Toledo/Northwest Ohio : Innovation + Job News

"Be prepared."

That's what Seavival tells its customers. And, in a tough economy, it's a lesson the Toledo-based emergency equipment company has learned for itself.

The company has developed a patented first-response kit that has attracted quite the attention. If a contract with the U.S. military is approved, it could mean an additional 100 jobs for Northwest Ohio.

It's been slow road to success, says Seavival CEO Brian Friedman. He has dedicated more than 40 years to emergency medical kits, starting while in high school as a hospital volunteer in Miami, Fla.

Today, the company is on the brink of massive growth. "(The military contract) could be a potentially big thing for us," he says.

There's good reason for Friedman's enthusiasm. The company's staple product, The Professional, can hold up to 1,800 cubic inches � and can be mounted on a vehicle (including a motorcycle) or used as a backpack. He says there's a big demand for such a product. The other portion of Seavival's business is selling the systems, or the contents of the emergency medical kits.

The five-year-old company currently employs only a few, but more positions may be added. Soon.

Seavival is now working with the Toledo Fire Department for testing and validation, Friedman says, adding that in addition to the military, customers might include marine and industrial organizations, as well as fire and rescue operations.

The company received some marketing and strategic assistance from the Regional Growth Partnership. Seavival has also recently partnered with the University of Toledo technology innovation group. The company also works with the international division of the Ohio Department of Development, seeking a customer base abroad.

"But we could use a lot more help," Friedman says. "Small companies like our ours are totally incapable of maintaining the cost of marketing for an international effort without help from the state."

Source: Brian Friedman
Writer: Colin McEwen

Communication errors have long been a problem in the healthcare industry, contributing to an unacceptable number of unfavorable patient outcomes. Now, a five-year-old Ohio company is stepping up with a range of critical test result management products to ensure patients get timely care while offering healthcare professionals an affordable way to close the communication loop.

RADAR Medical Systems is ramping up commercialization of a series of products that offer interactive communication to doctors everywhere, from high-end integrated systems for hospitals to a monthly subscription service tailored for single-practice doctor's offices.

"There have been companies doing this in the field of radiology for a few years. What we've done is taken that concept and expanded it dramatically," says RADAR CEO Jack Cornell.

Through three levels of its primary service, RADAR offers doctor-to-doctor instant messaging, an alert system that requires acknowledgment of important information and automatic logging of patient information for risk management. Another product does many of the same things for much less cost through a RADAR-housed monthly subscription service.

Most importantly, all of RADAR's systems seamlessly work with computer systems hospitals already have in place, meaning healthcare facilities can earn Joint Commission accreditation with very low up-front costs.

The end result is better care for patients, says Cornell.

RADAR, now based in Chagrin Falls, graduated from the Regional Growth Partnership in April, using a $50,000 grant from the organization to put the final touches on its software, test it within a wide range of computer systems and start marketing in earnest. In March, RADAR also got a $400,000 vote of confidence from Rocket Ventures.

With four full-time employees currently, the company is poised to jobs in the near future, Cornell says.

Source: Jack Cornell, RADAR Medical Systems
Writer: Dave Malaska

Imagine you have a chronic illness like diabetes (maybe you don't have to imagine). Now, imagine your next doctor's appointment. And imagine that instead of seeing the doctor first, you see an on-site pharmacist who evaluates the tests you've been given, asks you  questions and then walks with you to visit the doctor -- together.

Tim Schramko, president and CEO of Toledo-based Ceuticare, says that vision is exactly the kind of medical collaboration toward which his four-year-old company is working.

The Ceuticare scenario becomes possible under a set of proprietary algorithms developed by founders Allen Nichol and Kenneth Bachmann, Schramko says. Combined with a pharmacist's intimate knowledge of medications and access to a patient's complete medical profile, the data allow him or her to tell whether a chronically ill patient is following doctor's orders or fibbing. Few physicians are equipped with such tools and must base prescribing decisions on what the patient says -- which may or may not be accurate, Schramko says.

Ceuticare provides data for diabetes, blood lipids, hypertension, asthma, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. While Schramko says "I haven't talked to one doctor yet who did not like it," he says a reluctance to change long-time business and office models has kept participation low.

He expects acceptance to rise with more education and as doctors become more attuned to the collaborative "medical home" concept promoted under the National Healthcare Reform Act. Schramko says one Ohio insurer has already perked up its ears based on the results of a small study that showed Ceuticare patients went to the hospital and the emergency room far less frequency than a control group -- whose costs rose 200 percent.

The five-employee company also has the attention of Rocket Ventures, which invested $175,000 in Ceuticare.

Source: Tim Schramko, Ceuticare
Writer: Gene Monteith

There's another solar player coming to Toledo. And it's making no secret of its big plans to shed additional light on the local economy.

California-based Sphere Renewable Energy Corp. has developed Buckeye Silicon at the University of Toledo with a blueprint to manufacture lots of polycrystalline-silicon production modules � poly-silicon is a critical ingredient in the production of solar panels.

