Member News

MMTN Chair featured on MasterCard promo

Monday, April 28, 2008

Ann Latham, President of Uncommon Clarity, Inc. and Chair of our MMTN network is currently featured on the MasterCard Small Business website

in a podcast interview addressing techniques for improving employee productivity. Uncommon Clarity is a western Massachusetts consulting firm specializing in improving individual and organizational performance. To hear the interview, Click Here

RTC featured in Business West

Monday, April 7, 2008

“All Access Pass: The Regional Technology Corporation Keeps the Welcome Mat Out” is the article about RTC in the current issue of BusinessWest and can be found here:www.businesswest.com/details.asp?id=1515.

Welcome New RTC Members

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Please join us in welcoming our two newest members: Concept Telecom and Point Software, both of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.

FloDesign Finds Better Way to Capture Wind Energy

Thursday, March 27, 2008

FloDesign of Wilbraham gets approval for new wind turbine concept and $500,000 in funding!

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) has approved a new energy-producing wind turbine that has been conceptualized by FloDesign Corporation. The new design breaks power-producing limits previously set by conventional propeller-based wind turbines. FloDesign has developed a turbine capable of harnessing Nor’easter gale-force winds in sub-zero conditions. To read the full press release, visit http://www.flodesignwindturbine.org

Knowledge Corridor Jobs goes live March 1

Monday, February 25, 2008

Masslive.com and RTCs Knowledge Corridor Jobs will go live March 1 at http://www.masslive.com/jobs/rtc/. Are you ready? Our employees are!

Welcome Airgas!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Airgas East has recently joined RTC. Airgas is a producer and the largest distributor of Medical, Specialty and Industrial gases in North America.

They are also the largest producer of Dry Ice in North America. Airgas is structured where every product group has a specialist working along side the local account managers; this is unique to the industry. Airgas is 25 yeas old starting with the acquisition of Connecticut Oxygen; today they have over 11,000 associates and 900 locations. For more information, visit www.airgas.com.

BellHawk Systems Corp is new member!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

BellHawk Systems, located in Millbury, MA, is one of RTCs newest member organizations.

BellHawk Systems is a software products company offering an integrated suite of operations management software for industrial companies. BellHawk uses the latest in barcode, RFID and wireless mobile technology so its customers can track inventory and production, help prevent mistakes, get orders out on time, and provide accurate costs—all in real-time. BellHawk pays for itself in less than six months through savings in decreased inventory and improved operational efficiency. For more information, visit www.BellHawk.com.

IBS Featured in BusinessWest

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Innovative Business Systems (IBS) was recently featured in an article in BusinessWest magazine titled, “Group Think: IBS Charges Ahead with a Unique Management Model Focused on the Future”. The full article can be found by following this link http://businesswest.com/details.asp?id=1391.

New RTC Member - Miti Investment Group

Monday, December 10, 2007

RTC is proud to announce Miti Investment Group as our newest member organization.

Miti Investment Group is a commercial real estate company that focuses on acquiring and developing commercial property. They seek to assist local business owners’ needs by helping them acquire space for their businesses, either through space they have available or by creating it. Their goal is to offer tenants in the commercial sector premium space and excellent service. For more information, contact Sondra Jenzer at 203-654-7016 or Sondra.Jenzer@mitiinvestment.com.

United Personnel, Top 100 Woman Led Business in Mass

Friday, December 7, 2007

United Personnel has been named to Top 100 Woman-Led Business in Massachusetts. A major research study released by Babson College and The Commonwealth Institute finds that woman-led businesses in Massachusetts are strong engines of economic growth, consistently outperforming national and state growth rates for each of the six years that the study was conducted. United Personnel ranked #43 this year, moving up from #55 from 2006. “It is an honor to be a part of this prestigious group,” says Mary Ellen Scott, President and owner of United Personnel Services, Inc. For more information, visit www.unitedpersonnel.com.

IBS Joins RTC

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Welcome IBS to the RTC family!

