PITTSFIELD — United Aircraft Technologies is coming to Pittsfield.
On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved a $300,000 incentive package for the Troy, N.Y.-based startup, which plans to lease space at 237 Newell St., the former Allegrone headquarters that is owned by the president of Berkshire Building and Remodeling. It is expected to eventually bring up to eight new jobs to the city.
The company will manufacture a lightweight and smart fastener for aircraft that is designed to improve fuel economy and simplify maintenance. The product was developed by co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Daryian Rhysing, a veteran aircraft mechanic for the Army and Navy, and has passed rigorous military testing.
Michael Coakley, the city’s business development manager, said he first was introduced to Rhysing and his wife, UAT co-founder and CEO/President Evaguel Rhysing, in 2019, when the company won the inaugural Berkshire Manufacturing Innovation Challenge by Lever, a North Adams-based business incubator.
“I’ve been encouraging them to move to Pittsfield ever since,” he said.
Lever Executive Director Jeffrey Thomas issued a strong endorsement of the company, and told councilors that they can count on the Rhysings to create jobs and work to attract like-minded entrepreneurs to the area. With its $25,000 prize for winning Lever’s competition, UAT hired Dalton’s Sinicon Plastics to manufacture its products.
In a news release issued after the council approved the incentive package, Lever said it has invested another $25,000 into UAT. In addition to winning the local competition, UAT was one of four companies awarded $50,000 through a Boston-based MassChallenge accelerator program last year.
In the package that Mayor Linda Tyer proposed and the council approved, UAT will receive a 10-year loan that will be forgiven in stages as long as it meets benchmarks related to relocation, hiring and more.
Tyer said she was thrilled the company will be moving to, and creating jobs in, Pittsfield.
“Pittsfield is a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family,” she said in prepared remarks. “These qualities make it an excellent location for a new and innovative company like UAT to establish their operations, and we look forward to them joining the growing list of high-tech, high-skilled manufacturers and cutting-edge companies in our city.”
Evaguel Rhysing told councilors her company is focused on the military and aerospace sectors right now, but it plans to expand into the commercial markets for electric vehicles and aircrafts.
She said it is committed to being an active part of the Berkshire business community, and highlighted UAT’s paid internship program, which it will bring to Pittsfield. The package unanimously was recommended for approval by the council’s Community and Economic Development committee.
“I’m hoping to be active in the community, continue supporting Lever, continue supporting the city of Pittsfield in growing the entrepreneurship and startup ecosystem,” Evaguel Rhysing said. “Because every single big company that we see today started as a startup.”