State, Federal and Private Funds Help OIT, Businesses Work

By ELON GLUCKLICH, H&N Staff Reporter
Klamath Falls Herald and News, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, Business Section C

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — Where would the Klamath Basin’s economy be without help from state, federal and private grants? The Sanford pediatric clinic slated for construction over the next year would only be about 50 percent funded. NEW Corp., the call center with about 700 employees, may not have been able to set up in Klamath Falls.

Larry Holzgang, a business development officer with the Oregon Business Development Department, said grants from Oregon’s Strategic Reserve Fund, as well as from private entities such as the Jeld-Wen Foundation and Fred Meyer Memorial Trust, have been instrumental in recruiting new businesses to the Klamath Basin.

Grants also can help in developments that could lead to future jobs.

The work that Jim Long, Hugh Currin, Shawn Miller and a few others at Oregon Institute of Technology are putting in could put the school on the hybrid production map and make the Klamath Basin a hub for future hybrid manufacturing facilities.

PHOTO: (H&N photo by Elon Glucklich) Shawn Miller, a graduate student in manufacturing engineering at Oregon Institute of Technology, works on the hybrid electric drive system he and several OIT faculty members have been developing. Funding for the project was made possible by several grants totaling roughly $240,000.

Making Work Possible

None of it would be possible, if not for grant money from a pair of state-sponsored technology and research institutions.

The Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies Center and the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium have given more than $240,000 to OIT over the last year to work with a Portland-based company to build a unified hybrid drive — an engine that can switch seamlessly between gas and electric power.

“The whole idea is that the things being done will be manufactured in Oregon,” Long said. “I don’t know if it will be in Klamath Falls, but somewhere there will be a manufacturing line.”

Development Grants a State Priority

The OIT project is a prime example of state entities coming together to bring a project from the idea phase to the point where it can become marketable, said Trey Senn, executive director of the Klamath County Economic Development Association.

Senn said groups like Oregon BEST and OTREC are part of a larger effort to sponsor development projects throughout the state — particularly in alternative energy manufacturing.

“The governor has encouraged economic developers to get in touch with
some of these outstanding private partnerships that Oregon has,” Senn
said.

Oregon BEST announced in late November that it would make an additional $1 million in grant money available over the next 12 to 18 months.

Funds Will Help OIT Work on Hybrid Engine

Jim Long had a vision. The professor of computer systems engineering technology at Oregon Institute of Technology, along with other faculty members, saw potential in developing a hybrid engine in partnership with Portland-based Green Lite Motors. But there was no money available for research and development of the engine. So Long applied for a grant from the Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies Center.

And in May, Oregon BEST responded, giving the school about $73,000 in grant money to fund the purchase of parts and the man-hours to develop it. Long hopes to finish the prototype in early 2012.

“Often times, you have a start-up, and they have a good idea, but it’s not to the point where a venture capitalist will pick it up and run with it,” Long  said. “The people that have put effort into the start-up run out of money and can’t afford to move forward.”

It’s a phenomenon known as the “valley of death,” and it’s what Oregon BEST is working to help entrepreneurs break through, explained Oregon BEST spokesman Gregg Kleiner.

“The idea (behind the grant funds) is to transform research into new products and technology,” Kleiner said. “We’re looking for projects that will stand the best chance of getting off of the lab bench and into the marketplace.”

Helping Businesses Grow

Whether it’s for a municipality working to bring in new commercial enterprises, or a small business owner looking to grow, numerous grants are available at the state and federal level, as well as from the private sector. Larry Holzgang, a business development officer with the Oregon Business Development Department, said OBDD has several grant programs aimed at helping business owners grow and export their goods.

For example, the State Trade and Export Promotion grant provides stipends for business owners to attend workshops on exporting. Some other grants include:

• The Building Opportunities for Oregon Small Business Today, or BOOST fund, which offers grants for businesses that create jobs.
• Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, or ONAMI, offers potential grant funds for technology work.

For a full list of grant opportunities for small and large businesses, log on to the Oregon Business Development Department website www.oregon.gov/obdd