Akron : Innovation + Job News

The LaunchHouse Accelerator kicked off its inaugural program on September 4 with 10 technology startup companies eager to move to the next level. The program is funded through a $200,000 ONEFund grant and a $50,000 grant from Clarion Direct Investment. Each company will receive a $25,000 investment from LaunchHouse to grow their business.
 
“We’re quite excited,” says LaunchHouse CEO Todd Goldstein. “It’s changing the way investments are made in Northeast Ohio. With a little bit of capital we work with them to go from idea to validation.”
 
Goldstein describes the accelerator program as “customer-centric,” emphasizing the identification and needs of potential customers to grow the business. The 12-week program will provide mentors and instruction to the startup owners, guiding them through set goals.

“We’re hitting the ground running,” says Goldstein. “We’re not starting from scratch. We’re looking at the best innovators and how the company has grown.”
 
More than 60 companies from around the world applied for the accelerator. Twenty were selected to make their pitches to a panel of experts. From there, 10 companies were chosen, nine of which are from Northeast Ohio. The hope is that these 10 businesses will remain in Northeast Ohio once they are better established.

“The goal is to keep these companies in the region,” says Goldstein. “We believe Northeast Ohio is prime for an explosion of entrepreneurs.”

 
Source: Todd Goldstein
Writer: Karin Connelly

The Ohio Department of Development wants to help companies and organizations buy and sell their products locally across the state. 

Check Ohio First is a free and easy-to-use online program to promote contracting with and between Ohio businesses. “Both suppliers and buyers enter brief profiles into the Check Ohio First directory, which can then be searched by Check Ohio First members,” explains Wendy Boortz, Program Manager. “The program automatically matches buyers and suppliers by industry codes.”

“Check Ohio First celebrates the strength of Ohio businesses,” said Christine Schmenk, Director of ODOD, in a news release. “Ohio buyers like to do business with local companies, and this partnership is perfect for job creation.”

Check Ohio First was launched in October 2011 as a virtual, year-round extension of the Ohio Department of Development’s annual Ohio Business Matchmaker program, an annual procurement event now going into its eighth year.

According to Boortz, Check Ohio First recently added free webinars to the mix. “Buyers educate suppliers on how to do business with their organization, and procurement counselors provide webinars that help businesses get ready for contracting opportunities,” she says.  Most of the webinars are recorded and stored in the resource library located on the Check Ohio First website.

“The website also contains a list of upcoming events, and visitors can browse our resource library and link to procurement training and opportunities,” she states.

Boortz notes that Check Ohio First is building a database to reflect private and public users. “We currently have about 350 profiles, including 100 companies that have registered as both buyers and suppliers and 20 as buyers only.”


Source:  Wendy Boortz
Writer: Lynne Meyer

The inaugural Great Lakes Venture Fair will take place at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown October 17-18, on the heels of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds annual conference. The fair is a collaborative effort  between  JumpStart, Ohio Capital Fund, Ohio Venture Association, TiE Ohio, CincyTech and TechColumbus and will bring together investors and startups from across the Midwest.
 
“It’s a chance for the venture capital community to come together and see some of the most promising startups,” explains Carolyn Pione Micheli, director of communications for CincyTech. “According to a study by the Kauffman Foundation, in 2007 all net news job growth came from companies that are less than five years old.” The event is the successor to the Ohio Capital Fund’s Early Stage Summit, which was held in Columbus for seven years.
 
The GLVF will only accept 18 startup companies in bioscience and IT to pitch their companies to investors. Other activities at the event include presentations on regional investment activity, and conversations about building future growth in startups and investing.
 
“In terms of growing fresh new jobs, small companies are the key, “ says Micheli. “The startup community is really important to our economic future.”
 
Keynote speaker will be Jeff Weedman, vice president of global business development for Proctor & Gamble. The application deadline for companies looking for funding is Aug. 12. Registration to attend is $200 before Sep. 15, $250 after that.

 
Source: Carolyn Pione Micheli
Writer: Karin Connelly

Youngstown will once again become a hub for advanced manufacturing -- this time with the 21st century firmly in mind -- thanks to a $30 million federal grant that was announced last week.
 
Surrounded by White House officials, Congressman Tim Ryan and Senator Sherrod Brown,  M7 Technologies President and CEO Mike Garvey announced a $60 million 3D printing hub to be built on the campus of the Youngstown Business Incubator in downtown Youngstown.
 
