
The Coachella Valley Welcomes the Grand Opening of California’s First Innovation iHub Accelerator Campus and Celebrates the Coachella Valley iHub Graduation on May 16th from 4pm-7pm in Palm Springs
The Public is Invited to Attend This Landmark Event
Palm Springs, CA (May 9, 2013) The Coachella Valley Innovation Hub (CViHub), will hold an iHub Accelerator Campus Grand Opening and iHub Graduation Celebration on May 16, at the Accelerator Campus, located next to Palm Springs International Airport. The festivities begin at 4pm. This is a free community event and the public is invited to see the latest innovation in “growing a business.†The address is 2901 E. Alejo. Please RSVP to rsvp@cvep.com or call 760-340-1575.
This ribbon-cutting and grand opening marks the launch of the first Innovation Hub Accelerator Campus in California and the first graduation of CViHub businesses now ready to move to the next level of success. “The Coachella Valley iHub is proud to be the first Incubator Network in the State of California to develop and open an Acclerator Campus for CViHub graduates to move on to,†says Wes Ahlgren, Chief Operating Officer of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP) which manages the CViHub. “Four companies from the CVIhub incubator offices are graduating and moving to the Acclerator Campus where they can do light manufacturing then taking their business into the community,†Ahlgren explains. They are EV Enterprises, NRG Power Systems, Attune RTD and PSTalent.com.
Mayor Steve Pougnet, City of Palm Springs, states “The City of Palm Springs is pleased to have been in a position to leverage our status as a founding member of the Coachella Valley iHub into the newly formed Accelerator Campus at the Palm Springs International Airport. We are looking forward to the economic advantages that continue the mentoring provided by the CViHub through the manufacturing phase. We are also thrilled to have been a part of attracting a high technology manufacturer from Arizona to become the first client company in the Accelerator Campus.â€
Tom Flavin, President and CEO, CVEP, adds “To help overcome some of the challenges that face California businesses, CVEP in partnership with the cities of Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City are expanding the capability of the CViHub to a one of a kind accelerator campus. This campus will be a real game changer here in the Coachella Valley as we attract renewable, healthcare and creative companies from here in California as well as other states and countries and offer them an environment to create, manufacture and succeed.â€
There are 12 iHubs in California, and the Coachella Valley is pioneering the only Accelerator Campus of its kind in the state that supports sustainable innovation businesses, helps grow the local economy and creates jobs in the Coachella Valley.
The first graduate of the CViHub Program, EV Enterprises (EVE), has already begun manufacturing operations at the new Accelerator Campus. EVE manufactures an assortment of products, including the Canary 100 Radiation Detector and aftermarket automotive battery charging stations. Additionally, EVE converts internal combustion vehicles to electric cars and offers contract manufacturing services to companies in and out of the Coachella Valley. “We acquired a manufacturing operation from Arizona and are able to do ten times the revenue that it was doing there, largely because of the superior facilities here. We have received mentoring, assistance with our business plan and help with fundraising from the iHub and couldn’t have done it without them,†says Bill Schlanger of EVE.
The Accelerator Campus is a cluster of facilities designed to provide CViHub graduate companies continued access to the business support network of the CViHub after they have started production and begun to earn revenues. The Acceleration Campus consists of approximately 50,000 square feet of space in seven buildings on a 3.5 acre lot in a Foreign Trade Zone at the Palm Springs International Airport.
Phase one of the development consists of a 6,000 square foot Advanced Manufacturing Center, a Commercialization Center with two 1,000 square foot working areas, and a Sustainable Product Center with five offices, two reception areas, and a conference room. At this time 80% of the available space in Phase one is either already being utilized or has been spoken for by other CViHub client businesses.
Phase one of the Accelerator Campus is being funded by the City of Palm Springs.
Phase two of the development will be approximately 40,000 square feet of space dedicated to Advanced Manufacturing, Emerging Technology businesses, and sustainable functions to support the core mission. Phase two is dependent on the attraction of funding sufficient to complete leasehold improvements and cover operating expenses during the ramp-up period.
“The Accelerator Campus will enable the CViHub to continue to mentor client companies with proven concepts through the initial stages of production, further mitigating the risks associated with entrepreneurship and laying the foundation for our client businesses to establish a permanent headquarters in the Coachella Valley,†states Joe Wallace, Managing Director, CViHub.
The Coachella Valley Innovation Hub (CViHub) is a California designated business support entity hosted by the cities of Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City, managed by the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP).







