$450,000 in Loans to be Made Available to Small- and Medium-Size Manufacturers Located in the City of Cleveland or Cuyahoga County to Solve Technical Challenges with New or Existing Products Utilizing NASA Subject Experts

UPDATE—January 19, 2012—The program application is now available at: www.magnet.myreviewroom.com. Applicants MUST use the online form to submit an application. The submission deadline is Wednesday, February 15, 2012. Manufacturers can register online for an in-person briefing meeting to be held at MAGNET headquarters near Downtown Cleveland on January 25, 2012.

Cleveland, Ohio—January 3, 2012—The City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, NASA Glenn Research Center and the Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network (MAGNET) today announced a program which will allow small- and medium-size manufacturers to use the services of NASA Glenn Research Center subject matter experts for free—and obtain special low interest loans from the City or County—to help solve technical challenges they have with one of their new or existing products.

NASA Glenn will make their subject experts available on a pro bono basis via a Space Act Agreement with the City of Cleveland. The experts will be available to each manufacturer selected to participate in the program. Their expertise covers basic engineering disciplines as well as the specialty fields that support the center’s core competencies:

• Air-Breathing Propulsion
• Communications Technology and Development
• In-Space Propulsion and Cryogenic Fluids Management
• Power, Energy Storage and Conversion
• Materials and Structures for Extreme Environments
• Physical Sciences and Biomedical Technologies.

Click here for more details about NASA capabilities and these core competency areas.

Click here for the answers to Frequently Asked Questions about this program.

To help with any other costs that might arise from a selected project, the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are making $450,000 in low interest loans available to the companies selected for the program.

Manufacturers interested in applying for this program:

• must be located in the City of Cleveland or Cuyahoga County;
• must be under $50 million in revenue;
• must have a technical challenge, which if solved, will lead to rapid growth in revenue and/or jobs;
• should register for and attend a briefing session explaining the program requirements and application process to be held at 1:00 p.m. on January 25 at MAGNET, 1768 East 25th Street in Cleveland. Manufacturers can register online for the January 25 meeting today.

Companies will have until February 15 to submit a project application that details their specific technical challenge with a new or existing product. Companies must also be able to include market information on the potential for increased revenue if their particular technical challenge is solved.

Read the complete program press release here.

For more information, contact Barbara Paul at barbara.paul@magnetwork.org or call her at (216) 432-5322.