Raytheon wins Tech Service of the Year Mira Award
U.S. defense and industrial contractor Raytheon won the Tech Service of the Year award for its Topography Optimization design and printing services during TechPoint’s 2019 Mira Awards honoring the best of tech in Indiana.
There are literally more than 200 million Google search results for how to reduce manufacturing costs because global competition has squeezed profit margins to a point where increased productivity and efficiency is insufficient and lowering costs is now vital across all industries—but particularly in technology. To reach both the regulated and competitive goals of the near future, the next generation of products must be better, lighter, and stronger while using less raw materials.
In 2018, Raytheon Indianapolis made significant investments into the development of capabilities, resources and tools to meet this challenge. The resulting Topography Optimization design and printing services enable the Indiana-based team to deliver cutting edge solutions efficiently at scale, delivering previously unconsidered optimized designs.
The Mira Awards judges believe the implications of Raytheon’s Topography Optimization for government and the emerging private space exploration and satellite industries are significant. One of the results of the Topography Optimization service is the unique structure of Raytheon’s 3D printed “Wildcat” Lens Reflector Satellite Demonstrator. This project achieved significant reductions in cost and weight—25 pounds less and overall cost savings up to $760,000—and also establishes Raytheon Indianapolis as a pioneer in the cutting edge technology. The Indianapolis site is at the forefront of the deployment of this type of technology, which is expected to result in an increased workload at the site, more DoD contracts and increased business growth.
TechPoint, the nonprofit, industry-led growth accelerator for Indiana’s tech ecosystem, honored the successes and innovation of Indiana people, places, companies and products at the JW Marriott Indianapolis during the 20th annual Mira Awards gala presented by Angie’s List, Infosys, and Salesforce. With a sold-out crowd of 1,400 attendees—up another 100 from last year—this was the largest Mira Awards in the program’s 20-year history.
Only a handful of the 2019 nominees existed as companies 20 years ago, and 82 percent were founded in just the past 10 years. Similar to the rapid adoption of the iPhone starting a decade ago and streaming services today, tech businesses in Indiana have grown from a few pioneers to a fast growing, vibrant industry that is a key driver of job growth and a critical part of the state’s economic success story.
A total of 14 award winners and honorees were chosen from the 109 outstanding people, places companies and products that were selected as nominees for their achievements during the 2018 calendar year. Fifty-two independent, volunteer judges spent more than 850 total hours evaluating applications, interviewing nominees, and selecting this year’s winners. Judges included company founders, CEOs and presidents, CTOs, CIOs, and other subject matter experts.
The Mira Awards are named after the first of the brilliant variable stars to be discovered – the Mira Star. It is also the Latin root meaning “worthy of admiration, wonderful, marvelous.” The awards represent the best of tech in Indiana each year.
