Worcester-based advanced manufacturing technology company innovates and incubates, collaborating with government, industry and academia

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has named Solvus Global the 2024 Small Manufacturer of the Year for Massachusetts.

Solvus Global is a technology solution provider for materials and manufacturing, specializing in the areas of additive manufacturing, machine learning, and sustainable materials processing.

Dr. Aaron Birt and Dr. Sean Kelly earned the recognition as leading experts in various fields including machine learning, materials and manufacturing with a passion for using technology to develop solutions for critical industry problems.

“It’s amazing seeing how far a homegrown enterprise such as Solvus Global has come,” said District Director Robert Nelson. “The SBDC Central Regional Office at Clark University and the SCORE Worcester Chapter providing mentorship and counseling proved vital to the company’s journey to scale.”

Solvus Global leveraged SBA lending, including an equipment line of credit and a revolving line of credit for operating expenses to support their expansion. In addition, a Paycheck Protection Program loan helped keep staff employed with the business until recovery from the pandemic.

In 2019, the rapid growth of the company required shifting from Solvus Global’ s first office and lab space into the 8,000 sq. ft. facility – now the global headquarters in Worcester, MA. Through a partnership with Army Research Laboratory and VRC Metal Systems, Solvus Global additionally operates out of a collaborative production and R&D facility in Webster, MA.

In 2021, Solvus Global renovated an existing 32,000 sq. ft. warehouse into a Center for Scaled Innovations (cSIM) in Manufacturing to grow large production and workforce development in the City of Leominster.

“It’s an honor to be recognized as Small Manufacturer of the Year. Growing up in the area, it has been so exciting to see the resurgence of manufacturing in the region and we’re grateful for the support we’ve had from leaders in the region to have the opportunity to be part of that growth,” said Dr. Sean Kelly.

With support from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), Solvus Global has established an internship program with local colleges and universities such as Quinsigamond Community College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute to prepare the next generation of advanced manufacturing workforce in the North Central Massachusetts region.

The number of employees at Solvus Global has risen from 3 co-founders to 90 employees today.

“We exist to solve problems in the manufacturing technology industry, but at the end of the day it’s all about the people. Ideas are easy to come by, but really execution is that hard part and you can’t do that without amazing people like the ones on our team at Solvus,” says Dr. Aaron Birt.

The company was nominated by Patrick Royce, Vice President, Webster Five Bank.

Dr. Birt and Dr. Kelly will be honored at the annual National Small Business Week Massachusetts Awards Ceremony on Friday, May 10th, 2024, at the Doubletree Andover.

This month, the City of Fitchburg begins implementation of its new Vacant Property Registry.

The City’s Problem Property Task Force has been working collaboratively, for over a decade, to address problem properties in order to improve the quality of life for our residents, neighborhoods and businesses. Trends and themes that continue to be a challenge generally fall into two categories; severely neglected properties and vacant properties. Vacant properties can have a whole host of unintended consequences that impact the community around them. These potentially unsafe buildings can attract curious kids and unhoused folks, pests can take shelter and start breeding, the blight of a vacant building(s), can lower property values for abutters and entire neighborhoods, and the often uninsured properties can become fire hazards.

In late 2022, the City adopted a vacant property registry in order address some of these challenges and protect and preserve public health, safety, and the quality of life in the City of Fitchburg.

The new initiative will require both residential and commercial property owners to register and properly maintain any 100% vacant, abandoned, foreclosed, or foreclosing residential or commercial property. Owners will pay an initial $100 registration fee, and will have to renew the registration annually. The renewal fees will escalate each year; the first anniversary renewal will be $250, the second will be $2,500, third and each anniversary thereafter will be $3,500. The fees charged are reflective of the administrative costs of monitoring and ensuring property maintenance of these vacant or abandoned buildings and may be used to fund proper maintenance if property owners fail to do so. Owners can register vacant properties on-line at fitchburgma.portal.opengov.com/.

The City understands sometimes it is unavoidable for a property to be vacant for a period of time. However, for those owners who have held vacant property in Fitchburg for many years, it’s time for them to either develop the property and get it occupied, or sell to someone who will develop the property. In this era of housing shortage and rising housing costs throughout the Commonwealth, now is the time for action- and Fitchburg can be a part of the solution.

Detached, single family homes actively being marketed by a realtor or owner of record and listed for sale on multiple listing service, and properties being developed for affordable housing under certain conditions are exempt from this requirement.

If you would like to report a vacant or potentially vacant property to the City, you can do so through your SeeClickFix smartphone app or through the City’s Report a Concern Page here: www.ci.fitchburg.ma.us/139/Report-a-Concern.

For more information about this please contact Stephen D. Curry, Health Director. You can find the complete vacant property registration ordinance Chapter 137 of the City Code here: ecode360.com/41971911.