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GI Chamber offers NASA-type expertise for businesses Story and photo
by Karen Keefe
Ever wish you had a rocket scientist to help your business? Well, now you do – and it’s free. The Grand Island Chamber of Commerce is bringing the expertise of NASA to the doorstep of small businesses and organizations. The resource is part of a program to help businesses solve specific technical problems. Qualifying requests for technical assistance receive up to 40 hours of free engineering help from NASA experts and participating members of partners in SATOP, which stands for the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program. “We will help anybody – they don’t have to be a member of the Chamber of Commerce,” said Angelo Grande, the Chamber director who brought the program to the attention of the board. In fact, there doesn’t have to be a Grand Island connection at all. But the Chamber is hoping this program can provide technological breakthroughs that boost Island businesses and spur local economic growth. High Quality Expertise “Many smaller companies don’t have technical resources to solve problems,” Grande said. He became aware of the program through Shannon Enterprises in North Tonawanda, where he is a consultant. “I’m very excited about it – that’s why I brought it to the board,” he explained. Grande has extensive technical experience, himself, and runs Technology Camp of America. “You are getting a high quality of expertise,” Grande said. He cites SATOP partners such as Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and New Mexico State University. Other alliance companies are Sandia National Labs, Honeywell Defense and Space and Environmental Robots. What, you might ask, do any of these companies have to do with chocolate? Plenty, it turns out. One of SATOP’s emerging success stories is the Chocolate Pizza Company in Marcellus, about 30 miles southwest of Syracuse. Company owner Bonnie Hanyak put in a request for technical assistance that was answered last year by an associate professor from the Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Hanyak wanted to increase production to meet demand for her chocolate pizzas and peanut butter wings. One problem involved humidity, and another “dipping” the wings. “They came in and studied what we do and how we do it,” she said. Good Ideas “They did a lot of research; it was very helpful. … They gave me some good ideas.” Hanyak said the RPI professors found pieces of equipment that would speed up production, including a robotic arm for dipping peanut butter wings. She said she’s still interested in pursuing further suggestions, as her business can afford changes. Hanyak’s SATOP partner is keeping her case open for now, while she studies her options. “I think there’s more help out there for me, it’s just going to require more time.” Meanwhile, she said business is so good, she’s having a hard time keeping those chocolate confections on the shelves. And her company has business worldwide, not just locally. Grande explained that once a request for technical assistance is accepted, SATOP matches the business with an appropriate high-tech partner. “You give them one set of problems,” he said, that can be solved with 40 hours of free technical help. If there are further problems a company wants help with after that, they just submit another request for technical assistance. He stressed that requests must be quite specific to qualify. With Shannon Enterprises, the assistance sought was for a thermal analysis program dealing with transient heat flow, Grande explained. But other technical problems may not sound so scientific, but could be equally relevant, such as that of the Chocolate Pizza Company. Grande is the contact for the Grand Island Chamber’s SATOP program. To find out more about the program, contact the Chamber at 773-3651 or by e-mail at info@gichamber.org. |
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