Tom Wolf Pushes "Made In Pennsylvania"
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Made in Pennsylvania -- that's what Democratic candidate for governor Tom Wolf promoted on Monday as he visited start-up companies in Pittsburgh.
"This is actually a real popular piece here -- the Pittsburgh skyline," Alejandro Sklar, co-founder of PieceMaker Technologies told Wolf. "We've personalized it with PieceMaker. People can put their own personal message on that in the store."
That's a plastic device that individuals can design themselves at 3-D kiosks now being demonstrated at several area stores before a larger roll-out later this year by a company called PieceMaker Technologies.
The Democratic nominee picked Alpha Lab in East Liberty as a good place to meet start-up companies and talk to them about how best to keep them in Pennsylvania.
"To have a candidate come visit and listen to us is really important," noted Arden Rosenblatt, co-founder of PieceMaker Technologies. "It's a conversation we want to have with anyone."
With a Ph. D. from MIT, Wolf seemed genuinely interested in the start-ups.
"This could be revolutionary for inventory," noted Wolf. "I mean you could actually order stuff on your computer and have it printed at your desk while you're ordering it, right?"
Another new company that intrigued Wolf was Lifeshel, which is making a smart phone cover that can quietly alert the police that you're in danger or emit a loud noise.
"We decided that Pittsburgh was the best place for us to start our company. We received our first funding here, and we're committed to staying here," added Jayon Wang, Lifeshel's CEO.
And the businessman-turned-candidate said it's really not up to government.
"The real driver here is not what the state is going to do directly but what the state can do to set the table for people like this to use their creativity here in Pennsylvania," noted Wolf.
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