Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker toured two Mercer County small businesses Thursday prior to leading a roundtable discussion on creating jobs and growing New Jersey’s economy with innovative technologies.
Zwicker toured the Princeton Junction facilities of start-up 3DMonstr and Leigh Imaging, a business that has been serving the region for more than 70 years, with 3D Monstr CEO Ben Reytblat and Leigh Imaging president Peter Dawson. 3DMonstr designs and manufactures large-format, industrial grade, quad-extruder 3D printers. Leigh Imaging specializes in commercial photography, large format printing and signage.
Zwicker, who plans to have many more tours and roundtables, said his visit to the businesses highlighted the importance of high-tech industries to fuel economic growth and job creation. The Princeton Plasma Physics Lab physicist listened to what the entrepreneurs need to start, grow and be successful.
“What I heard during this roundtable is what I have been hearing from entrepreneurs and business owners around the district,” said Zwicker (D-Hunterdon/Mercer/Middlesex/Somerset). “New Jersey needs to embrace and encourage an innovation economy if we are going to create the jobs necessary to compete globally and with neighboring states. We need to make sure our universities and colleges are of the highest quality and affordable so that businesses have qualified employees. We need to make sure our laws and regulations create an opportunity to succeed, and we need to encourage more collaboration with our research universities.”
Reytblat noted, “We have 3-D printers that we need to build and deliver, and we need to continually be innovating. We need qualified people and capital to accomplish this.”
For Dawson, “Buy Local” is the message. “Quality and customer care have always been first with us and have always been important to customers. Yet with customers turning to online purchases, where quality and customer care aren’t as important, how can we stress to the local community the importance of buying local?”
“New Jersey needs more people like Ben and Peter – people with ideas and dreams who are willing to risk, invest and start companies, people who provide work and paychecks to grow our economy. Our future depends on generating more innovative ideas and risk-takers and then building an environment that keeps them here,” Zwicker said.