Science Course

Ellen Bemben says the talk is getting louder.

She was referring specifically to discussions taking place about the Greater Springfield region and its potential as a home for companies in the biotech and medical instruments fields, among others. There has been talk for some time, she acknowledged, but there is growing evidence that the talk will soon turn to action - and jobs.

"There are conversations that are going on that are more promising than ever before," Bemben, the recently elected president of the Regional Technology Council (RTC) told BusinessWest. "But, in some ways, this area hasn't really been discovered yet."

Helping businesses in Boston, Cambridge, Worcester, and elsewhere navigate their way to the Pioneer Valley and the larger Knowledge Corridor - the region between Springfield and Hartford - is the informal job description for Bemben, who started her new assignment on May 3.

She brings with her more than two decades of work in the plastics industry - work that has taken her from New England to the Middle East - and confidence that the Springfield area can become the alternative, or "complement" (the word she prefers) to Boston and other higher priced areas.

"People are starting to look in this direction," she said, referring to high-tech, medical device, and other technology-related ventures in the Boston market that may be looking for lower-cost alternatives. "I'm not talking about a long stare, but they are looking; we need to get them to look harder."

BusinessWest looks this issue at how Bemben and the RTC intend to do just that.

Field Work

Bemben isn't exactly new to the RTC and its broad mission.

She has been a member of the council's board of directors for several years, and was actually one of the founders of its predecessor group, the Regional Technology Alliance (RTA). She was also the original chairperson of that agency's Materials and Manufacturing Technology Network, or MMTN, one of three current networks, or clusters, that comprise the RTC.

Behind all those groups and acronyms is a movement, or desire to build a technologyrelated sector in Western Mass., said Bemben, who left a position as project leader and new-business development director for Enfield-based Specialized Technologies, formerly Springborn Laboratories, to steer the RTC.

She told BusinessWest she made that career move because she has seen a new energy within the RTC and its networks and what she considers tangible progress in the three main components to the task of building that technology base she spoke of - attraction, retention, and development of ventures in that sector.

"We're trying to be as realistic as possible about the prospects of bringing more jobs to this region," she said. "Do we think it can happen? We wouldn't be wasting our time if we didn't."

Bemben is the third president of the RTC, following Humera Fasihudden, who was at the helm of the RTA when it changed its name and then became an affiliate of the Economic Development Council (EDC) in 2003, and her successor, Mamud Awan, who stepped down last summer. Bemben said she wants to build on the progress achieved by previous leaders and, overall, create more awareness and relevancy for the council.

"We're a resource, but we're also a partner with many different organizations and institutions in this area," she said, listing everything from hospitals to community colleges to other economic development agencies. "Through those relationships, we can can build on a strong foundation for business attraction and growth in the region."

Bemben brings a broad range of experience to the helm of the RTC. Prior to her stint with Specialized Technology Resources, she worked under contract for the government of Israel in successfully promoting its plastics industry to such companies as Gillette, GE Plastics, Elizabeth Arden, Johnson & Johnson, and Smith & Wesson. She has also worked for the General Polymers Division of Ashland Chemical, Nypro, and Everready Battery.

Bemben described the RTC as the technology arm of the EDC, and also as a "matchmaker," linking companies with resources and tools to achieve growth. In that capacity, its role is to essentially maintain and grow the broad tech sector, which is comprised of businesses across several fields, including information technology/communications, clean energy, precision manufacturing, life sciences, health care, bioengineering, and medical device development and manufacturing.

The RTC, a non-profit organization that grew out of a grant originally awarded to UMass-Amherst, acts an umbrella organization with three neworks: MMTN, the BioEconomic Technology Alliance (BETA), and the Technology Enterprise Council (TEC).

The council is a membership-driven organization (the current number is just under 300) tasked with not only delivering new technology-driven businesses to the region, but also to help existing companies respond to changing conditions and a more global economy and remain competitive.

"In this environment, if companies don't change, they're going to go under," she said. "We want to not only help companies stay afloat, but help them grow and get to the next level."

As for attracting new companies - and jobs - to the region, Bemben said that assignment is multi-faceted, and it basically starts with building awareness of the region, its assets, and business success stories.

The Valley has always had a lower cost of doing business, especially when compared with Boston, Cambridge, or even Worcester, she said, but cost alone will not be enough. To lure businesses here, the region and its economic development leaders will have to provide evidence of a quality workforce, a strong higher-education infrastructure with a strong research component (in this case, UMass Amherst), and some examples of tech-related companies that are succeeding here.

The region has several, said Bemben, including Agawam-based MicroTest Laboratories, a pharmaceuticals manufacturer, Blackstone Medical, a Springfieldbased company that has become a leader in development of spinal surgery implants and instruments, Marox Corp., the Holyoke-based manufacturer of medical devices, and many others.

"If they look, companies in Boston and elsewhere can see that we're doing many of the things we're doing," she explained. "By building awareness of all that's happening here, we can get people to look and talk about this region - and then do more than just talk about it."

Under the Microscope

Turning talk into jobs and economic development is Bemben's basic assignment at the RTC.

Like her predecessors in that role, she spoke about the region's enormous potential as a home to technology related businesses in specific fields ranging from polymer science to pharmaceuticals manufacturing.

Turning that potential into reality is a work already in process, she explained. And that's why the talk is getting louder.