Innovative Business Systems, Inc. (IBS) is RTC’s newest member organization. IBS is a computer services company supporting small to medium businesses, community banks, and credit unions that require technical expertise, project planning, and implementation services from a business partner they can count on today and in the future. Employee-owned and based in Easthampton Massachusetts, IBS is a Value-Added Reseller, offering a wide range of computer products and services. Our technical staff members hold many certifications, allowing them to provide a trained, qualified technician, regardless of the service need. In addition, IBS also specializes in software programming and data analysis. For more information, visit www.for-ibs.com.

Welcome to RTC - Field Eddy & Bulkley, Inc.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Field Eddy & Bulkley, Inc. of Springfield is RTCs newest member organization. Field Eddy & Bulkley, Inc. provides comprehensive insurance products, planning, and management for both commercial and personal lines.

With its partner agencies of Curtis Hodskins McKelligott Insurance Agency, Field Eddy & Bulkley, Inc. is the largest privately held, independent agency network in western Massachusetts. The Companys roots extend back to the early days of the Springfield Fire and Marine Insurance Company in the mid-1800s.

STR Offers Compliance Systems

Monday, November 12, 2007

Specialized Technology Resources, Inc. (STR) is offering companies a RoHS Compliance Assurance System (CAS) for organizations to comply with the EU’s RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive 2002/95/EC that went into force July 1, 2006.

The CAS is based on the EU’s RoHS Enforcement Guidance Document, Version 1 that was published May, 2006. The CAS along with auditing and testing can protect your business and brand name from potential damage due to non-compliance. To learn more, contact Kevin Smith at 860-749-8371 or Kevin.smith@strus.com.

PVLSI Announces their new Website

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

The Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute (PVLSI) invites you to visit its new web site at www.PVLSI.com. The Springfield-based PVLSI is a joint venture of Baystate Medical Center and the University of Massachusetts Amherst with the dual missions of biomedical research and economic development. Drawing on each of the founders as well as its own researchers, the Institute brings together physicians, scientists, and engineers to create interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teams focused on the molecular mechanisms of disease and the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

Video - Springfield is Back!

Monday, September 10, 2007

A 30-second video clip which explains some of the revitalization efforts in Springfield, MA.

Hidden No More - Virtual Companies Pioneer a Workforce Trend

Friday, April 27, 2007

Hidden No More: In small offices across western Massachusetts, virtual companies pioneer a workforce trend

By Amy Zuckerman

Five years ago, I wrote an article for The Boston Globe about home-based, high-tech businesses in my Amherst neighborhood. I had no idea that what seemed to be a minor trend would eventually hold huge significance for the U.S. economy, thanks in part to the Baby Boomer generation.

I called these businesses “hidden tech” for two reasons. First, they are hidden out of sight in homes or small offices. Also, many of them are overlooked by government statisticians because they are not incorporated. Hidden-tech companies, also called virtual companies, are run by one or two principals who develop, market, and distribute a wide array of products and services for the local, regional, and global economies. Randy Ames, for example, is building customized robotic components from a home basement in Montague.

This trend was helped along by the Internet and by the hot housing market, which caused some would-be entrepreneurs to cash out of pricey metropolitan areas and settle in western Massachusetts. One such migrant was Larry Jackson, a former Hollywood producer and director who has been operating Northern Arts Entertainment, an independent film distribution company, out of his Amherst home while connecting to partners in Los Angeles. Another was David Shepherd (known as the father of American improvisational theater), who moved to Belchertown from Long Island several years ago. At age 82, he has been running Group Creativity, an improv training center and video production company, from his home.

They may not occupy much space, but virtual companies have a significant economic impact. A recent report by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy concludes that home-based businesses contribute as much as $500 billion annually to the U.S. economy. John H. Friar, a professor at Northeastern University’s College of Business Administration, points out that the self-employed were responsible for 17.6 million businesses in 2002. “This represents 76 percent of all businesses,” he says.

These numbers will undoubtedly grow as the Baby Boomers head to a new form of retirement where many of them continue to work, even for past employers, but as subcontractors. A 2005 MassINC survey (“A Generation in Transition: A Survey of Bay State Boomers”) reported that almost two-thirds of adults aged 40 to 58 expect to keep working after they reach the traditional retirement age of 65, but only 6 percent plan to keep a full-time work schedule. At the same time, corporations are realizing that it can be cost-effective to move their Baby Boomer workers into consultant roles, thus cutting benefits and saving on health care and pension costs.

