Mediacom Business | Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber

The following information was released by Mediacom Business

New additive manufacturing and design facility utilizes bandwidth intensive applications to train and prepare manufacturers and students

Waterloo, IA – June 28, 2016 – Furthering its commitment to drive economic growth in the Cedar Valley corridor, Mediacom Business, a division of Mediacom Communications Corporation, today announced the installation of a high-capacity broadband connection at the new University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Metal Casting Center on the TechWorks Campus in downtown Waterloo.

Randy Pilkington, Director of Business and Community Services for UNI, said manufacturers and students alike will learn necessary design software skills at the UNI Metal Casting Center to develop products and prepare CAD documents in conjunction with Hawkeye Community College for 3D printing. The facility houses the largest sand mold 3D design printer in the country, and is installing three new 3D printers over the next several months using a variety of media.

“Our goal is make the facility at the UNI Metal Casting Center the go to place in Iowa, if not the Midwest, to expand additive manufacturing training of this kind. This is a huge initiative for Iowa. We feel confident that by partnering with Mediacom Business, we’ll receive the high-capacity broadband necessary to make this happen,” Mr. Pilkington said.

Dan Templin, Senior Vice President for Mediacom Business, said his company’s partnership with UNI exemplifies how critical it is to have a high-capacity broadband connection to power advanced technology platforms. “The design software needed to fuel expertise in sand mold printing used by companies like John Deere or Rockwell Collins requires high speed data. Without it, you simply can’t conduct the training needed. We’re especially glad to play such an important role in bringing business and education together via our proprietary fiber-optic network.”

Cary Darrah, TechWorks Vice President and General Manager, said Mediacom Business powered a TechWorks Campus StartUp event last November with 5 Gigabits of fiber connectivity. “Fast broadband was a necessity for the event – the first time StartUp Weekend was held on the Campus. Mediacom Business delivered the fastest connection to data that we’d used. Mediacom Business came through for TechWorks Campus and StartUp Weekend Cedar Valley participants. I believe that gave the Metal Casting Center a clear indication that Mediacom Business was a good solution at this location.”

About the University of Northern Iowa Metal Casting Center

The University of Northern Iowa Metal Casting Center was established in 1990 with a grant from the Iowa Lottery to serve foundries and foundry suppliers in Iowa. The UNI MCC has been a leader in foundry innovations and added 3D sand mold printing capabilities in 2014. Since then, the UNI MCC has worked with more than 100 small and medium enterprises across Iowa and the Midwest as well as with all branches of the US military.

About the TechWorks Campus

TechWorks Campus is a 30-acre advanced manufacturing, research & development, innovation, education, commercial, and manufacturing center located in downtown Waterloo, Iowa. The campus is comprised of 20 acres of development sites, and 300,000 square feet of flex space for innovation and development.

About Mediacom Communications

Mediacom Communications Corporation is the fifth largest cable operator in the U.S. serving about 1.3 million customers in smaller markets primarily in the Midwest and Southeast through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Mediacom Broadband LLC and Mediacom LLC. Mediacom offers a wide array of information, communications and entertainment services to households and businesses, including video, high-speed data, phone, and home security and automation. Through Mediacom Business, the company provides innovative broadband solutions to commercial and public sector customers of all sizes, and sells advertising and production services under the OnMedia brand. More information about Mediacom is available at www.mediacomcc.com.

Contact
Tom Larsen
Senior Vice President, Government & Public Relations
Phone: 845-443-2754 | Email: info@mediacomcc.com

(Cedar Valley of Iowa) – TechWorks Campus, 360 Westfield Ave., Waterloo, will host Startup Weekend Cedar Valley November 20 -22, 2015. Startup Weekend is a 54-hour weekend event, during which groups of software developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more pitch ideas for new startup companies, form teams around those ideas, and work to create a working prototype, demo, or presentation by Sunday evening.

Launch Party Kick-Off

The event will kick-off with the Startup Weekend Launch Party, Friday evening at 5:00pm. The Launch Party is an opportunity for the participants of Startup Weekend to network with each other and established Cedar Valley business leaders. The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber and Far Reach are launch party sponsors. Alliance & Chamber investors and the Cedar Valley business community are invited to attend.

There is no cost for the launch event, but registration is needed. Register by calling the Alliance & Chamber at 319-232-1156 or on-line at www.cedarvalleyalliance.com/calendar-of-events.php.

Following the launch event, entrepreneurs will give a one-minute pitch of their business idea. Attendees will vote to decide which ideas will be developed over the next two days.

Beginning at 7:00am Saturday, teams will form around each idea. Teams will go through the customer discovery process, prototyping and testing their business model. Local mentors will come in throughout the event to coach teams and provide expertise. Meals will be provided throughout the work day and end with an after party at 10:30pm. Teams will return on Sunday morning to finalize plans and prepare presentations. That evening, a panel of judges will award prizes to the most viable business.

Local Organizers

Startup Weekend Cedar Valley is being organized by a core group of young Cedar Valley entrepreneurs: Cody Caraway, Michael Caraway, Patrick Luensmann, Keevin O’Rourke, Valyn Reinig, and Bart Schmitz. Organizers believe the event has the opportunity to bring individuals who normally wouldn’t consider themselves entrepreneurs into the growing Cedar Valley startup ecosystem. Gold Sponsors for the event include the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, Scientific Games Interactive, and Cedar Falls Utilities. Veridian Credit Union and VGM Forbin are Silver Sponsors. The Center for Business, Growth, and Innovation and the Creative Life Research Center of the University of Northern Iowa, Visual Logic, and Martin Brothers are Bronze Sponsors.

“The average attendee will be exposed to what it’s like to be in a startup, the demands it brings, and also the correct way to create a business model,” says Michael Caraway, “This all translates into a more innovative, lean mindset that individuals can take back to their employers. Who knows, some may even take the leap to start their own business.”

Startup Weekend Cedar Valley Powered by Mediacom

Gigabit+ Fiber Solutions from Mediacom Business will provide 5 gigabit broadband to the TechWorks Campus for Startup Weekend Cedar Valley expanding the scope of potential business concepts and allowing teams to develop high bandwidth applications without limitation.

Why the TechWorks Campus

“The Techworks Campus is the historic location for industrial innovation in the Cedar Valley and a hub for Iowa’s latest production and design technologies,” says Steve Dust CEO of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber and President of the TechWorks Campus. “TechWork’s Industrial Technology Center is the perfect place for entrepreneurs to launch the next great Cedar Valley success stories.”

This is the second year for Startup Weekend in the Cedar Valley. To learn more about Startup Weekend Cedar Valley, or to register, go to www.swcv.co or message Michael Caraway by email, mike@monday-creations.com.