Thirty million dollars of the project’s total budget will stem from a competitive White House grant, while public and private partners will pick up the other $30 million. The strategic partnership will develop additive manufacturing (3D printing) for the defense, aerospace and automotive industries. The 3D printing process consists of making three dimensional, solid objects from digital models.
 
“M7 Technologies was established in 2004 to build strategic partnerships and skillsets to enable our community to participate in 21^st century manufacturing,” Garvey told a room full of business owners, students and media. “Because of this mission, we have devoted ourselves to helping to transition the skillsets of one of our most important resources here at M7 – the people who work here.”
 
Senator Brown of Cleveland characterized the announcement as a “highly competitive” win, dubbing the Cleveland-Akron-Youngstown-Pittsburgh region as the Tech Belt.
 
“Youngstown wasn’t competing against Akron,” added Congressman Ryan of Youngstown. “We were all competing against Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai, and if we didn’t all come together locally as a region, then we would never be able to compete globally.”
 
Ryan doubled down on Brown’s remarks, saying Youngstown beat out competitors at MIT and Georgia Tech. “I think it is absolutely a signal that this community and this region is back to play and play hard.”


Writer: Joe Baur

Kent State University (KSU) is attempting to go where no project has gone before. In collaboration with AlphaMicron Inc. (AMI), Akron Polymer Systems (APS), Crystal Diagnostics (CDx), the Liquid Crystal Institute (LCI) and Kent Displays Inc. (KDI), KSU was awarded $3 million for its “New Concept Devices Based on Nanoscale Engineering of Polymer-Liquid Crystal Interface” project.

If it is successful, the research project could have very wide-ranging consumer benefit. “The project ultimately aims to develop consumer electronic products that make the life of ordinary people better, just like the liquid crystal TVs have positively changed our lives in a manner completely unimaginable 40 years ago," explains the Director of LCI, Hiroshi Yokoyama. He lists a slew of new inventions that could be generated by the end of the three-year project, including new electronic tablet capabilities.
 
“The $3 million grant was awarded under the Innovation Platform Program, one of the support programs run by the Ohio Department of Development under the umbrella of the Ohio Third Frontier,” adds Yokoyama. The grant will be used to hire research staff to form a dedicated team in each partner and to purchase necessary supplies.

Each of the project partners has a different goal. “In close collaboration with Kent State’s Liquid Crystal Institute, KDI will develop and commercialize the next generation Boogie Board [zero-power electronic notepad using liquid crystals] with narrower line and select erase capability," says Yokoyama.

AMI’s goal will be to perfect the optical clarity of the Special Warfare Electronic Eyewear program to meet the stringent specifications required by Navy SEALs in battlefield.
 
For CDx, Yokoyama explains they will “advance their strength in pathogen detection systems by developing a robust design of liquid crystal interface that allows them to manufacture the device by roll-to-roll process.” 

Meanwhile, APS will develop specialty polymers tailored for the target products of KDI, AMI and CDx with mass manufacturing compatible synthetic routes. “The LCI will work together with all of them to analyze their technical issues and develop solutions.”
 
Yet overall, the project aims to advance technology that may soon find its way into consumers' hands while also benefiting the environment. “We are looking into lighter, energy efficient, human and environment friendly electronics products, taking full advantage of liquid crystals and polymers.”


Source: Hiroshi Yokoyama
Writer: Joe Baur

The Burton D. Morgan Foundation is taking significant steps towards making Northeast Ohio a hub for entrepreneurship. The foundation recently awarded $482,000 in grants to various organizations, including the Akron Urban League, BioEnterprise, Entrepreneurial Engagement Ohio and others that are dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education throughout the region.
 
“The mission of the foundation is to strengthen the free enterprise system,” explains Deborah Hoover, President and CEO of the foundation. “We provide grants to organizations that support entrepreneurship education and activity among youth, college, students and adults, primarily in Northeast Ohio.”

The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron aims to accomplish just that with their $50,000 grant to support internships in 2012-13 for graduate-level students to assist with assessment, development, and commercialization of novel biomedical technologies. The Hudson-based foundation also renewed their support for Lemonade Day, which targets young people and exposes them to entrepreneurship, granting $20,000 to support the 2013 effort.
 
According to the foundation's website, “Lemonade Day is a free, community-wide program dedicated to teaching children how to start and operate their own business through the simple act of creating and running a lemonade stand."

