Ecovative lays off 18 as it shifts gears toward bioengineering – Albany Times Union

Machine operators move protective packaging material, that's made from mushrooms, from molds to a cart on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, at Ecovative Design in Troy, N.Y. From left are Aaron Ford, Lance Tucker and Aldwin Berry. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) less Machine operators move protective packaging material, that's made from mushrooms, from molds to a cart on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, at Ecovative Design in Troy, N.Y. From left are Aaron Ford, Lance Tucker and ... more Photo: Cindy Schultz Mayor Patrick Madden, center, holds protective packaging while production manager Katie Malysa, right, explains it's made from mushrooms on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, at Ecovative Design in Troy, N.Y. At left is Andy Ross of Ross Valve. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) less Mayor Patrick Madden, center, holds protective packaging while production manager Katie Malysa, right, explains it's made from mushrooms on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, at Ecovative Design in Troy, N.Y. At left is ... more Photo: Cindy Schultz

Machine operator Lance Tucker, right, carries protective packaging material, that's made from mushrooms, on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, at Ecovative Design in Troy, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Machine operator Lance Tucker, right, carries protective packaging material, that's made from mushrooms, on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, at Ecovative Design in Troy, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Ecovative lays off 18 as it shifts gears toward bioengineering

Ecovative Design, the Green Island startup that makes building and packaging materials out of biodegradable mushroom material, is laying off 18 people, between 20 to 30 percent of its total staff.

The job cuts are the first major layoffs that Ecovative CEO Eben Bayer has had to do since he co-founded the company about 10 years ago while a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.

Ecovative, which recently won a $9.1 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is now headquartered in Green Island in 32,000 square feet of space and has a second manufacturing facility in Troy with 20,000 square feet of space.

The layoffs are associated with the cessation of two new product projects that have ended for different reasons. In one case, a commercial partner had decided not to fund a Phase II of the program.

"The projects that these folks were working on went away," Bayer told the Times Union. "We're not shutting down. We're not going away. We're not ceasing production. We're continuing to do manufacturing."

Still, Bayer said he had to let some really good employees go, and it was not easy for him or others in management to make that decision. The company employed in the neighborhood of 70 people before the layoffs occurred.

However, he said the company has to remain sustainable in the long run, one of the reasons why the company did not decide to try and subsidize the jobs without corresponding revenue.

"It's sad," Bayer said. "This was so hard."

Bayer added that he believes the teams that were laid off will become assets at other companies quickly.

"Those impacted are some of the smartest, hardworking and talented individuals I have worked with," Bayer said. "I know that their skills will be in high demand in the Capital Region."

Laid-off workers received compensation and health care packages that depended on their length of service.

The layoffs come, however, as Ecovative, a privately held company that does not reveal financial data to the public, is shifting gears in a way that may end up leading to many more hires.

One of the new product programs could also be re-launched as a spin-off company, but Bayer said it was too early to sustain it now on its own. He said both product programs were secret and the company did not publicize what they were working on.

Bayer said the company has exhausted what it can do with using native mycelium, the fungus "filaments" that grow into mushrooms, to bind together other biodegradable materials into molds.

Instead, the company has started experimenting with bioengineering mycelium to create new properties in self-growing building materials for instance mycelium that can be certain colors or have insect resistant properties. The DARPA grant is being used to create bioengineered materials that will grow temporary shelters in place.

The ideas of bioengineering these new self-growing materials are limitless, and have a much larger market potential than the company's current product line of MycoBoard and MycoFoam.

"For me, that's the next frontier," Bayer said. "I'm really excited about it."

The company is currently hiring a molecular biology technician as part of this new research and development push.

"This role will perform molecular biology techniques, strain preservation and maintenance, species cultivation, substrate preparation and mixing, maintain lab inventory, assist in scale up, prepare materials for experimentation, and perform data collection," the job posting states.

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Ecovative lays off 18 as it shifts gears toward bioengineering - Albany Times Union