Kosciusko County Commissioners heard a request this morning for $1 million in funding for the establishment of an orthopedic business accelerator.
Sheryl Conley, OrthoWorx president and CEO, said the new initiative, AcceLinx Inc., will help diversify the range of biomedical companies in the area by connecting startups with talent and resources unique to Warsaw. She said the aim is for AcceLinx to become self-funding after six years.
She requested the county invest $1 million of the $2.4 million in taxes withheld from the merger of Zimmer and Biomet last summer. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has offered up to $1.2 million for the organization’s first six years and the City of Warsaw approved $500,000 in funding last month.
The funding would be used initially to form a staff of executive-level industry experts next year, and for marketing to attract orthopedic startups and to fund a physical location in Warsaw, she told commissioners. The value of the initiative would be to maintain Warsaw’s status as the world orthopedic capital, while keeping talent and innovation in the region, she said.
The commissioners accepted a draft agreement for the $1 million contribution and will vote on it at a later meeting.
Also this morning, commissioners recognized Byron Hunter as the Veteran of the Month. Born in Miami County in 1924, Hunter entered the U.S. Navy in 1943 and was assigned to the tanker ship USS Chiwawa after completing radio operator’s school. Their primary mission was to travel with merchant ship convoys and to refuel destroyers and destroyer experts, tasked with detecting and destroying German U-boats.
After his discharge in 1945, Hunter earned a degree in electrical engineering from Indiana Technical College and worked for 35 years at ITT in Fort Wayne, retiring in 1984.
And commissioners declared May as Poppy Month this morning at the request of Treasurer Sue Ann Mitchell, on behalf of American Legion Auxiliaries in the area.
