Eastman Business Park Pushes for National Biz Hub
By: Caroline Tucker
Updated: December 5, 2012
The Eastman Business Park is home to 37 other companies besides Kodak.
17 have been added in just the last two years.
Now there are plans for even more growth.
"What we are really interested in is recreating the growing manufacturing in the U.S. and we think Eastman Business Park is a place to start that model," said Mike Alt/Director of Eastman Business Park.
Eastman Kodak Company has teamed up with Innovation Accelerator, a national public-private entity that works to help American start-up companies.
It will work Kodak's Innovation and Materials Science Institute, which was "founded to take intellectual property from prototyping and proof of concept into commercialization."
"It gives us the opportunity to reach out to companies across the country with the intent that we can bring them here and make use of the wonderful wonderful assets we have at the park," said Alt.
John Pyrovalakis, CEO of Innovation Accelerator said he wants to see Eastman Park thrive and sees it as a national hub for many small companies.
"It could effectively be the premiere incubator of materials companies in this country," said Pyrovalakis. "I am not aware of another place in the country where the potential is as high as this."
In a presentation to business leaders and investors, Mike Alt touted Kodak's history as a manufacturer and what Eastman Park has to offer small companies, everything from cheaper utilities to its own waste-water treatment facility.
Companies like Cerion Energy already tout their success to having a place in the business park.
The company manufactures a diesel fuel catalyst and has called Eastman Business Park home for the last five years.
About half of the staff used to work at Kodak.
"Cerion took great advantage of efforts where we started with laboratory and saved millions of dollars by not having to buy so many of those things ourselves," said Douglas Singer, VP Manufacturing at Cerion Energy.
Small start-ups like Cerahelix heard the pitch at today's Kodak business summit at the Eastman Business Park.
CEO Susan MacKay said the built-in infrastructure is essential for small companies just starting out.
"It's a very competitive market that we are in we are competing global and so if we have to spend the time to develop, and build out and develop our own space, we just lose time," said Dr. Susan MacKay Cerahelix CEO.
But MacKay said she wasn't sure quite yet if she would move from Maine.
Innovation Accelerator doesn't expect companies to move everything to Rochester, but hopes some may move at least manufacturing to a site that has more than 100 years of experience.
"I don't know that for sure we would relocate from Maine but talking with New York companies who produce some of the components we need," said MacKay.
Eastman Park hopes companies will be convinced that it is the new home to businesses of the future.
