Attendees listen to a speaker during the building dedication
for the Tolloty Technology Incubator. The incubator is
managed by the Tuscarawas County Community
Improvement Corporation in partnership with Kent State
University at Tuscarawas, which owns the facility.

Entrepreneurship and collaboration were two of the overarching themes in formal remarks delivered by seven speakers at the Tolloty Technology Incubator building dedication attended by more than 160 people. The Tuscarawas County Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) manages the incubator in partnership with Kent State University at Tuscarawas, which owns the facility.

Located at 1776 Tech Park Dr. NE in New Philadelphia, the new $5.4 million, 27,000-square-foot facility is the gateway to the Tuscarawas Regional Technology Park, located off University Dr. NE and adjacent to Kent State Tuscarawas.

Speakers included Gregg L. Andrews, Ph.D., who recently resigned as dean and chief administrative officer of Kent State Tuscarawas on July 1; Todd Diacon, Ph.D., Kent State’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost; attorney Frank Rose, chairman, Tuscarawas County University District Board of Trustees; Jason Wilson, director, Governor’s Office of Appalachia; Chris Abbuhl, Tuscarawas County commissioner; Bill Harding, president of the CIC; and Blair Hillyer, CIC board member.

“The Tolloty Technology Incubator is an outgrowth of the CIC’s Knowledge Based Economic Development initiative launched over a decade ago to create a parallel and complimentary economic development strategy for our region,” Andrews says. “It was envisioned to be a center of excellence that will cultivate and nurture technology-based entrepreneurship and stimulate the regional economy through new business development, business expansion and creation of high-tech, high-skill and high-wage jobs. The incubator also will benefit Kent State Tuscarawas’ academic programs and experiential opportunities for our students.”

Rose spoke about the Tuscarawas County University District Board of Trustees and its commitment to the campus. He stated that the Board of Trustees is “committed to strengthening Kent State Tuscarawas by supporting administrative and faculty initiatives to expand extraordinary educational experiences and strategic economic development opportunities, which ultimately results in energizing our region and the communities we serve. Our partnership with the CIC exemplifies our commitment to the campus. We believe this collaboration in the Tolloty Technology Incubator has created a unique resource to assist existing businesses with expansions and to nurture a new generation of entrepreneurs.”

The Tolloty Technology Incubator is a 27,000-square-foot
facility that offers both flex and finished tenant space, a
high-tech training room, wet lab, conference rooms,
reception area, office spaces, shipping and receiving area
and a computer network operating center for servers, data
storage and network operations.

The 27,000-square-foot facility offers both flex tenant space, finished tenant space, a high-tech training room, wet lab, conference rooms, reception area, office spaces, shipping and receiving area and a computer network operating center for servers, data storage and network operations.

“Ideal work space is available for immediate move in, as well as flex space that can be built-out to a company's specifications,” says Gary Little, director of the CIC. “The Tolloty Technology Incubator is ideal for IT companies of all types; for companies involved in research and development. We even have a wet lab facility for companies involved with testing, chemical research and laboratory development processes.

“The incubator provides a relaxed, creative atmosphere, with high-tech equipment and amenities that you will find in urban environments, but we have the added beauty of our rolling hills and wooded areas for walks, bike rides and picnic lunches that are a part of many working-places for research and development enterprises today,” Little adds.

Several resources are available to companies moving into the incubator.

“Companies admitted into the Incubator will receive much more than first-class working space,” Little says. “They will have mentors, advisors, the availability of the Kent State Tuscarawas Ohio Small Business Development Center (OSBDC), Kent State Tuscarawas faculty and student links, as well as investor and lender links. Companies within the Incubator will be nurtured, challenged and expected to grow at an accelerated pace.”

In addition to the OSBDC, Kent State Tuscarawas offers other important resources to support new businesses, such as the services of the Tuscarawas Regional Technology Accelerator, located in the Reeves Foundation Center for Advanced Technology and Workforce Development for research, prototyping and new equipment training; as well as interaction with engineering and research faculty; and access to the University Library, which is a Federal Depository Library.

Abbuhl, Tuscarawas County commissioner, referenced the collaboration within the county to get the Tuscarawas Regional Technology Park and the Tolloty Technology Incubator projects off the ground and completed.

“I would like to express my appreciation to the various boards of county commissioners that have supported the development of the Tuscarawas Regional Technology Park and the Tolloty Technology Incubator,” Abbuhl says. “The involvement of the past and present boards of commissioners has allowed for the donation of county-owned land, in-kind donations and assisting with many aspects of planning and the administration of funds to develop the Technology Park. Under the direction of the commissioners, the Tuscarawas County Office of Community and Economic Development, specifically former director George Raymond and current director Scott Reynolds and their staff have been instrumental team members in working closely over the years with Kent State Tuscarawas and the CIC.”

The Tolloty Technology Incubator was named in honor of Eugene “Gene” Tolloty of Uhrichsville, who died in 2006. According to Andrews, the facility was named for Tolloty to continue his legacy.

“It demonstrates the great memories and admiration we all have of Gene,” Andrews says. “He was a loyal and long-time friend of Kent State Tuscarawas, serving as a valued member of the Tuscarawas County University District Board of Trustees, the CIC and of course the Tuscarawas Valley. He is remembered for leading initiatives that supported ongoing growth at the university and economic development throughout the region. Gene would be proud that this initiative has come to fruition with the opening of this dynamic, cutting-edge facility, which will promote innovation, collaboration and economic development.”

Funding agencies for the Tolloty Technology Incubator include the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration; the Ohio Development Services Agency’s Ohio Job Ready Sites Program; and the Appalachian Regional Commission through Ohio Mid East Governments Association.

Construction of the facility began in April 2013 and was completed in June 2014. The general contractor was Jeffrey Carr Construction Inc. of Massillon. Poggemeyer Design Group of Bowling Green designed the building.