“This year, more than 1,500 children have participated in the program, creating and operating lemonade stands with the support of a national curriculum design by Prepared4Life, which is based in Houston,” says Hoover, who believes you can never start a career in entrepreneurship too early. “Through Lemonade Day, parents and teachers have become engaged in the larger dialogue around the importance of financial literacy and entrepreneurship education.”
 

Source: Deborah Hoover
Writer: Joe Baur

Polymers are big business in Ohio. According to Wayne Earley, CEO of PolymerOhio,  “Ohio is definitely a leader in the production and use of polymers.” According to its website, PolymerOhio is an Ohio Edison Technology Center focused on “enhancing the Ohio polymer industry company's global competitiveness and growth.”

Earley’s comments came on the eve of the two-day Ohio Polymer Summit, which was held June 6-7 in Columbus and attended by more than 150 people from throughout Ohio. This was the Ninth Annual Biennial Ohio Polymer Summit.

A presentation on innovation engineering leadership was one of the summit highlights, according to Earley. There was also a segment on shale gas and its impact on Ohio’s polymer industry. “Shale gas is very significant to our industry here in Ohio by lowering energy costs and also lowering the cost of basic polymer materials,” he explains.

Another important session was the introduction of the new computational methods program. “Small- and medium-size companies can’t afford to acquire the software needed for such things as mold design and extruder simulation,” Earley says. “With the assistance of a federal grant, Polymer Ohio is now making these tools available to smaller companies.” 

The polymer industry is Ohio’s largest manufacturing industry, he states. “More than 130,000 people are employed in Ohio’s polymer industry. It’s a growing industry here.

There’s high growth in several specific segments, including conductive and electronic polymer materials, polymer nanocomposites, biomaterials and feed stocks and recyclable polymers.”

Earley points out that polymers aren’t just plastic. “They’re also in adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings and composites of other materials.”

He says that Ohio is the world leader in compounding of polymers – combining different materials to achieve a set of specifications. PolyOne in Avon Lake is the state’s largest compounder, according to Earley. “They’re successful because they have the technology and the capabilities to develop materials and compounds that are specific to certain important applications. They’re also very innovative,” he adds.

Source:  Wayne Earley, PolymerOhio, Inc.
Writer:  Lynne Meyer

More than 50 Ohio companies have received export assistance from the Ohio Department of Development’s International Market Access Grant for Exporters (IMAGE) program.
 
“The Office of Business Assistance leads the initiative to strengthen Ohio’s exporting economy and advance its leadership position in the global marketplace,” says Assistant Deputy Chief of Export Assistance, Wesley Aubihl. “Specifically, export assistance strives to increase international sales of Ohio-made goods and services, creating more and better jobs for Ohioans.”
 
Designed to increase exports and create jobs, IMAGE helps companies promote their products and services in new international markets. Best of all, IMAGE will reimburse companies a maximum of $6,000 or 50 percent on qualifying expenditures up to $12,000 for activities associated with new international marketing initiatives, such as trade shows and foreign marketing material translation.
 
Airstream Inc., developers of lightweight travel trailers in Jackson Center, is just one example of a company that has taken off (no pun intended) thanks to assistance from IMAGE grant funds. Explains Aubihl, “[The funds] offset the costs of participating in a State of Ohio-Council of Great Lakes Governors trade mission to Brazil. The trade mission enabled Airstream to meet potential key customers in the Brazilian market.”

Justin Humphreys, Vice President of Sales at Airstream, has credited the Ohio Department of Development with playing a special role in their ability to meet with key players in Brazil to assess the potential of doing business abroad.
 
Aubihl is hopeful a slew of Ohio businesses will follow in Airstream’s footsteps and experience similar international success. “Since the program began in January, the Ohio Department of Development has awarded 15 trade mission stipends, supported 37 international trade shows, 10 U.S. Commercial Service projects, 20 translations of websites or printed materials, and three export education activities,” he explains. “The participating companies have reported more than $5 million in actual export sales, with additional sales expected over the next 12 months."


Source: Wesley Aubihl
Writer: Joe Baur

Tom Barratt owns a company that helps early-stage entrepreneurs to gain access to capital, expertise and high-level contacts, so it's no surprise that in 2006, his expertise was essential to creating LaunchTown, an annual "best idea" competition in Northeast Ohio.

