Stanley Black & Decker And Techstars announce Additive Manufacturing Accelerator Program.
Leading hardware tools manufacturer, Stanley Black & Decker has teamed with Techstars, one of the world’s best startup accelerators, to launch of the STANLEY+Techstars Additive Manufacturing Accelerator.
The announcement comes as part of a three-year partnership, which will see an initial 10 additive manufacturing startups selected to take part in a mentorship-driven, entrepreneurial accelerator program in 2018.
Startups will co-locate with Stanley Black & Decker’s new Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence – Manufactory 4.0 – in Hartford, CT, and have access to mentoring and resources to grow their ideas into viable businesses and bring new technologies to market.
“Additive manufacturing is a field that is constantly evolving and will significantly change the manufacturing environment of the future,” said Corbin Walburger, Vice President of Business Development for Stanley Black & Decker. “The STANLEY+Techstars Additive Manufacturing Accelerator demonstrates our commitment to this emerging industry, and shows our intent to stay at the forefront of technological change and incorporate innovative and disruptive technologies into our business model.”
Stanley Black & Decker currently operates more than 100 manufacturing facilities globally, including approximately 30 in the U.S. and three in Connecticut alone. Three of the company’s locations are designated as “Lighthouse Factories,” which are looking towards Industry 4.0 across their facilities including 3D printing, virtual reality, robotics and artificial intelligence.
“We are thrilled to be bringing our successful accelerator model to Hartford,” said David Brown, co-CEO and co-founder of Techstars. “Hartford is thriving with early-stage startups ranging from companies focused on science, technology and software solutions to B2B and small business services. Connecticut was at the heart of the first three Industrial Revolutions and has continued to have a strong manufacturing presence, which makes it a great location for an accelerator focused on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and additive manufacturing, in particular.”
Applications will open in January 2018, and the program will run in the third quarter of 2018. Similar programs will be run in 2019 and 2020.
