Technology Transfer is an Answer for Design Firms Fighting Economic Slowdown


SPRINGFIELD, NJ--August 14, 2008- From energy efficient homes in the US to water treatment systems in Iraq, the latest innovation reaching the market is increasingly the result of technology transfer initiatives. Lead national research facilities are teaming with small design firms to meet their development goals and drive American innovation.

Technology transfer projects are aimed at seeking out research with potential market opportunities and developing such technologies for market gain. Essential to this mission is the creation of "innovative partnerships". The 'meeting of the minds' characteristic of technology transfer partnerships allows successful product development to occur. Opportunities for viable product development are growing as demand for innovative goods increases. According to Federal Lab Consortium (FLC) Chair J. Scott Deiter, "More than 250 laboratories and research centers...conduct over $100 billion in research and development annually...the effort, desire, and creativity of these scientists is unparalleled." Budget plans by the U.S. Government for the 2009 Fiscal Year show that science and technology programs are receiving considerably increased funding.

In a time when economic slowdown has caused increased commodity prices and fierce competition internationally, manufacturing firms who pursue technology transfer initiatives will reap profits by responding to the demand for "technology transfer professionals". The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index shows both increased inventory and unemployment in the manufacturing sector. However, design teams skilled in R & D can fight the pressures of economic slowdown by acting as "technology transfer intermediaries".

One of such design teams taking on the needs of technology transfer initiatives is Sigma Design Company of Springfield, New Jersey. Sigma has experience as both a technology transfer intermediary and a well prepared commercialization partner. From a Ballast Water Treatment System Center project with the US Maritime Administration to a Tidal Power Renewable Energy project with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Sigma maintains its presence at the forefront of markets of national importance.

Sigma has recently procured a ten-year unlimited GSA contract, which connects Sigma clients directly to federal funding. Awarded schedules for three Special Item Numbers (SINs 871-2, 871-3, 871-4), Sigma can apply its GSA contract to concept development & requirements analysis, system design, engineering & integration, and test & evaluation phases of engineering projects. With experience in concept development, design, engineering analysis, and rapid prototyping Sigma provi
s the services and tools needed for technology transfer projects to succeed.
Companies with a firm understanding of manufacturing and the relative costs of different manufacturing processes can best guide national laboratories and researchers to manufacturing and commercialization success. Sigma President Jerry Lynch explains, "The future of American innovation is in projects from government and university grants." This could be the key for economic turn around in the manufacturing sector.

About Sigma Design

Sigma Design Company is a full-service engineering design firm providing creative manufacturing and engineering solutions for product, process and equipment solutions for the Aeronautic, Biotechnology, Chemical Processing, Environmental, Food and Beverage Processing, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), Marine and Shipbuilding, and Pharmaceutical industries.

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