Barratt was inspired by the efforts of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation as well as a business professor at John Carroll University who wanted to create something for his students, The first year involved students from John Carroll and then grew to include universities and colleges across Northeast Ohio.
 
Barratt  says that the mission of LaunchTown is to give back to young people by “creating opportunities for students with great ideas to launch their businesses here and not take their talent and creativity to another part of the country after graduation.” The event is supported by the Burton D. Morgan Foundation.
 
Through Barratt’s contacts, he’s been able to gain the support of the North Coast Angel Fund, Akron’s ARCHAngel Network, JumpStart and other organizations.
 
Businessweek has recognized winners from 2010 (LifeServe Innovations) and 2009 (CitizenGroove) by naming them among the top 25 young companies created by individuals who are under 25 years of age. LaunchTown winners have also beaten teams from Harvard and Yale in national competitions.
 
Each year since 2007, finalists have brought their best ideas in science, engineering and the biomedical fields to compete for a $10,000 first prize and additional advisory services that are valued at $20,000.
 
This year’s winner, announced at an event in mid April, is University of Akron’s “Telkesis,” a four-student team who created a unique spinal implant that insures greater safety, flexibility and efficiency for patients who need spinal stabilization.


Source: Tom Barratt
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Pat Valente, executive director of  the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition, is convinced that fuel cells are the future of energy. The OFCC is a group of industry, academic and government leaders who seek to propel Ohio into a global leadership position in fuel cell technology.
 
Ohio has a competitive advantage in fuel cell technology, says Valente. “We have the supply chain (components), a skilled workforce, and ongoing research on college campuses and in business. We like to say that every fuel cell manufactured in the U.S. has an Ohio component.”
 
Valente touts the clean energy of hydrogen fuel cells. “The only emission that comes out of the tailpipe is water vapor,” he says, referring to the use of fuel cells in vehicles.
 
But fuel cells aren’t just for cars, trucks and buses anymore. Honda is working on an advanced fuel cell that could power a conventional household for six days. Stationary fuel cells are in the works that can power a shopping center or a small community, completely off the grid.
 
In late April, Valente was preparing for the Ohio Fuel Cell Symposium, which took place from May 1st-2nd at Lorain County Community College. “We’re expecting Honda, GM, Daimler, Hundaii, and Toyota,” among others. He thinks government needs to step up with stricter emission requirements, which would further encourage the fuel cell technology.
 
With a rising middle class in China and India, Valente believes it’s just a matter of time before the oil runs out to power all those cars. “We need wind, solar, fuel cells, a little bit of everything. “


Source: Pat Valente
Writer: Catherine Podojil

Students at 21 Ohio colleges and universities can currently seek course help through an e-Tutoring program run by the Ohio Board of Regents. Next year, new funding from the Ohio Tech Consortium, eStudent services, and the Ohio State Fund will enable every student enrolled in all 107 colleges and universities in Ohio to access this service.
 
Karen Boyd, Ohio eTutoring Coordinator, says, “There are other e-Tutoring programs in the country, but Ohio is the only statewide collaborative program.”
 
According to John Charlton, Deputy Director of Communications at the Ohio Board of Regents, “Ohio is a perfect place for such a program because of our '30-mile promise.' There’s a college within thirty miles of every citizen.”
 
E-tutoring is offered in accounting, anatomy and physiology, biology, calculus, chemistry, math, and statistics. Most students also seek guidance in writing.
 
Balee Peth studies marketing and communication at the University of Toledo. She praises the friendly and quick response of her eTutor, who helped her express herself  through her writing.
 
Kyle Steele, a biomed major at Capital University, says, “Even with a science background, it helps me to get advice [with my writing]. You submit your writing and your eTutor reviews it and sends back suggestions for improvement.”
 
ETutors need not be at the same institution as the student seeking help. For example, three students in China, who currently study online at the University of Akron, use eTutoring for their papers. Next year, two of them will spend the academic year in Akron, where they will attest to the value of the eTutoring program. They will also be able to demonstrate their ability to use technology as teachers when they return to China.


Source: Karen Boyd, John Charlton, Balee Peth, Kyle Steele
Writer: Catherine Podojil

"I want every drop of rain that falls in the state of Ohio to be drinkable," says Stephen Spoonamore, co-founder of ABSMaterials in Wooster. He and his partner and co-founder, Dr. Paul Edmiston, have developed a material that does just that.
 
