BUSINESS PERSPECTIVES: Growing date palms

Editor’s note: Author Benjamin Lamb is 1Berkshire Director of Economic Development

The Berkshires has long been the fertile ground for innovation, thought leadership, creativity, and a “go-getter” spirit. Our region has always fostered collaboration; we have welcomed strategic risk-taking and supported going “outside the box.” We were home to globe-changing advancements in train technology and micro capacitors; we embraced the notion that the “creative economy“ could be a driving force in a rural landscape.

The Berkshires has always done what needs to be done to ensure that current and next generations will have an economic environment that nurtures aspiration, commitment and advancement. This is the type of history and culture that has driven much of our work at 1Berkshire and is exactly what inspires us to push the envelope even further. To that end, we are excited about growing and nurturing an inclusive digital and tech-enabled economy, and a rural innovation hub, right here in the Berkshires.

Often in my work here at 1Berkshire, I reference the concept of planting a date palm. For those who don’t know, a date palm tree takes about 100 years of growth before it will bear fruit. Big deal, right? Well yes, it is, because the person who planted the date palms that we currently benefit from never got to appreciate the fruit of their own labor (pun intended). Instead, planting that date palm was an investment in the future. This idea applies daily to the work we do here in the region. Regularly, we are investing time, energy, and resources into strategic partnerships, programs, developments, and opportunities for sustained regional success, even though we may not see their ultimate benefit during our time. It takes having faith in something bigger, greater, and longer-lived than one’s own job, position, or existence, to make a meaningful difference for the future.

That is where we are now. Over the past two years, 1Berkshire, in partnership with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College and the Berkshire Innovation Center, has formed the Tech Impact Collaborative. With financial support from Greylock Federal Credit Union, Berkshire Bank, and National Grid, and technical assistance and guidance from the Center on Rural Innovation, we have been able to take major steps in catalyzing activities that will have a lasting impact. This includes an assessment of our region’s digital economy resources and the development of a seven-component scaffolding to nurture and grow our digital and tech-enabled landscape in an inclusive and sustained way.

All of this work has happened with the support of dozens of community partners who have provided feedback, input, and support. But none of this would make sense if not for the innovators and entrepreneurs who forged the path well before the Tech Impact Collaborative was even a glimmer in our collective eye.

We are fortunate to have an array of businesses already proving what it means to succeed as a tech or tech-enabled company in the Berkshires, such as:

• Boyd Technologies, which has paved the way for advancements in film and medical technologies.
• General Dynamics Missions Systems, which has technology that informs and inspires elements of our everyday life.
• Material innovators like Sabic, which maintains a leadership position in sustainable materials supply chains.
• Compression-wear innovators like LympheDIVAS which is cross-linking the creative economy, advanced manufacturing and healthcare.
• Printing technology firms like Interprint, and legacy paper companies like Onyx Special Papers and Mativ (formerly Neenah) that continue to adapt and pivot to meet contemporary needs.

These tech industry players, and many others, have not only grown deep roots in our regional economic ecosystem; they have helped to propagate spin-off industries, import talent, and develop fertile strata of rich soil that nurture new and emergent businesses and technological innovations.

Even with this breadth of long-standing firms, we have still had space for newer businesses to start and grow here. Examples include:

• Synagex, working to make technology accessible and user-friendly across industry settings.
• High growth firms like VidMob, a major player in the convergence of creatives and technology at a global scale.
• Aerospace innovators like EMA, which has replicated the environment of space right here in the heart of the Berkshires.
• Life-protecting material producers like LTI Smartglass.
• Plastics and mold makers advancing the technologies of our manufacturing heritage, like Sinicon Plastics and Modern Mold and Tool (now Toner Plastics).

All of these technology-centered businesses have found resources, space, and communities in the Berkshires for their growth, and they are now inspiring the next generation to do the same.

With so much energy, history, and investment in advanced manufacturing and technology enterprises, it is no wonder that entrepreneurs and startups have discovered the value of calling this place home. With the Berkshire Innovation Center as a central hub, and spokes of support, such as EforAll, Lever and our higher education partners, running across every corner of the region, a community of new tech businesses is emerging. It includes businesses like:

• DIVE technologies which is reimagining underwater vehicles from the hills of the Berkshires.
• “Internet of things”-centered businesses like United Aircraft Technologies (UAT), which is disrupting the world of aircraft manufacturing and maintenance.
• Sustainability innovators like SolaBlock, which is producing solar-integrated building materials, and Sustaine, which is creating the pathway for reliable green energy investments.
• Community-centered app and program developers like CozQuest.
• Novel solution-and-project-management application startups like Harpsen.

All of these startups and early-stage companies, amongst others, represent the vibrant next generation of tech leaders who will drive and support our future economy.

These tech businesses and industries offer tremendous opportunities for our regional economy, and it is important that we embrace, support and maximize them. We are planting date palms—

focusing attention on supporting the “missing middle” of the tech-entrepreneur pipeline, building an identity for the Berkshires as a rural innovation hub, facilitating the growth of tech ecosystems through dialogue and community-building, and advancing the goal of building our digital and tech-enabled economy to scale—not merely to support the economy of the region, but to help it thrive for generations of innovators and residents to come.

Stay tuned and get engaged; your opportunity to enjoy the fruits of this labor could be coming sooner than you might expect.