Solvus Global, a Worcester-based company that manufactures technology through 3D printing, was recognized by the Small Business Administration (SBA) on Tuesday as 2024’s Small Manufacturer of the Year.
The company, founded by Dr. Sean Kelly and Dr. Aaron Birt, received the award for their work in additive manufacturing and 3D printing of lithium batteries, according to the SBA. Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is defined as the process of creating an object by building it one layer at a time.
The SBA wrote that Kelly and Birt were “leading experts in various fields including machine learning, materials and manufacturing with a passion for using technology to develop solutions for critical industry problems.”
The SBA also praised the company for using a Paycheck Protection Program to keep their staff employed in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the SBA gave the award to Bell’s Powder Coating Inc. of North Attleborough.
Upon receiving the accolade, Kelly posted on LinkedIn Tuesday words of gratitude for the award and personally thanked Patrick Royce, the vice president at Webster Five Bank, for nominating the company. The SBA announced that Kelly and Birt will both be honored at the annual National Small Business Week Massachusetts Awards Ceremony on May 10 in Andover.
“A massive THANK YOU to all Solvus Global team members,” Kelly wrote. “You are the ones that make recognition like this even possible. I am truly honored to be on this journey together. Onward and upward.
According to its website, Solvus Global was launched in 2019 in Worcester. The company’s main headquarters is at 104 Prescott St. and its second office is at 272 Nashua St. in Leominster. The company website states that Solvus also operates out of a reattach and development facility in Webster that was acquired by a partnership with the Army Research Laboratory and VRC Metal Systems. When the company began, there were three employees, and according to its website, that has grown to 90 as of 2024.
“Our mission is to create a positive impact on the world through the innovation, incubation and transition of advanced manufacturing technology enterprises and the people that will lead them,” the website reads.