The material, called Osorb, is a nanoengineered glass that absorbs non-point source polllution -- pesticides, herbicides, oils, gases and pharmaceuticals -- that make up the constant runoff from impermeable surfaces. ABS has recently secured a patent for the material.
 
The company, with 35 employees, has just initiated a B-round of seeking growth capital for R&D and expanding its customer base. Areas of research include storm water management, cleanup of water in the fracking process, remediation of former industrial sites and clean-room cleanup. ABS is the industry leader in the technology that cleans the water used in silicon chip fabrication.

“We’re the chemical garbagemen of the clean-room industry,” says Spoonamore.
 
ABS co-founder Dr. Paul Edmiston, who is the Peterson Professor of Chemistry at the College of Wooster, says, "Founding a technology based company is definitely a team effort. The science side has to be innovative and responsive, while letting the business side lead the efforts to market." Dr. Ediston won the 2011 Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award for the development of Osorb.
 
He adds, “It is incredibly exciting to see the innovations our team has worked on here at the College of Wooster labs move into the commercial space through ABSMaterials. Every day we are making things a little better for water quality.  It is humbling to see the idea just keep growing."


Source: Stephen Spoonamore, Paul Edmiston
Writer: Catherine Podojil

In a globally competitive era when valuable, high tech jobs can go anywhere, a good pitch can mean the difference between losing and landing a company. Thankfully, when the Ohio Department of Development recently offered Northeast Ohio manufacturing giant Parker Hannifin $2.3 million to build a new polymer research center in Ravenna, the pitch was well-received.

Ohio beat out sites in Texas, North Carolina and Wisconsin to win a $17 million-plus research center that will be built in the City of Ravenna by Parker.

The Ohio Department of Development offered a grant totaling $2,320,087 from the Ohio Third Frontier program. For its part, Parker made a commitment to create and locate its new Parflex Advanced Polymer Research and Manufacturing Innovation Center in the City of Ravenna. Parker also plans to invest more than $15 million of its own money in the facility. The University of Akron and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation are collaborators in the new center.

“The Parflex Center will create 34 jobs and retain 281 positions in this high-tech field and develop the type of innovative technology that continues to make Ohio a leader in advanced materials,” said Christiane Schmenk, Executive Director of the Ohio Department of Development, in a news release.

She added that “by encouraging collaboration with the University of Akron and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio Third Frontier is fostering an environment that enables high-tech companies like Parker Hannifin to locate and grow in Ohio.”

For its part, Parker Hannifin welcomes the arrangement. “We’re thrilled to have the support of Ohio Third Frontier Commission,” says Chris Farage, Vice President of Communications and External Affairs. “This is a great example of public-private partnership working to create jobs for Ohio citizens.”
 
Parflex polymer tubing is used in the medical sector and other industries. Parker Hannifin, which is the global leader in motion and control technology, says the new facility will consolidate its polymer and research development activities from nine facilities in Mexico, the U.S. and Europe into a single location. The center is expected be one of the leading advanced polymer labs in the world.


Source:  Chris Farage, Katie Sabatino
Writer: Lynne Meyer

Breathing in space is something astronauts working on the International Space Station can’t take for granted.  So the door seals that close air chambers and keep fresh air intact are taken very seriously.

But the testing for these docking seal materials is an expensive process, involving thousands of hours of time and costly facilities.

Thanks to University of Akron mechanical engineer and researcher, Nicholas Garafolo Ph.D., some of the time and expense may be shaved off this process due to computer prediction models he has designed.

Garafolo is part of a research team testing polymer/metal seals being considered for future advanced docking and berthing systems. The university researchers work with partners in Cleveland at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, which is responsible for developing the main interface seals for the new International Low Impact Docking Systems (iLIDS). Their work is being supported by a multi-million dollar grant from NASA.

NASA has been developing low-impact docking seals for manned missions to the International Space Station, as well as for future exploratory missions. Common to all docking systems, a main interface seal is mated to a metallic flange to provide the gas pressure seal.

“These seals must not allow any more leakage of air per day than that you would find in the top of a filled water bottle,” says Garafolo.  “There are very tight requirements.  This computer modeling enables us to find baseline measurements before any fabrication of the seals so it saves time and money.”

Garafolo says that the design and testing phase of the seal development can take years and testing can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.  “This could potentially cut back on numerous tests, so by doing so it could save tens of thousands of dollars.”


Source: Nicholas Garafolo
Writer: Val Prevish