Under the program, engineers and scientists from the NASA Glenn Research Center will consult with local businesses, offering up to 40 hours of free technical assistance.
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Ryan Kruse, a student at the University of Akron, looks at an Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle at the NASA Glenn Research Center on at an event last year. NASA Glenn has been reaching out to the business community over the past year, and it is now working with Cleveland and Cuyahoga County on a small business loan program.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Small businesses in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County will get access to NASA engineers and low-interest loans under a new program announced today.
"We think this is a unique opportunity to utilize the engineering and technical capabilities at NASA," said Greg Zucca, the county's strategic program officer.
Under the program, engineers and scientists from the NASA Glenn Research Center will consult with local businesses, offering up to 40 hours of free technical assistance.
If those engineers recommend specific changes, such as new equipment or system upgrades, the businesses will be able to apply for $50,000 in loans. The county and the city are both contributing to a $450,000 loan pool. Magnet, the manufacturing advocacy group, will administer both the technical assistance and loan programs.
"This initiative certainly allows us to continue our role as a strong provider of resources that help and support area manufacturers," Magnet President Daniel E. Berry said in a written statement.
Carol Tolbert, an aerospace engineer at NASA and program director for the center's manufacturing innovation project, said Glenn has committed to providing 400 hours of engineering talent.
"We're assuming 10 projects at 40 hours per project," Tolbert said. If there are less than 10 awards, we'll have some hours to play with. "We will choose the engineers based on discipline."
Loans granted by the city will be 10-year deals with 1 percent interest rates and no payments due within the first three years. County loans will also be 10-year loans with three-year deferrals. The interest rates on county loans will be 3.5 percent.
The NASA program is patterned closely on a product development loan program the city and county already run through Magnet.
Tolbert said city and count officials "wanted to do something similar with a slight twist, which was adding expertise."
Zucca said a committee with representatives from the county, city and Magnet will evaluate loan applications and pick the most promising projects. The groups hope to fund at least eight company projects this year.
Businesses must commit to manufacture any products that come out of the loan program in the city or county to get the loans.
Magnet will hold a technical session on the program on Jan. 25. Interested businesses can register for that meeting on the group's magnetnetwork.org web site.
Applications for technical assistance will be due Feb. 15. Businesses must identify a specific product or engineering challenge that they are trying to overcome. They must also show that overcoming their challenges could lead to more hiring in Cleveland or Cuyahoga County.
The program is limited to small businesses, defined as having less than $50 million in 2010 revenues. The city and county hope to announce loan recipients in early May.
Zucca said Magnet, the city and the county began working with NASA on the loan program early last year as the space agency began reaching out to the business community. Last year, NASA Glenn held several high-tech science fairs to show off how its technology and experts could help area manufacturers.
"They're really trying to make a concerted effort to reach out to the business community," Zucca said.