Public/private partnerships promote positive economic development

Research centers at SDSMT bring industry, researchers together to advance cutting-edge technologies

BY KRIS BEVILL

Two new Governor Research Centers located at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology are home to a collaboration of private industry and researchers working to advance cutting-edge technologies that could ultimately boost the state’s economy and make it a hub for advanced manufacturing.

The Advanced Manufacturing Process Technology Transition & Training center, led by

Christian Widener, is focused on developing advanced manufacturing technologies such as coldspray, a technology which accelerates metal powders to supersonic speeds and can be used to restore aircraft or heavy machinery parts that have been damaged or corroded, potentially saving companies and the federal government millions of dollars in expensive equipment replacements.

The new center, AMPTEC, is further advanc-

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(continued from page 26) ing groundwork research conducted at a previous SDSMT Governor Research Center known as the Repair, Refurbish and Return to Service center, which was also headed by Widener. AMPTEC is more prominently focused on private industry relationships than its predecessor and has secured $2 million in industry contributions in addition to the state’s $2 million five-year investment. Global companies such as aircraft and missile component designer Moog Inc. as well as South Dakota companies including HFW Friction Stir Welding, Flexible Robotic Environment and Daktronics are among the industry partners working to develop advanced manufacturing technologies at the center.

Widener says that because newer technologies like those being developed in the AMPTEC lab haven’t been vetted in industry, private companies benefit from the expertise that lies in the lab. “The center is about training engineers and technicians with experience in these technologies that you can then forward over to the companies,” he says. “A lot of these technologies have long learning curves. It’s not like you can just go buy a laser and train a guy for a few months and then he’s an expert. You need to nurture people for years in the technology. The most cost-effective way to do that is during their education.”

There are about 20 students actively working in the AMPTEC center, ranging from incoming freshman to postdoctoral students.

Potential economic development impact stemming from AMPTEC could lie in the expansion of existing companies or in the relocation of outside companies to the state. Another source of positive economic development impact could come from the success of startups created to utilize technologies developed at the center. Widener says two companies were created as a result of work done at the Repair, Refurbish and Return to Service center. The center also converted a $2 million investment from the state into $5 million in revenues and the creation of 20 high-paying jobs, with an additional 30 people at least partially supported through research activities at the school. He hopes to raise the bar higher with AMPTEC, beginning with VRC Metal Systems, a Rapid City, S.D.-based startup which is licensing a cold spray patent from SDSMT to manufacture cold spray and laser powder deposition equipment. The patent makes it the only company in the market with handheld high-pressure cold spray capability. The company, partially owned by Widener, is in its first year and is projected to have $1 million in revenues, with expectations that it will continually grow and potentially attract other companies with an interest in the technology to the area.

The Composite and Nanocomposite Advanced Manufacturiung (CNAM) center, led by David Salem, is focused on meeting the need for strong, lightweight materials to be used for a variety of applications, including auto and aerospace manufacturing. Salem says that while the benefits of composite materials for use in those industries have been known for some time, the cost to produce them has prohibited their widespread use. The goal of the CNAM center is to reduce the cost of composite materials and to further develop nanocomposite technologies through partnerships with private industry including South Dakota-based Raven Industries Inc. and Falcon Plastics.

“What we’re doing is bringing together technologies that already exist but need some further development,” Salem says. He says the composite industry is fragmented and a consortium such as the one now housed at SDSMT is the best way to advance the technologies needed to drive costs down. The CNAM center is believed to be the only center in the U.S. devoted to composite and nanocomposite technology advancements. Progress made at the center could not only open up new markets for its partner companies, but could also attract outside companies to expand or relocate to South Dakota and may also spur new startups. PB

Kris Bevill Editor, Prairie Business 701-306-8561, kbevill@prairiebizmag.com