Business Briefs: GigTank adds new industries

Friday, December 20, 2013

photo Mike Bradshaw, CoLab co-director, talks about the Gig Tank.

GigTank adds new industries

The next GigTank accelerator program for entrepreneurs will focus on 3D printing, smart grid development and health care businesses. The Company Lab, which runs the 2-year-old program, said Thursday the summertime development program next year will try to capitalize on interest and ideas in the targeted growth areas.

"Chattanooga is a hub for manufacturing and home to the nation's most advanced smart grid network," CoLab Executive Director Mike Bradshaw said. "Our foothold in these areas creates an entirely new domain of possibilities."

In next summer's GigTank, CoLab will coordinate the additive manufacturing program for 3D printing, EPB will help with the Smart Grid track and ProjectLift will facilitate the health care programs. More information about the program is available at www.thegigtank.com


Passat wins safety award

Volkswagen's Chattanooga-made Passat is the only VW to earn the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety's "Top Safety Pick" rating.

No VWs earned the institute's "Top Safety Pick Plus" rating, and they weren't alone. General Motors, for example, placed only its Chevrolet Spark, a small car that accounts for a tiny fraction of the nation's largest automaker's sales, on the "Top Safety Pick" list and had no cars on the "Top Safety Pick Plus" list.

Three of the biggest luxury brands in the U.S., BMW, Cadillac and Lexus, failed to get any vehicles in the ratings. Honda, Subaru and Volvo are making strides protecting the occupants of their cars, the institute said.