Worcester Business Journal

14 Worcester Business Journal | April 7, 2025 | wbjournal.com F O C U S M A N U F A C T U R I N G BY MICA KANNER-MASCOLO WBJ Staff Writer T he solitude of the year 2020 brought about a number of newfound hobbies for those in the U.S. Some people became home bakers mak- ing their own sourdough starters while others became novice brewers mixing together malted grains to make their own lagers. For Lina Gonzalez, founder of SpadXTech in Worcester, it was kom- bucha. While making the fermented tea drink, Gonzalez took an interest in the gelatinous mass floating to the top of the bottle. She noted the gasses in the mass indicate its porous nature, spark- ing the idea for an unconventional use of the substance. "I started thinking, "Oh, this could be a great insulation material," said Gonzalez. And thus, SpadXTech was born. With a mission to provide sustainable material options to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, Gonza- lez opened her manufacturing company in the summer of 2020 at the Worcester incubator Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives. SpadXTech works to bridge the gap between functionality and sus- tainability by making high performing, eco-friendly materials. At the beginning, Gonzalez targeted the construction industry by focusing on creating insulation materials to be purchased and used by others, but it wasn't long before she started to realize other practical uses for the kombucha substance. As Gonzalez continued to experi- ment, she realized the material could have the look and feel of leather, inspiring the company's production of alternative leather materials. Even faux leather products, such as pleather, still have plastics within their composition contributing to pollution. "It's so easy to navigate toward using plastics when you don't have an alterna- tive," said Gonzalez. Today, SpadXTech is focusing on producing sustainable, alternative leather products such as key chains, earrings, and small wallets. With a multipronged approach to getting these items to market, the company is able to sell products directly to boutiques, as well as customize products for others to sell independently and promote their businesses or organizations. For her longer-term business model, Gonzalez is working on her company's production capabilities to be able to faster produce the thousands of square feet of raw material businesses are buy- ing at a time. "I think about all the time, 'How can I increase production so we can have more sales?'" she said. Next in line? SpadXTech is work- ing on a flame-retardant material that will have multiple applications and was awarded $350,000 through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to demonstrate the technology to protect battery test chambers. e company is also working on a number of sustainable materials Gon- zalez is keeping under wraps for now, products SpadXTech hopes will bring a brighter and greener future for us all. SpadXTech uses unique inspiration to create sustainability RISING STAR SpadXTech Location: Worcester Industry subsector: Creating cellulose-based materials from microbes Founded: 2020 Employees: 5 Top executive: Lina Gonzalez, founder and CEO Primary product: Leather alternative materials W PHOTOS | COURTESY OF SPADXTECH Lina Gonzalez (center) founded SpadXTech in her apartment kitchen during the COVID pandemic lockdown and has worked to grow the company ever since.

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