V-Glass Of Pewaukee Among Recipients Grants For High-Tech Small Businesses

MADISON - V-Glass of Pewaukee was one of seven small high-tech Wisconsin businesses awarded a grant last month of up to $75,000 to commercialize their innovations in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Advance program's latest round of funding.

According to a press release, the state matching grant programs provides assistance to companies in the process of completing a project in the federal SBIR or Small Business Technology Transfer programs.

This is the eighth round of SBIR funding since they first collaborated in 2014 with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the University of Wisconsin-Extension's Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC) .

Since 2014, more than $3.6 million has been awarded to 37 Wisconsin businesses through the collaboration and those companies have reported hiring more than 150 employees and obtaining $11.5 million in additional capital since receiving the grants.

V-Glass was founded in 2008 with the mission to develop affordable, high-efficiency, vacuum-insulated window glass. Over the years, the company has been awarded grants totaling more than $700,000, and in-kind contributions of free glass and life testing services from an industry partner, office space in a local incubator, and factory space from a local automation house. Of the seven Wisconsin businesses to receive this grant, V-Glass is the only one located in Waukesha County. The six others grant recipients are located in Madison.

The SBIR/STTR programs were developed by the U.S. government to stimulate high-tech innovation for domestic businesses and provide $2.5 billion in federal research funding each year. Since those funds cannot be used for commercialization, the SBIR Advance program steps in to fill the gap. Advance program funds can be used for market research, customer validation, intellectual property work, and other areas that speed commercialization.

For details on the SBIR Advance program or the CTC, visit the Wisconsin SBIR website. For more details on WEDC and their economic development efforts in the state, visit www.inwisconsin.com.

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