Tech Tidbits From Around New Hampshire

Shown at the recent groundbreaking for Freudenberg-NOK’s new 64,000-square-foot warehouse addition at its Londonderry facility, which will also continue to provide space for The Granite Group are, from left: Dan Messier, senior vice president, construction operations, Procon; Kirk Dickison, property manager, Stebbins Commercial Properties; John Kane, partner in Glenbervie LLC, owner of the facility; Kevin Smith, facilities maintenance supervisor, Freudenberg-NOK; Bill Condron, president and CEO, The Granite Group; Mark Stebbins, partner, Glenbervie; Phil Cohen, senior vice president, People’s United Bank; Mike Wayne, vice president of logistics, The Granite Group; and Scott Martinelli Sr., project manager for Procon. Freudenberg-NOK is manufacturer of sealing and electro-mobility technology and The Granite Group distributes plumbing, heating and cooling supplies to contractors. The building is expected to open for business in spring 2022.

Portsmouth-based Sports Engineering has agreed to a deal with NBALAB, the National Basketball Association’s research and development incubator to produce non-performance footwear. SEI is working with the NBALAB’s Bill Fickett, to develop, manufacture and distribute footwear products for all 30 teams for the 2021-22 basketball season. The shoes will be distributed throughout North America by Fanatics online as well as in retail stores. A licensing company, SEI is known for its collaborative with Worcester Polytechnic Institute in injury mitigation and sport safety.

Spark Academy of Advanced Technologies, located on the campus of Manchester Community College, says it expects to almost double the size of its student body in the 2021-22 school year. Spark, which had 38 students in the last school year and next year expects to admit another 30 students

The Belknap Economic Development Council and three partner regional development corporations will be allocating more than $240,000 to support small business development in the region. Working with the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center, the organization will be able to directly support businesses with accessing technical assistance, business plan development and other resources through a Community Development Block Grant administered by the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority is for low- to moderate-income microenterprises – those with fewer than five employees – and startups to provide a full range of entrepreneurial training and technical assistance services. For more details, visit belknapedc.org.

Conduent Inc. has won a contract from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to provide Medicaid beneficiaries in the state with secure access to their personal health information. Conduent’s web portal is aimed at improving how information is exchanged between payers, providers and patients, along with support efficient care coordination. DHHS has been a client of Conduent since 2013. The company currently provides the department with Medicaid claims processing and provider services as well as management of its Medicaid Management Information System. Portsmouth-based nonprofit Step Up Parents will be able to expand its reach into the Upper Valley with a $5,000 grant from the Hypertherm HOPE Foundation. Step Up Parents provides financial support to kinship caregivers raising the children of parents with substance use disorder.

Larry S. Kirsch has been named president of Connection’s Public Sector Solutions division. Kirsch started his career with CDW Inc., where he eventually became senior vice president of CDW Government Inc. Most recently, he served as senior vice president and general manager, corporate strategy operations and partnerships for PCM-G Inc.

Connection Public Sector Solutions also was awarded one of the federal General Service Administration’s 2nd Generation Information Technology blanket purchase agreements. The multi-award contract covers the purchase of commercial off-the-shelf IT hardware, software and related services and is valued at $5.5 billion in total. And the Merrimack-based IT firm also was recently named Federal Public Sector Partner of the Year by Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. Aruba’s annual awards recognize top partners for their performance, technical capabilities, and dedication to customer service excellence.

Avlite Systems of Tilton has won a $23.5 million contract with the U.S. Air Force to upgrade airfield lighting systems. Under the contract, which was announced by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, Avlite will manufacture and deliver high-mobility airfield lighting systems, which can be rapidly deployed during operations around the world. Each system contains portable solar LED airfield lighting for a 10,000-foot runway.