Catalyst Connection Awarded $10 Million From ARC Initiative

The Appalachian Regional Commission has awarded a $10 million ARISE or Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies grant to Catalyst Connection of Pittsburgh.

The grant is aimed at helping more than 1,000 small to medium manufacturers in 156 counties across five states, including those in west-central Pennsylvania, to expand or enter green technology and clean energy sectors.

Those close to the grant receipt advise that area manufacturers will certainly have the opportunity to benefit from this grant funding.

Catalyst Connection President and CEO Petra Mitchell and her team are an engaged partner in Indiana area counties, including Armstrong and Westmoreland.

Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senators said the award is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and will help strengthen American manufacturing, creating jobs and boosting the region’s economy while protecting the environment for generations to come.

“The infrastructure law is helping America take control of its future and become the manufacturing powerhouse we know we can be,” said Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Scranton. “This funding will help Catalyst Connection expand their work to help more small manufacturers build the technologies and economy of tomorrow. Catalyst embodies the ingenuity and fighting spirit of Southwestern Pennsylvania and I’m proud to support their work.”

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, concurred, saying, “This investment will help create jobs in our region, and it’s exactly the kind of funding we need to expand American manufacturing, innovation, and production.”

ARISE is the commission’s initiative to drive large-scale, regional economic transformation through multi-state collaborative projects across Appalachia, including in the case of Catalyst Connection Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Maryland and West Virginia.

ARC launched ARISE in August of 2022 to strengthen Appalachian business and industry, and to grow and support the development of new economic opportunities across multiple states.