Business Briefs: HutGrip competes in Get in the Ring

HutGrip competesin Get in the Ring

A Chattanooga startup made it to the final eight finalists in a worldwide investment competition in which promising startups compete for 1 million euros.

HutGrip, a cloud-based platform that allows manufacturers to control, monitor and improve their production process, earned a chance at taking the top spot in an entrepreneurial face-off called Get in the Ring: The Investment Battle, making it to the final round from a field of more than 1,000 startups from 32 countries. It was bested by EyeVerify, a mobile authentication company based in Kansas City, in Friday's finals in the Netherlands.

HutGrip came to the Scenic City from Bulgaria this year for the city's Gig Tank accelerator program, and is also participating in The TENN, Launch Tennessee's master accelerator program conceived by Charlie Brock, the Gig Tank pioneer who now heads the statewide accelerator program.

"Thanks to Gig Tank and The TENN, HutGrip is a more mature company that is ready for big opportunities like this," said Bobbi Rakova, co-founder of HutGrip.


Aspen Paper adds 200 jobs

Paper manufacturer Aspen Products Inc. will open a $13 million manufacturing facility in Macon, Ga., creating over 200 jobs. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced Friday that production of paper plates, cups, bowls and lunch bags in the 200,000-square-foot plant will begin in 2014.

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