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4 n e w h a v e n B I Z | F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 3 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m CT launches website to connect manufacturers, suppliers Connecticut manufacturers and their suppliers have an easier way to connect with one another following the launch of a new state program. CONNEX is a new online service that allows manufacturers and suppliers to discover new business opportunities and connect with each other to manage supply chains. e free program's goal is to connect smaller suppliers with large manufac- turers that need their products and services. Search results can be filtered using hundreds of criteria such as equipment, processes, materials and certifications to meet a manufacturer's specific needs. To access the portal, visit portal.ct.gov/ manufacturing/CONNEX. Mystic-based crop health company raises $80M Enko, a Mystic-based company focused on protecting crops from pests, weeds and diseases, recently completed an $80-million Series C funding round. e new money, which follows Enko's initial close of $70 million in July 2022, brings the company's overall capital raised to $150 million to date. Eight Roads Ventures, Nufarm, En- deavor8 and Akroyd LLC were among the leading funders. e money will help the company with its efforts to bring new crop-pro- tection products to market. Enko, which launched in 2017, is a re- search and development company that aims to protect crops from hazards such as pests, while still being environmen- tally-friendly. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Enko Chem researchers work out of the company's Mystic headquarters. New scholarship fund to help city students on bioscience, STEM path A new scholarship fund will help New Haven students get jobs in the bioscience and STEM fields. e "Together We Grow | 101 College Street Scholarship Fund" gets its name from a new bioscience tower currently under construction at 101 College St., which is expected to be completed later this year. e new $200,000 scholarship fund A r o u n d t h e R e g i o n will benefit students from New Haven's Hill, Dwight and downtown neigh- borhoods who are enrolled in biosci- ence and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs at Gateway Community College and the BioPath program at Southern Con- necticut State University. Eligible students attending Gateway can get up to $3,000 annually for up to two years, while eligible SCSU students can get up to $5,000 annually for up to four years. Bed Bath & Beyond to close four CT stores Bed Bath & Beyond, which an- nounced in August that it would close 150 of its 900 U.S. stores, will shutter four Connecticut locations. e stores that are closing are at 20 Hazard Ave. in Enfield, 835 Queen St. in Southington, 1065 Silas Deane High- way in Wethersfield and 2260 Kings Highway in Fairfield. Six Bed Bath & Beyond stores remain in Connecticut, in Brookfield, Guilford, Hamden, Manchester, Norwalk and Simsbury. e New Jersey-based houseware chain has been struggling for years. Last year, it closed stores in Stamford, Hamden and Waterford. MIKE KALASNIK FROM JERSEY CITY, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS A Bed Bath & Beyond store in New Jersey. West Haven's Lab Logistics rebrands as BioTouch Lab Logistics Management, a West Haven-based company that serves the healthcare industry, has a new name: BioTouch. e company provides outsourced medical supplies, kitting and logistics services, and is a portfolio company of Atlantic Street Capital. Its customers include medical lab- oratories, hospitals, life science com- panies and university health systems, and its technology includes soware that tracks courier and lab specimen locations. e company's five brands ‒ Lab Logistics, Path Tec, Hospital Couriers, Printcra and e Allied Group ‒ are now included under the BioTouch rebrand. Quinnipiac U. marks opening of new $45M rec and health center Quinnipiac University officials cut the ribbon on the new $45-million Recreation & Wellness Center at the university's main Hamden campus in January. e 60,000-square-foot structure houses fitness facilities including dedicated studios for dance, yoga, spinning and aerobics, along with a 27-foot climbing wall and snack bar for smoothies and energy drinks. e new center also provides adap- tive equipment, including upper-body exercisers and recumbent cross-train- ers for people with disabilities. RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED Fairfield U.'s business school offers new executive doctorate A new program geared toward working professionals looking to further their business know-how is being launched at Fairfield University's Fairfield Dolan School of Business. e new executive doctorate of busi- ness administration program is geared toward individuals who want to gain knowledge in research methodologies and new business issues. e program is for working professionals who want to grow their careers or move into a new field related to business. e three-year, part-time hybrid program offers a flexible schedule with synchronous classes that meet online on weekends and two, in-person week- ends that take place at the beginning and end of the semester. e school of business is now accept- ing applications for the first cohort, which will start during the summer 2023 term. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Fairfield University's Dolan School of Business. German manufacturer opens innovation center in Wallingford German chemicals manufacturer Roehm has opened an innovation center near its production facility in Wallingford. e Roehm Innovation Center has a modern materials development laboratory featuring advanced process- ing capabilities, the company said. e 15,000-square-foot facility includes a lab with temperature and humidity controls for plastic processing and formulation. At the site, researchers are develop- ing new molding compounds for the medical, automotive and lighting indus- tries. e facility also features a visitors' center, showcasing Roehm's history, an internal/external training facility and a customer service hub. e company, whose best-known product is Plexiglas, has 3,500 employ- ees and 13 production sites worldwide. CONTRIBUTED German-based manufacturer Roehm. Construction begins on new Great Wolf Lodge Foxwoods Resort Casino broke ground in February on construction of the state's first Great Wolf Lodge family hotel and resort. Plans call for construction of a 91,000-square-foot indoor water park and family entertainment center. Great Wolf Lodge at Mashantucket is slated to open in 2025. e hotel and water park resort will be built on 13 acres adjacent to Foxwoods. Great Wolf Lodge's closest locations are currently in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED A Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park. BioMed X to establish first U.S.-based research institute in New Haven BioMed X, a biomedical research institute in Germany, is launching its first U.S. facility in New Haven. e BioMed X Institute in New Hav- en will focus on research in the areas of immunology and tissue engineering. Lease negotiations are underway, and the exact location of the local facility has not yet been announced. BioMed X plans to start its first U.S. research proj- ect around September 2023, which is when it will move into the New Haven laboratory space. e company said it picked New Haven because of the prox- imity to Yale School of Medicine. BioMed X was founded a decade ago at the University of Heidelberg. BioMed X Institute scientists focus on solving challenges in biomedical research in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry. B R I E F S

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