Powered by the Orange County Industrial Development Agency, The Accelerator is a NYS-certified business incubator that works to attract manufacturing-based businesses to the mid-Hudson Valley by providing below-market occupancy costs, workforce training, mentoring programs, easy access to experienced professionals, and high-tech resources for its clients. During the last few years the WDI has worked closely with the Accelerator to provide support to both individual companies and to help develop resources that can be shared by multiple businesses. The WDI goal: growth of good manufacturing jobs.
The Accelerator has a wide range of clientele, currently housing 15 manufacturers on its New Windsor and Middletown campuses and offering access to its management team, industry professionals, and conference room to several off-site associated businesses. The Accelerator’s incubation concentration circulates around its manufacturing pods, which are dedicated to fashion design and production, technology, artisan food manufacturing, medical devices, software, and personal products manufacturing. WDI has provided support with a range of equipment and training to help scale up production and create jobs, including a current project that will provide sewing equipment to five (5) on-site companies and sewing training to three (3) of the companies. The companies have a cumulative staff size of 50 with projections to grow by another 30 employees (with a starting wage of $15.00/hour) as a result of the resources WDI is investing in this equipment-training hybrid.
The Accelerator has helped several start-up businesses launch. Local companies Haven, IKRC Custom Technology Solutions, Lucky Bug Clothing Company, and Unshattered are all “graduates” of the incubator part of the Accelerator. Look for our upcoming report on The Accelerator, which will provide details on how the model grows NYS business – to be published in 2019.
