ISRAELI COMPANY, PRINTCB, ESTABLISHES U.S. OPERATIONS VIA YBI

Israeli Company, PrintCB, Establishes U.S. Operations via YBI

In early 2017, the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) began their Israeli-YBI collaborative, an initiative designed to attract Israeli companies to northeast Ohio, specifically the YBI’s downtown Youngstown campus. Since that time, the program has really proven its necessity for companies seeking a larger market. Numerous companies have shown interest in the program and Northeast Ohio’s offerings, but one has already acted upon it.

During their initial trip to Israel, representatives from the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, Youngstown State University, and the Youngstown Business Incubator had a number of meetings with various organizations and companies to talk about potential collaboration. One of those meetings involved YBI’s CEO Barb Ewing and Youngstown native Barak Rabinowitz, now a managing partner at Israel-based venture capital fund, F2 Capital. Rabinowitz organized the meeting with Sagi Daren, the CEO and Founder of PrintCB, a company that develops Copper Inks for Printed Electronics.

After learning more about PrintCB and how the company has developed a high-performance copper-ink which can be integrated into production lines in applications, such as Switches, RFIDs, Circuitry, wearables, and many others, it was clear that the YBI’s expertise in advanced manufacturing and Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), combined with the much larger U.S. market opportunity, could be almost invaluable to PrintCB.

After much discussion with the team at the YBI, Sagi and his staff decided that, in order for them to take their company to the next level, a presence in the American market is what they needed. Before making the move to the U.S. himself, Sagi decided to hire someone already located here. It is with great pride that we announce PrintCB has officially established their U.S. operation by hiring Evan Schumann, PrintCB’s new Director of Business Development. Schumann is a graduate of Kent State University and brings a wealth of business development knowledge. Schumann works primarily out of Cleveland, OH, and the YBI’s Inspire Lab. Eventually, the goal is for PrintCB to have a space on the YBI campus.

CEO Sagi Daren said “PrintCB is an advanced materials start-up developing copper ink for one of the fastest growing product markets today, printed electronics. The Israeli based company has been testing its materials in North America and is seeking to expand its operations in the United States. PrintCB is now considering to open a US HQ based at YBI, and the company is seeking seed investment for strategic domestic growth and US manufacturing operations.’

“This announcement is the fruition of a year’s hard work. Working with them [PrintCB] really has demonstrated the ecosystem in Northeast Ohio that supports advanced manufacturing technologies. This is where manufacturing happens” said Barb Ewing.

Bonnie Deutsch Burdman, JCRC Director at the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation and YBI Board Member, stated in the Press Event, “It’s an honor to be a part of this process and have led the delegation on the trip to Israel spurring this initiative.” She continued to add, “As a board member for the YBI, my family and I have a personal interest in this program. We have supported this program since its inception and I urge all leaders in the Valley to take a look at this program and support it in a way they see fit. The advancement and innovation coming out of the YBI is not stopping anytime soon.”

Jim Tressel, President of Youngstown State University, said “This is another example of the extraordinary opportunities that partnerships with Israeli organizations offer to the Mahoning Valley. World-class technology companies are looking at Youngstown as a place to launch their businesses because they recognize the value of ecosystem that exists here.” Tressel was part of that initial trip to Israel.

Barak Rabinowitz said “PrintCB is a truly disruptive innovation with numerous commercial applications. The team spun out of Hewlett Packard with decades of experience in conventional printing.” He added, “They are bringing those insights and intellectual property to Northeast Ohio through the wonderful program that YBI provides to companies from Israel, and all over the world.”

Though the groundwork has been laid, it’s going to take a bit more to bring all of PrintCB to the U.S., though. CEO Sagi Daren says much more investment is needed in order to justify the costs of moving all operations to Youngstown. They are seeing the traction from potential customers, and they are now gearing up to gain the same traction amongst investors. For investment information, please contact Sagi Daren ([email protected]) or Evan Schumann ([email protected]).