Syracuse University partners with Welch Allyn, New York State to create innovation incubator

Syracuse University partners with Welch Allyn, New York State to create innovation incubatorJanuary 08, 2008SU News ServicesSUnews@syr.edu

New center will create 25 jobs; serve as innovation hub for company’s global operations

Syracuse University, in partnership with Welch Allyn Inc. and New York State, has announced the formation of a new technology incubator company, the Richard W. Newman Innovation Center. The company will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Welch Allyn.

The center will be housed at SU’s Computer Applications and Software Engineering Center (CASE Center) in Syracuse. The CASE Center is a NYSTAR-designated Center for Advanced Technology (CAT). Al DiRienzo, Welch Allyn chief science and technology officer, will serve as CEO of the new research enterprise.

The center announcement coincided with Welch Allyn’s announcement Tuesday that the Skaneateles Falls-based company will break ground this spring on a $30 million expansion and renovation project of its global headquarters and will add 175 jobs over the next five years. Welch Allyn is a leading global manufacturer of medical diagnostic equipment and digital and connected solutions.

The goal of the Richard W. Newman Innovation Center is to accelerate the product development process from ideation to conceptualization of new technologies and inventions designed specifically for the health care industry. This will allow Welch Allyn to fill its product pipeline faster, with new technology to address future customer needs, and with increased efficiency and focus. In addition, the center will offer Welch Allyn a greater ability to collaborate with university researchers throughout the world and leverage the many resources and advantages that an innovation incubator is afforded.

“This new, multi-faceted collaboration is a vivid example of how the public, private and nonprofit sectors can work together to elevate a local economy to the global stage,” says SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. “As Welch Allyn and SU scientists and engineers partner on exciting new front-line medical technologies and bring them to market, they’ll also enhance the learning experience for students through guest lectures, curricular innovations, internships and co-ops. Ultimately, this partnership will stimulate growth in the kind of jobs that will help us retain the best and brightest here in Central New York. It’s a vivid example of what we at SU call Scholarship in Action — leveraging the assets of a community of experts — formed in this case by Welch Allyn, New York State and Syracuse University.”

“We are excited about this new private/public partnership,” says Julie Shimer, Welch Allyn president and CEO. “This new company further accentuates our commitment to nurturing innovation, as we collaborate with university and government experts to facilitate exciting new products for the health care community.”

The naming of the new innovation center honors Rich Newman, Welch Allyn vice president for advanced technology, who retired Jan. 2 after 40 years with the company. Newman had a 40-year career of developing new ideas and technologies that advanced Welch Allyn products and services in the global healthcare community.

“The incubator’s path to success will be in looking out five to 10 years at how to assess a patient’s health status in the least invasive, most cost-effective setting,” says DiRienzo. “That’s our mission and we’re looking forward to collaborating with SU and a number of technology organizations to accomplish it.”

“The Innovation Center established by Welch Allyn in partnership with the NYSTAR-designated CASE Center at Syracuse University is exciting news for the State of New York,” says Edward Reinfurt, executive director of New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR). “The Richard W. Newman Innovation Center’s charge is to innovate. It will be challenged to develop new product concepts which may help fill Welch Allyn’s pipeline or may capitalize on new technologies which will lead to the creation of new companies. The ultimate goal is successful product development, which Welch Allyn believes can be enhanced by a center where employees are not restricted by the limitations imposed by traditional corporate settings.”