This phenomenon has spurred western Massachusetts economic officials to look more closely at virtual companies. For example, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, based in West Springfield, includes hidden tech as part of the region’s 10-year economic plan. “Hidden tech has been a new face of a New Economy,” says commission executive director Tim Brennan. “It’s untested, but it’s something we want to nurture.”

Nongovernment economic developers, including electric utilities in western New England, are also taking notice. Thanks to small grants from Western Massachusetts Electric Co., based in Springfield, and Northeast Utilities, in Berlin, Conn., we know a lot more today about virtual companies in the region. One grant paid for the development of a database that now includes almost 500 virtual companies, mainly in the Pioneer Valley.

The virtual-company approach to doing business is “a whole different way to interact with the world,” says Douglas Fisher, director of economic development and community relations at Northeast Utilities. “One can envision a day when this army of hidden-tech entrepreneurs is no longer an economic curiosity, but is rightfully recognized as a primary engine of growth in an otherwise slow-growing part of the country.”

FROM TREND TO ENTITY
In western Massachusetts, “hidden tech” has a dual meaning—the trend itself and the organization of the same name, which I founded in 2002. The mission of Hidden-Tech, which now has about 1,500 members, is to help virtual companies thrive in a highly competitive global economy.

Although a stand-alone nonprofit organization, Hidden-Tech has an alliance with the Regional Technology Corp. (RTC) and often works with the Amherst and the Franklin County chambers of commerce. Amherst, for example, is targeting new media, or “digital economy” companies, to fill office space. (The Anzovin animation studio, has already set up shop on Main Street.)

The president of the Franklin County chamber, Ann Hamilton, says that hidden-techies “can stimulate each other and then market their skills more effectively as a group. They are the new entrepreneurs, and their growth potential may be unlimited. We need to understand their strengths and barriers, just as we do [with] retailers, tradespeople and manufacturers.”

Still, those who are trying to leverage new virtual companies face numerous challenges. Consider these:
Integrating with the “Old Economy.” The age-old battle between grow-from-within (endogenous) and attract-from-without (exogenous) economic development strategies continues to play out in western Massachusetts. If properly collected and promoted, the skills data collected about hidden-techies could attract corporations to the region. But Allan Blair, president and CEO of Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, is not sure about “the extended economic development value” of hidden-techies. “I’m not sure what they want and how they want to engage,” says Blair. “We haven’t figured out what the role is of this population.”

Obtaining National Data on Virtual Companies. Although the Small Business Administration is trying to catch up, government officials point out that SBA data is only as good as what it can obtain from the U.S. Census Bureau and the IRS. But most researchers don’t have access to IRS data, and the Census is based on outdated questions that don’t take into account the operating styles of virtual companies. (Changing the Census questions requires congressional approval.) Some government agencies work with information on home-based companies, but they miss out on the estimated 30 percent of the hidden-tech population that rents small office space. This lack of data makes it hard for both hidden-techies and the researchers who study them to be taken seriously. Not only that, it means that we’re losing track of our skilled workforce.

Funding a New Economy Trade Group. As an all-volunteer organization, Hidden-Tech has always operated on a shoestring. It’s been tough to fund the organization without a dues system that discourages membership. But we are looking at e-commerce as a solution. New Economy proprietors are accustomed to paying for services from Web sites that will help them build their businesses—often spending much more than they would for dues.

Achieving Oversight in a Free Market Model. Hidden-Tech was built as a virtual organization on a free-market model with an all-volunteer board and workforce. To achieve sustainability, however, we will need paid help. And as Hidden-Tech grows, our accountability to our members will become more important. Proposals to address this conundrum range from increasing voter membership to creating a regional oversight committee.

Despite these obstacles, Hidden-Tech continues to thrive, as does the virtual company trend it reflects. “The real value of the Internet is relationship-building and product education,” says my former co-chairman, Jon Reed, who operates his own publishing business out of an office in Northampton. As long as people need to meet, share ideas, and make business, there will be something like a Hidden-Tech in the world.

