Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center (MAMC) has awarded more than $56,000 in Early-Stage Funding Opportunities (ESFO) assistance to 12 West Virginia entrepreneurs and small businesses to help them develop innovative new products.
The funding assistance will cover design engineering and manufacturing support, including prototyping and computer-aided design, 3D printing and fabrication as well as customized training.
The award recipients and their projects are:
Walhonde Tools of South Charleston ($10,000) to modify specialized pipefitting tools to make them more efficient and customized for aerospace industry clients.
Blenko Glass Company of Milton ($10,000) to modernize glassmaking tools and provide customized training on the company’s new mold-making equipment
Novak Manufacturing of Parkersburg ($2,500) to assist with the design and manufacture of custom firearm components
M-Rock Stone Manufacturing of Peterstown ($5,000) to assist in the design and manufacture of metal molds for specialized pillows
Evolutionary Mining of Morgantown ($2,000) to prototype an underground mining air purification system
PKL Sportz of Wheeling ($1,500) to provide design expertise and manufacturing support for production of a portable pickleball court system
Plug-In Promotions of Morgantown ($5,000) to prototype and manufacture tablet display cases for a digital advertising system
M&K Customs of Huntington ($3,000) to create digital scans of custom-designed fishing lures and create molds to mass produce the artificial bait
Ortho-Hab LLC of Charleston ($1,500) to prototype and small-batch produce a modular cervical orthotic to improve posture
Orland Underwood of Kingwood ($3,000) to prototype, test and manufacture versions of a universal adjustable feeder for livestock as well as wild animals
Proteon Corp. of Montgomery ($10,000) for computer-aided design, machining, 3D printing, prototyping and fabrication of a hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered heating and cooling system
Robert Rhodes of Spencer ($3,000) for reverse engineering, computer-aided design and fabrication of an innovative new hay raking system
“We are excited to award another series of ESFO grant assistance to support innovative West Virginia entrepreneurs and small businesses, empowering them to transform bold ideas into market-ready products. Through our partnership with the West Virginia High Technology Foundation and supported by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, MAMC is driving economic growth. Relying on our staff expertise, we continue to provide critical design and prototyping resources as well as hands-on worker training to unlock job creation and industry expansion across the state.”
Small businesses and entrepreneurs can apply for ESFO funding that ranges from $1,000 to $10,000 to cover the cost of new product development, design engineering, prototyping, manufacturing, quality management implementation and advanced technology skill-set training. Awards are granted based on the projects’ potential to bring new products to market, expand businesses and create jobs.
Major funding for MAMC’s Early-Stage Funding Opportunities initiative is provided through a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
Learn more about Early-Stage Funding Opportunities at www.mfg.marshall.edu/earlystagefunding.
Aug. 24, 2025
