The City Council agreed to support the development of a high-tech optics lab at the Berkshire Innovation Center.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council unanimously approved a total of $1 million in Pittsfield Economic Development Funds to expand the Berkshire Innovation Center and add a new company. 

Last week, councilors OKed the BIC's request for $500,000 to expand by 7,000 square feet and Myrias Optics Inc.'s request for the same amount to establish a manufacturing laboratory at the BIC. Myrias expects to hire at least 55 people by 2028 with average salaries between $110,000 to $120,000 per year. 

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi recognized that $1 million from what had been the GE Fund is a lot of money, but pointed to the other support this project has garnered. The BIC was awarded a $5.2 million boost from the state for this effort, and another $2 million was earmarked through an economic development bond bill.

"I think we, as Pittsfielders, know how important that money is for our future and to recoup what we can of the losses that have happened to this community," Lampiasi said. 

"But looking at that $7 million that's coming down the road, and the fact that the state is behind us, and we're part of this tech hub, when you look at the region and what this is going to mean for our community, I think it's really exciting, and folks at home can get excited about it, too." 

The economic development funds will go toward an $11 million specialized nanoimprint lithography (NIL) lab that Myrias will use. NIL is basically using a mold to imprint microscopic patterns on substrates used in electronics, optics and other nanotechnology.

The company's biggest customers are "Tier 1,"  or major manufacturers, in consumer electronics and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) applications. The expansion can be built in a year, and if all goes well, the BIC hopes to break ground in the spring. 

The University of Massachusetts' Donahue Institute said the Advanced Manufacturing for Advanced Optics Tech Hub in Pittsfield could generate up to 1,310 jobs between 2025 and 2031 through direct, indirect, and induced employment. BIC Executive Director Benjamin Sosne explained that this is the ripple effect from new employees living and spending their money in the area. 

State Rep. Tricia Farley Bouvier, who presented a certificate of recognition to Interprint at the beginning of the meeting, pointed out that the $5.2 million award from the state is contingent on the release of the $2 million in last year's economic development bond bill.

"We really are starting something big," she said. "MassTech could see that the coming together of these two entities, the BIC and Myrias, along with EMS that is already at the BIC, not only are bringing the jobs that we are seeing right in front of us, but it's going to start, and I think Ben Sosne uses the term a 'flywheel,' of other jobs, because we are going to need suppliers for these companies. ...

"When these kinds of tech companies start, they want to be near other tech companies, and that model has proven itself, not only across the commonwealth, but across the nation." 

She added that the State House can see Mayor Peter Marchetti and the Legislature working in lockstep with the council and business community, and "they're very excited to get behind this project with us." 

CEO John Fijol said optics technology is 200 years old and traditionally involved cutting away at a block of material and generating a lot of waste. Myrias, he explained, uses additive nano-imprinting to make optics thinner than a human hair with a small amount of material. 

"It's an extremely capital-efficient manufacturing approach, which is why we're able to do what we're going to do here in Pittsfield. It's a very scalable manufacturing technology, so we can grow into a large company and hopefully create a lot of revenue for us in tax revenue," he said. 

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said this proposal hits all the important points. 

"I feel like this is a really smart investment based on the goals that have been set in the proposal, as well as the pathways that we're working on building in Pittsfield and the Berkshires for growth, and I think this is a really great opportunity," she said. 

After this allotment, the Pittsfield Economic Development Fund will have about $7.2 million remaining.   

For Myrias, $250,000 will be released when a 10-year lease is signed at the BIC's expanded space, and 10 full-time employees earning at least $65,000 plus benefits are documented.  Another $150,000 will be released six months after the company documents 10 more hires, and the final $100,000 six months after an additional 10 new hires, bringing the total to 30 full-time employees earning at least $65,000 plus benefits. 

Interprint was named a Manufacturer of the Year at the 10th Annual Manufacturing Awards Ceremony in October. Farley-Bouvier explained that this award celebrated the company's work, contribution to Pittsfield, and its 40th anniversary in the city. 

"Later on today, you guys get to take a pretty cool vote to bring a new company into Pittsfield, and we look forward to when they celebrate their 40th year here in Pittsfield," she said. 

"But it was a city 40 years ago that invested in a company named Interpint, invested in a family, really, and they put their blood, sweat, and tears into that company." 

Interprint sells its decorative papers and films worldwide and has seen several expansions.

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