Elmer’s partners with NineSigma

Glue manufacturer Elmer’s Products of Columbus, Ohio, and NineSigma of Cleveland have announced a collaboration that will focus on job creation and building competitive advantages for Ohio on a national and global level.

The Ohio Third Frontier Open Innovation Incentive (OII) Program will be led by NineSigma, which was selected by the State of Ohio to help middle-market companies, with revenues from $10 million to $1 billion, accelerate their adoption of open innovation to drive growth.

The Open Innovation will attempt to use “outside” new technologies, solutions and ideas to accelerate the development of new products and increase speed to market. Through the Open Innovation incentive, NineSigma is working closely with middle-market solution seekers to complement their internal R&D capabilities and create custom external networks of innovation providers with viable solutions, filtering responses for their quality and fit. The State of Ohio will assist by funding a portion of the transactional costs.

“We are excited to collaborate with [Elmer’s] innovation team as they look to the future and find new ways to deliver value through enhanced product features and solutions,” said Andy Zynga, CEO of NineSigma.

Elmer's, a 65-year-old company, produces a range of products that include Elmer’s Glue-All, Instant Krazy Glue and X-ACTO.

NineSigma connects organizations with external innovation resources to accelerate innovation in private, public and social sectors. The company provides services to organizations worldwide, including Kraft Foods, Philips, Siemens and Unilever, to solve immediate challenges, integrate new knowledge, fill product pipelines and stay ahead of the competition.