Closing the gap between innovation and commercialization is the key to boosting the national economy.
That is one of the messages highlighted at this week’s manufacturing summit at the Eastman Business Park in Rochester.
Industry leaders say economic growth triggered by American ideas needs to be kept within the United States, instead of being monetized and manufactured by global economic competitors.
"Innovation here, commercialization there," was the 'phrase of the day' at the summit. It is the phrase used to summarizes the pathway for many great American ideas that too often end up manufactured overseas.
John Pyrovolakis, CEO of Innovation Accelerator, says if the trend continues it will weaken the nation’s global economic standing.
"We're literally in a situation where by inventing these things, we are subsidizing the acceleration of our own economic decline."
Increasing challenge from other economies
Keynote speaker and former member of the Bush administration, Emily Stover DeRocco says America's competitive manufacturing status is increasingly challenged by other economies.
She says the nation can no longer rest on its laurels if it wants to remain a world leader in the sector.
“We’ve always been world leaders in innovation, in research and in manufacturing, and some believe we always will be. But the U.S manufacturing competitive status is increasingly challenged by other economies.”
The summit heard that the answer lies in bridging the gap in a cost-effective, and efficient way.
The venue for the summit, the Eastman Business Park, aims to just that in the upstate region, and across the nation.
Business park works to cut costs of production
The park is focused on cutting the costs for companies to reach commercialization, and supply all the tools and talent they need to manufacture their products at home.
Summit speaker and senior V-P at Kodak, Brad Kruchten (pron: crook-ten) says the Eastman Business Park can help achieve that goal for companies in the region, and across the U.S.
“If we don’t have the manufacturing capabilities here, we won’t be successful long-term. So to me, this isn’t just about how we leverage Eastman Business Park, but it’s how we really give our children the opportunities to continue to have America be strong.”
Roughly seventy percent of start-up companies don’t make it past the innovation stage to commercialization according to one of the summit’s speakers.
