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4 n e w h a v e n B I Z | N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Cleveland paper products maker Ranpak to build Shelton innovation center A Cleveland-based global company that provides environmentally sus- tainable products for e-commerce and industrial supply chains plans to build a new innovation and automation center in Shelton. Paper-based packaging products provider Ranpak Holdings Corp. ex- pects to hire about 35 people at its new 80,000-square-foot facility with a goal of increasing the number of workers to upwards of 100 by 2024. e goal is to complete construction of the facility, at 57 Waterview Dr., by the fourth quarter of 2022. e Shelton site will feature the company's automation and robotics products and a center for research and development in automation. CT, NY regulators approve M&T Bank's $7.6B People's United Bank takeover New York's M&T Bank Corp. said it has received approval from regulators in Connecticut and the Empire State to move forward with its $7.6 billion purchase of Bridgeport-based People's United Bank. Buffalo-based M&T, parent of M&T Bank, said the New York State Depart- ment of Financial Services and Con- necticut Department of Banking have both given the green light to the deal, which came under some criticism this summer, aer the New York lender re- vealed plans to cut hundreds of workers in the Nutmeg State. e deal still needs approval from the Federal Reserve. It is expected to close in the fourth quarter. PHOTO | JOE COOPER People's United Bank in downtown Hartford. Sarasota added to Avelo Air's New Haven Florida flight lineup e white sands of Sarasota on Flori- da's Gulf Coast will be only hours away come winter thanks to Avelo Airlines' newest flight from New Haven. Avelo will offer nonstop flights to Sarasota Bradenton International Air- port from Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN) three days a week starting on Jan. 13, making the city its sixth des- tination in the Sunshine State. Intro- A r o u n d t h e R e g i o n ductory fares in limited numbers to Sarasota start at $49. Flights to Fort Lauderdale, Fort My- ers, Orlando and Tampa start on Nov. 3, while flights to Palm Beach start on Dec. 16. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED An Avelo Airlines plane takes off for the company's first flight from Burbank Airport on April 28, 2021. Orange-based Planet Fitness franchisee acquired An Orange-based Planet Fitness franchisee has been acquired by inter- national investment management firm TowerBrook Capital Partners. In October, New York City-based TowerBrook officials said they had completed the purchase of ECP-PF Holdings Group from the Boston private equity firm Exaltare Capital Management. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. ECP-PF is one of the largest Planet Fitness franchisees in North America, with 108 locations in Connecticut, New York, Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico, Tennessee and western Canada. PHOTO | FLICKR/MIKE MOZART Planet Fitness in Newington. New Haven medtech picks up four new patents for orthopedic-surgery device New Haven medtech Biorez has earned four new patents for its Bio- Brace implant, a tissue scaffold that aims to speed healing in knee and rotator cuff surgeries. e patents protect the device's use in surgery into 2040. e device now has 8 U.S. patents and 16 outside of the U.S., the company said. e device, which Biorez sells pri- marily to sports medicine surgeons, can be used to reinforce tendon and ligament repairs in knee and shoulder injuries like torn ACLs and rotator cuffs to shore up so tissue and help with regeneration and healing. It is naturally broken down by the body once so tissue has regenerated. CT launches $200M in competitive grant programs for municipalities, public- private partnerships Two new competitive grant programs are designed to disburse up to $200 million to promote economic develop- ment in Connecticut cities and towns. e Innovation Corridor Program is expected to select and fund two or more "transformational" projects in major urban areas that will create new jobs in high-growth fields such as data science, advanced manufacturing and insurance technology. e program aims to facilitate the creation of at least 15,000 new jobs, state officials said, and will grant up to $100 million over five years. e Connecticut Communities Challenge Program will fund a wide range of projects throughout the state designed to improve the livability and vibrancy of recipient cities and towns and create approximately 3,000 new jobs. e Department of Economic and Community Development, which is ad- ministering the program, said projects centered on essential infrastructure, transit-oriented development, housing, mobility and improvements to public spaces would be prioritized. Applications are now being accepted for both programs. Union Savings Bank launches 'early payday' service Union Savings Bank, which is based in Danbury and has 25 offices throughout western Connecticut, has launched a new service called "Early Payday," which gives customers access to their paycheck deposits up to two days faster. It is free to the bank's customers who have a personal checking account and direct deposit set up with their employer. e new service is automatic for all customers with a personal checking account with direct paycheck deposit. e timing of the availability of paychecks is based on when the bank receives the direct deposit information from a customer's employer. If this happens prior to the actual payday, the bank will make the money available to customers up to two days beforehand. IMAGE | CONTRIBUTED NIH gives $8M to Guilford's Detect to scale up COVID tests e National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded Guilford-based biotech Detect $8.1 million to scale up manufacturing of its COVID-19 test. Detect, founded by serial entrepre- neur Jonathan Rothberg, has developed a rapid, at-home test to identify infec- tion with COVID-19. e grant was awarded as part of the NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics program, which announced awards totaling $77.7 million for development of 12 new rapid diagnostic tests for the virus that causes COVID-19. Compa- nies pitched their tests to an NIH panel of technical, regulatory and business experts. Detect was the only company outside of California awarded a grant for tests that focus on detection of viral RNA. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Components of Guilford-based Detect's at-home test for COVID-19, which provides results in about an hour. With expanded Instacart deal, Stop & Shop to offer 30-minute delivery Your cereal, ice cream or cilantro from Stop & Shop will arrive at your door in as few as 30 minutes under an expanded partnership between the gro- cery chain and delivery app Instacart. e Massachusetts-based grocer re- cently announced the new Stop & Shop Express "convenience delivery service" at its locations in the Northeast, includ- ing its 90 stores in Connecticut. About 30,000 items, including pre- pared foods, snacks, beverages, paper goods, cleaners and baby products will be speed-delivered with the service. e 30-minute guarantee is offered as "priority delivery" to Instacart Express members. Customers must order at least $10 worth of groceries and use the service during the hours that their local Stop & Shop is open. PHOTO | JOE COOPER Stop & Shop in Cromwell, 195 West St. CoreChain partners with Fla. software company CoreChain Technologies, a digi- tal B2B payments network built on blockchain, has partnered with Scanco B R I E F S

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