Ohio Manufacturers Partner with NineSigma to Accelerate their Growth through Open Innovation

CLEVELAND, July 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NineSigma, Inc., of Cleveland, the leading innovation partner to organizations worldwide, today announced several new clients they will work with under the Ohio Third Frontier Open Innovation Incentive (OII) Program. The OII Program was created to help Ohio middle market companies use open innovation to increase their competitive advantage by developing new products and getting them to market more quickly, while reducing development costs. The OII's goal is to foster corporate growth that will spark additional job creation within the state.

The new NineSigma clients are all manufacturers, whose products range from high-performance electronic components, to professional cleaning systems, to brakes and wheels for the aircraft industry. They include: 

• Emerson Climate Technologies, Inc., Sidney
• Henny Penny Corporation, Eaton
• Heat Seal LLC, Cleveland
• Kaivac, Inc., Hamilton
• Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems Corporation, Akron
• Michelman, Inc., Mansfield
• Seaman Corporation, Wooster
• Stoneridge, Inc., Warren

These companies represent a portion of the twenty organizations that have engaged with NineSigma to run twenty-five projects under the OII program this project year. Open Innovation (OI) enables all of these organizations to identify and connect with companies, academic research centers, and inventors outside their walls and even beyond their industries, to access new technologies they need to advance their products. 

"To remain competitive, we must continue to invest in new technology. Open Innovation and the NineSigma process opens up new channels for us to find technology solutions and partners we might not have considered otherwise. This ultimately helps us maintain our position as a leading provider of high quality, innovative products to the food service and industrial packaging markets," said Ron Zieske, President and CEO of Heat Seal LLC.

NineSigma CEO Andy Zynga said, "Leveraging outside partners in a strategic OI program helps companies sustain their growth and success. By funding half of the costs of engaging an open innovation company, the State of Ohio is providing a great service to middle market companies. They know the return extends far beyond these companies, and will help the entire state by keeping Ohio on the forefront of discovery."

About NineSigma

NineSigma connects organizations with external innovation resources to accelerate innovation in private, public and social sectors. The company provides open innovation services to organizations worldwide, including Kraft Foods, Philips, Siemens, and Unilever, to solve immediate challenges, integrate new knowledge, fill product pipelines, and stay ahead of the competition. Named to the 2012 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private U.S. companies, NineSigma's proprietary process has produced billions of dollars in value for its clients. NineSigma has the largest open global network of solution providers and an extensive database of existing solutions spanning numerous industries and technical disciplines. NineSigma's online innovation community, NineSights®, is the world's first open innovation social media destination, connecting innovators of all sizes with resources and relationships to drive growth. Learn more at www.ninesigma.com and www.ninesights.com. 

Media Contact: 
Jackie Lucas, Warner Communications — [email protected], (978) 255-1159  

SOURCE NineSigma, Inc.