Thanks from me to the current Hidden-Tech board and all past board members and the following members of the regional economic development community: Ellen Bemben, April Cloutier, Keith Parent, Humera Fasihuddin, Jef Sharp, Allan Blair, Ralph Carlson, Mike Graney, Tim Brennan, Dianne Doherty, Diane Randall, Edgar Alejandro, Mike Levin, Doug Fisher, Tom Goodrow, Jeff Hayden, Joanna Brown, the western Massachusetts media, the 1,500-plus members of Hidden-Tech and the many, many others who have helped build Hidden-Tech the organization and fuel research on the virtual company trend over the last five years.

Amy Zuckerman is founder of Hidden-Tech (www.hidden-tech.net) and principal of A–Z International Associates, a strategic marketing firm in Amherst. She resigned from the board of Hidden-Tech last fall to allow the organization to evolve.

Atalasoft Makes Ongoing Donation to The Healing Exchange BRAIN TRUST

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Atalasoft Makes Ongoing Donation to The Healing Exchange BRAIN TRUST

Easthampton, MA – February 27th, 2007 - The Healing Exchange BRAIN TRUST a nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, MA celebrates its 10th Anniversary of Incorporation on March 4th, 2007. T.H.E. BRAIN TRUST is dedicated to improving quality of life for patients and families coping with brain tumors and related conditions by providing online support services via the internet. They host more than 20 groups for specific tumor types and special interests like care-giving. They serve more than 2700 individual subscribers daily.

Founder and CEO of Atalasoft, Inc., William M Bither III will present T.H.E. BRAIN TRUST with a very unusual Birthday gift. At the party Mr. Bither will announce that Atalasoft has earmarked all proceeds from the sale of its product, EyeBatch, to be donated to this deserving and underfunded nonprofit. EyeBatch is a powerful and intuitive batch image processor, ideal for webmasters, photographers, and other imaging professionals. Bither learned about the organization though his own family's experience with a brain tumor which overtook his father, William M Bither II.

Bither says, "We’re not actively developing EyeBatch at this point as we’re concentrating on a different market but it's a great product, still very useful and continues to receive great customer reviews. We thought this approach might increase awareness and sales for this powerful digital photography tool as well as giving the product new energy at Atalasoft."

"We were absolutely thrilled when Mr. Bither made us the offer,” Said Samantha Scolamiero co-founder of T.H.E. BRAIN TRUST. “It's such an unusual opportunity for co-branding, the funding idea is brilliant and it will really help us. We need to secure the financial future of our organization and be able to hire permanent trained staff instead of relying on volunteers, many of whom are dealing with serious illness. Having a monthly revenue stream we can count on will be a tremendous stabilizing force for us. We do have a few donors who make quarterly contributions via their United Way Campaigns. Atalasoft is taking a leadership role by making this commitment to us." Bither expects that EyeBatch will generate a couple thousand dollars monthly for the nonprofit.

The BRAIN TRUST helps brain tumor patients and families at all stages of their journey 24/7. While other groups are raising money for research that takes place on lab benches T.H.E. BRAIN TRUST aims to have A Healing Exchange of information and support for families who are really in the daily trenches coping with the effects of brain tumors across the globe. No other brain tumor group can match their 10 year history of online service, grass roots activism by patients, and world wide impact.

About Atalasoft
Established in 2000, Atalasoft is a provider of a high-performance, standards-compliant .NET Framework imaging libraries targeted towards authors of document processing and management systems and photographic imaging. Atalasoft offers unparalleled ease of integration for software developers through CLR compliant objects, logically laid-out object hierarchies, rock-solid implementation, and first-rate support.

Click here to learn more about Atalasoft

For More Information, Press Only: Tom Lewis, Atalasoft, 866-568-0129 x705, tom.lewis@atalasoft.com.

View/Hear RTC's PODCAST !!!

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

RTC is proud to present it's first podcast!
Ellen Bemben, President of RTC was interviewed by Gordon Snyder, Executive Director of National Center for Telecommunications Technologies (and Chair of our TEC Network) recently. There are two separate files, one is audio only and a much larger file, that is the video podcast. Please be patient when viewing the larger file as it takes a few minutes to access.
Here's the link to the direct stream of the video file:

Click here to listen to the audio interview

New RTC Website Under Construction

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Please be advised that a new and exciting RTC website is currently being developed. Our new website will have a fresh new look and will be more user-friendly.

Please bear with us during this re-construction time, it will be worth the wait.