A local high tech manufacturer is facing a problem that might be a good one to have. Hidden Level in East Shyracuse is getting a grant to help with its growing pains.
You’re not likely to see the products that Hidden Level makes on store shelves. VP of operations Antoinett Dufort explains everything from hobbyist drones to those used in military applications in Ukraine have created a need to monitor the airspace.
So as people are continuing to innovate on ways that this technology can be used to enable really cool things like drone as a first responder, even in some of the construction applications, we want to make sure that the technology is being applied safely and that there's airspace awareness for pilots and for other things, but also ensuring public safety (at) events and infrastructure protection,” said Dufort.
The widespread nature and growing concern for airspace safety has caused interest to soar for the company’s airspace sensors. “I’m a soccer mom,” said Dufort. “I’ve got two kids; I would never want to I think about hey, is it safe for kid to go to the homecoming game because of airspace (safety).”
Hidden Level received a Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund grant through the non-profit development firm FuzeHub to help with their growth. That growth, she explained, has the company considering “10x growth” that would lead to job growth in their manufacturing, supply chain, engineering and operations sections.
Hidden level plans to work with TDO training and consulting to help with their growth and expansion plans. The grant will fund planning and design services to help make manufacturing and other operations more efficient, even as the company considers a new location to consolidate offices at several smaller sites.
Employment gains among the region’s tech companies are linked to area workforce development programs. “So it's important for us to be as engaged in those things,” Dufort emphasized. “(and) that we're framing them so that we can be part of helping them grow and also help make sure that they're meeting the needs of, not just Micron, but other companies that are going to grow here.”
