Laramie Startup Maps U.S. Manufacturing Gaps

Christian Bitzas, a former CEO of Uplink Robotics in Laramie, has developed EcosAtlas, a supply chain intelligence platform designed to help manufacturers locate domestic partners. The software addresses a critical gap in the current reshoring wave, where companies struggle to find reliable local suppliers despite a national desire to bring production back to the United States.

The Reshoring Initiative projects that reshoring and foreign direct investment projects will create roughly 309,000 manufacturing jobs in 2026. However, a 2026 survey by the same group found that 57% of original equipment manufacturers cite policy uncertainty as their primary challenge. Other major obstacles include import price competition and shortages of skilled workers. Bitzas notes that these hurdles make the transition from intent to execution difficult for many firms.

Bitzas built EcosAtlas after struggling to find reliable suppliers for his own robotic inspection company. He identified that traditional search engines often display companies with strong search engine optimization rather than those with the best capabilities. His platform pulls data from more than 100 different sources across the U.S., including federal records. This approach surfaces companies with successful government contracts or valid OSHA inspections, regardless of their online marketing presence.

The system uses automatic algorithms and AI agents to keep data current. As businesses start, change services, or move locations, the platform updates in real time. This allows users to track the evolution of specific companies and identify new capabilities as they emerge. The tool is designed to filter out outdated information that plagues many existing business directories.

Eric Carman-Murray, the southwest Wyoming regional director for Manufacturing Works, is piloting the platform in the state. He used EcosAtlas to assist a pesticide company looking to return some production to Wyoming. The company needed to verify specific insurance insolvency rules, a task that typically falls outside the scope of standard manufacturing support. Carman-Murray queried the platform and generated a list of companies that had already resolved similar issues in the state.

Carman-Murray describes the tool as a connection mechanism that exposes capabilities that would otherwise remain invisible. He uses it to help both reshoring firms and existing businesses explore new options. The platform allows non-technical users to ask direct questions and receive organized, relevant information quickly. This reduces the time required to evaluate potential partners and identify viable local solutions.

Bitzas is expanding the platform beyond Wyoming. A paid pilot is currently underway in Idaho with an organization similar to Manufacturing Works. He is also in talks with several other organizations within Wyoming to apply the tool to economic development. The software can identify instances where local agencies or businesses pay outside vendors for services that could be provided in-state. Bitzas aims to commercialize the platform further to keep more money circulating within local economies.

Bitzas, a native of Powell, faced difficulty finding work in Wyoming after graduating with internships at NASA and Raytheon. He accepted a position in Tucson before founding Uplink Robotics to stay in his home state. The experience of finding local mentors and suppliers inspired his previous project, WyoHub, a free resource map for entrepreneurs. He found that keeping that map updated was difficult, which led to the development of EcosAtlas. He hopes the new platform will help retain graduates and their paychecks in Wyoming.