South Bend Startup Partners With Elkhart Plastics
Figuro3D is headquartered at Notre Dame's Innovation Park. (photo courtesy Figuro3D)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA South Bend-based 3D digital imaging company founded by scientists from the University of Notre Dame has launched a partnership with Elkhart Plastics. Figuro3D, which makes 3D scanners used in manufacturing, says the collaboration will help the company focus its development efforts.
Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures says Figuro3D’s scanners are optimized for speed, ease of use, and cost effectiveness to accelerate manufacturing quality control procedures. Nearly a year ago, Elevate Ventures awarded Figuro3D with a High-Potential Startup Grant, which provides up to $25,000 in pre-seed funding.
"Elevate’s HPSG program exists to help entrepreneurs overcome hurdles to attain a specific outcome or milestone. Figuro3D is a perfect example of this intention at work,” says Gavin Ferlic, Elevate Ventures entrepreneur-in-residence in the South Bend-Elkhart region. "This funding enabled them to complete their initial hardware design, successfully obtain their software patent, and attract additional investors and partnerships."
Figuro3D Chief Operating Officer Robert Kuang says the partnership allows the company to have a deeper understanding of the needs of Elkhart Plastics.
"Without this partnership, we are essentially making educated guesses on what a customer will ultimately want,” said Kuang. “We are excited to test our prototypes outside of a controlled environment. Feedback from this type of testing helps us to identify and make changes faster, speeding up the development process."
Elevate Ventures says both companies believe the partnership will be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
