The EIGERlab is an incubator for new technology businesses including supporting services to make them successful. The best know example is BE Aerospace which started there a few years ago, grew to the point that they moved into their own new facility last year.
In reading this article from the Chicago Crain’s Business, it looks like the University of Illinois is doing a similar program in Chicago as the EIGERlab does here in Rockford.
The prime goal will be to make the state’s manufacturers more competitive, something that has become increasingly challenging as overseas firms take control of many of the world’s factories.
The lab will be a place where manufacturers of any size “come to learn and use the world’s most sophisticated tools, software and capabilities,” a state fact sheet says. “Companies can work alongside the university’s technical and business talent to experiment with new equipment, utilize digital tools, and learn how to accelerate product innovation.”
Maybe we could convince Norther Illinois University to do the same?
