About Us

Catalyst Connection is a private nonprofit corporation dedicated to helping small and mid-size manufacturers in southwestern Pennsylvania improve their competitive performance.

We are one of seven industrial resource centers located across the state. We became a partner in the National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST/MEP) in 1994. As an NIST/MEP partner, we draw on a distinguished national network for advanced manufacturing expertise. In 2002 we adopted the name Catalyst Connection to emphasize our commitment to accelerating processes of all kinds, from the boardroom to the factory floor.

Our advisors, consultants, and instructors are highly motivated experts with academic degrees and an average of 15 years of manufacturing experience. In addition to training and consulting, we administer financial programs which can provide you with funding for equipment and machinery. We can also guide you to other loans and grants intended to fund capital improvements or leverage additional financing from other sources.

Our regional allies also support the growth of the manufacturing community. These organizations include: Innovation Works, DSN Innovations, the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center, and the Pittsburgh Technology Council. And, with our strategic ties to the Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Network and the National Institute of Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, you can link into a far-flung web of working relationships and world-class expertise. For more information on these organizations click here

Our Mission

We partner with manufacturers to accelerate their revenue growth and productivity improvements.  

Our Vision

Manufacturing will be a robust, vibrant, growing industry in Southwestern Pennsylvania

Many of Catalyst Connection’s projects are financed [in part] by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development.