Summerville, S.C. – SCRA announces an SC Launch, Inc. investment in upstate company, Viatec. The Greenville-based company was accepted into SCRA’s Entrepreneurial Programs as a Client Company in 2016.
Viatec, Inc. has developed an affordable, green solution for commercial vehicles in the utility, telephone, construction and delivery industries. Their fully electric product, SmartPTO, is equipped to save fuel, reduce maintenance costs and lower noise while commercial vehicles are idling. Through national partnerships, Viatec delivers these products in a modular, flexible, scalable manner to meet customer needs.
The company previously has received two grants from SCRA. The first, in early 2017, was used for a pilot project on a fleet bucket truck with Greenville County. The second was an Acceleration Grant used to complete the development on a production-ready SmartPTO. The company also won a $260,000 Clean Fuels Advanced Technology Grant from NC Clean Energy Technology Center. Viatec will use the SC Launch, Inc. investment to fulfill initial customer orders.
“The team at SCRA has been with us from the beginning and at each step has provided the guidance, connections and resources to move to the next level. Our Regional Manager, Mark Housley, and the SC Launch Board gave us just the right advice and support.” said Mark Ferri, President of Viatec. “We are successful in large part to SCRA. We might have gotten here eventually, but SCRA made the difference that got us here today.”
“We are honored to be a part of Viatec’s growth, from prototype development to delivering the product to customers,” said Jill Sorensen, SCRA Director of Entrepreneurial Programs and Executive Director of SC Launch, Inc. “Viatec’s novel solution is providing new options for commercial vehicles.”
SCRA is a state-chartered organization that fosters job creation and grows South Carolina’s Innovation Economy. Through SCRA’s Entrepreneurial Programs, early-stage companies are provided mentoring and grants and may be eligible for an investment from SC Launch, Inc. The program is open to qualified South Carolina companies in the Advanced Materials/Manufacturing, Information Technology and Life Sciences industries.
About SCRA
Chartered in 1983 by the State of South Carolina as a public, non-profit corporation, SCRA fosters South Carolina’s Innovation Economy by supporting entrepreneurs, enabling academic research and its commercialization, and connecting industry to innovators.
