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST). HVTDC works directly with small and mid-sized companies to help them adopt new technologies and business practices that will grow their business and be competitive.
The epicenter for the proposed Hudson Valley Center for Innovation is scheduled to be based in Kingston, however both permanent and virtual satellite facilities will be located within other participating mid-Hudson counties that will ultimately comprise the Center’s complete network. Each satellite office will be connected via high-speed data, audio and visual communications links to provide all of the Center’s tenants with an electronic umbilical connection to the main office in Kingston. Once physically established, the Center will provide full-time on-site management and an Executive Mentoring Team (EMT). The primary function of the EMT is to work with each member tenant and provide management guidance and expertise not found in traditional business incubator models and is deemed most important for yielding an improved return on investment. These management services are designed to increase the number of jobs created, reduce the time required for an incubated company to become self-sustaining, and to increase the probability of their sustained performance over time. These services will include:
- The full-time, on-site executive mentoring staff, including a CEO, CFO and Marketing Executive, who all possess experience in starting and growing successful entrepreneurial entities;
- Creation of a Board of Directors that includes community leaders from regional economic development agencies, businesses, academia, and financial institutions;
- Professional on-site personnel to manage facilities, basic services, and to serve as a focal point for existing and potential tenants;
- Establishment of a diversified Board of Advisors to screen potential tenants and continually monitor and evaluate the performance of members companies;
- Creation and maintenance of on-going affiliations with regional academic, business, and investment partners;
- Provision of additional support services such as financial services (bookkeeping, audits), human resources services (insurances, benefits, staffing), and shared information technology (hardware, software, and service support).
“The Center will serve a total of 25 companies at any one time, starting with 5 in the first year, and adding 10 during the second and third years of operation. Once the Center is operating,” explains Straub, “we plan to establish at least 6 additional smaller satellite facilities housing or having access to all of the same essential services.” Thomas Phillips, executive director of the HVTDC states, “By offering a broad spectrum of technical and financial services in a structured fashion, and through an interconnected array of facilities, the Center will become part of the business fabric of the entire Hudson Valley region. In doing so, it will become a facilitator for technology development as well as an environment fostering intellectual and knowledge based expansion; a conduit to higher learning institutions: and a connected social and professional networking community throughout the Hudson Valley.”
For more information on the Hudson Valley Center for Innovation, contact Chester J. Straub, Jr., president of UCDC, at 845-338-8840, or Thomas Phillips, executive director of the HVTDC, at 845-896-6934.