Submitted photo Thomas Pomorski, additive manufacturing manager and Youngstown site lead for Ursa Major, prepares one of the rocket propulsion company’s Hadley engine chambers for transport after 3D printing is complete at its manufacturing facility at the Youngstown Business Incubator. Ursa Major recently announced a $14.5 million project to develop a new research and development center in Boardman.

YOUNGSTOWN — Ursa Major, the rocket propulsion company already with an advanced additive manufacturing lab at the Youngstown Business Incubator downtown, is growing its presence in the Mahoning Valley by creating a new $14.5 million research and development center in Boardman.

The facility, according to the company, is to advance additive manufacturing and materials development technology for liquid rocket engines and solid rocket motors.

“One of the reasons we are in Ohio is because of the partnerships we were able to form with manufacturing companies in the area, and this is a continuation of that, so we’re really excited about it,” Thomas Pomorski, Ursa Major’s additive manufacturing manager and Youngstown site lead, said.

In fact, the company is actively setting up the facility it’s leasing at 8469 Southern Blvd. — a vacant manufacturing / storage facility between 8,000- and 10,000-square feet — and expects the building to be up and running within the next two months, Pomorski said.

The relationship between Ursa Major, based in Colorado, and YBI began toward the end of 2021 following an introduction by America Makes, the leading public-private partnership for additive manufacturing and technology in the U.S., which is also downtown.

Pomorski said the company will remain at YBI’s Tech Block Building 5. The reason for the expansion into Boardman, he said, is because the company has outgrown its space at YBI.

“We’re committed to the downtown location, and there are a lot of strategic advantages downtown. Our printers are printing nonstop, so as of right now, moving things would be detrimental to that, and to be honest, the space we got is for additional capacity,” Pomorski said. “We need that additional capacity to meet the needs of our customers’ defense products and space customers, so we plan to expand in that space with new equipment.”

The facility at YBI prints development solid and liquid rocket engines.

“We’re moving those products to a higher level of maturity, so we need more capacity to continue to support, not only scaling those products, but expanding into other development products,” Pomorski said.

The new center will accelerate new material development and qualification processes for aerospace applications of additive manufacturing, including developing metallic alloys for solid rocket motors and development of copper and nickel alloys for liquid rocket engines, according to the company.

The center will be home to multiple Laser Powder Bed Fusion 3D Printers, which are state-of-the-art machines that enable high speed for rapid prototyping and material development.

Liquid rocket engines and solid rocket motors power platforms that are essential for America’s security, including high-performance munitions, hypersonic weapons, in-space propulsion systems and space launch, according to the company. Expanding its research and development will allow Ursa Major “to meet a rapidly growing portfolio of U.S. Department of Defense development contracts,” a press release states.

Funding help — $4 million — is coming from JobsOhio, the state’s private economic development corporation. Its network partner, Team NEO, helped secure the funding for the project, which will be in the newly created Lake to River Economic Development network.

Ursa Major’s plans for the center in the Valley “represent Ohio’s strong aerospace and manufacturing legacy and how this state is driving the future of how things are made in America and worldwide,” JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef said.

“Innovation from Mahoning County is rapidly advancing additive manufacturing technology, and Ursa Major’s investment is an example of how that attracts extraordinary companies,” he said.

With the expansion, the company plans to grow its local workforce from three to 18.

Among the reasons for Ursa Major’s decision to grow in the Valley are existing partnerships; access to industrial-based talent because of the work being done at schools like Youngstown State University, Ohio State University and Ohio University; and the state’s business friendly climate, which already has attracted a good deal of manufacturing industry.

“And we’re able to leverage that with additive,” Pomorski said of Ohio’s manufacturing industry.

“Additive is a different tool in the tool box and it still needs a lot of manufacturing services, such as heat treating, so we can leverage a lot of the industry that is built around aviation and advanced manufacturing technologies.”

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