BeSi's headquarters will be located on the UT campus, but the manufacturing facility will be situated on the UT Technology Corridor. Full-scale production is expected by the end of 2010 � and so is the addition of as many as 150 jobs within 18 months.

Mark Erickson, COO and senior vice president of Buckeye Silicon, says there are a few reasons the company decided to set up shop in Northwest Ohio. First he credits the solar industry already in place for making the area attractive and UT for being a leader in renewable energy research.

"Northwest Ohio was attractive because of our ability to tap into a skilled workforce," Erickson says. "Without too much training we're able to get skilled workers to operate our facility."

He also points to Toledo's geographic position -- a major interstate system, railway system and a deepwater port make the region attractive.

Erickson says cooperation between local businesses, higher education and the public sector in Ohio is unprecedented. The state has committed to giving BeSi $2.7 million in loans to get started. The Rocket Ventures client also received a $50,000 Rocket Ventures Ignite! grant.

Source: Mark Erickson, Buckeye Silicon
Writer: Colin McEwen

Halo Coatings is hoping to cut through the red tape. Well, tapes of all colors.

The Norwalk-based company is rethinking how coatings are applied � retro-reflective, nano-technology powder coatings systems in particular. All with safety in mind.

The most practical uses for the technology are highways signs and bicycles � both currently use a reflective tape coating.

But really, the possibilities for Halo's patented reflective technology are endless. Think guardrails, poles, baby strollers and wheel chairs.

"There are things we haven't even thought of yet," says Halo Coatings CEO Aaron Bates. "We set out to work on the highway and on children's bicycles. But it's come so far so fast, we've now seen a whole gamut of applications where we can be used."

There are several advantages for Halo � in addition to being the first, and only, retro-reflective powder coating supplier in the world. Bates points out that the coating won't flake off Halo's products and is able to withstand extreme temperatures. "And you can be seen from a 1,000 feet away at night by a car traveling 70 mph."

"It's not only safer than any powder coating out there," Bates adds. "It's that there are no coatings in the world like this."

The company launched in 2008, added two large customers in 2009 and two more in 2010. Halo, a Rocket Ventures portfolio company, currently employs only a handful of employees, but in the next two years the company is expected to add as many as 15 jobs. Those positions include sales, tech-support, engineers, chemists and lab-techs. Bates expects the company to reach $100 million in sales within five years. "The question becomes 'how do we grow smart?'" he adds.

Source: Aaron Bates, Halo Coatings
Writer: Colin McEwen

Spun off from Eveready in 2003, Blue Spark Technologies finally finds itself on the cusp of a new market for printed battery technology.

The idea is a battery that is thin, flexible and produced using familiar printing and production methods.

The technology was initially pursued by Eveready's Energizer group, whose research labs were, like Blue Spark, located in Westlake. When the industry reshuffled its priorities in 2002-2003, Blue Spark was spun off, backed by venture capital from Cleveland-based Early Stage Partners.

Today, the company is focused on a battery that will power a new breed of radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip -- chips that are affixed to an item and tracked using a reader.

In fact, a Finnish company with an automatic vehicle identification system is close to integrating Blue Spark's technology, and CEO Gary Johnson says that means the company could soon start reaping revenues. 

"They could be used for toll collection . . . it could be used to integrate the vehicle registration into the tag, and so forth," says Johnson.

In September, Blue Spark and U.K.-based Novalia, which designs printed electronics products, announced a marketing agreement to create and launch new kinds of interactive printed media. The idea is to make items like singing greeting cards more interactive with the consumer and to make them cheaper to produce at high volumes.

Matt Ream, Blue Spark's vice president of marketing, says "the most exciting thing is we're on the cusp of something big, some pretty big market growth."

The company completed series A financing in 2007, raising $6.2 million in a round led by SunBridge Partners; it closed a $1.5-million series B round last year. It currently has eight full-time and five part-time employees.

Sources: Gary Johnson and Matt Ream, Blue Spark
Writer: Gene Monteith

In the old days, real-time video game communications consisted of screaming at a buddy for messing up your high-scoring Super Mario Bros. game. These days, says Ayalogic president Mike Rojas, the phrase "in-game communication" has an entirely different meaning.

"Today's online games are incredibly complex, requiring multiple people working together in a synchronized fashion to complete a desired goal," Rojas explains. "That is very difficult to do while sending text or instant messages back and forth to each other."

Ayalogic, which is headquartered in Akron, develops voice communication products for the video game industry that allow players to communicate while playing online games. The firm's Green-Ear product is embedded into games by their developers, facilitating real-time player communication using VoIP. The tool's flexibility makes it ideal for player groups of any size to quickly and easily connect during play. This makes it ideal for large-scale game tournaments that can consist of literally hundreds of players scattered across the globe.

The company also offers a free version for players to download and use with friends.

Rojas, a former NEC executive with more than eight patents and almost 30 years of software experience, founded the company in 2002.

Ayalogic employs eight people currently, but likely will add more development professionals in the near future to cultivate new features.

Source: Mike Rojas, Ayalogic
Writer: Douglas Trattner

The prevention of tooth decay � rather than its treatment � is the drive behind Toledo-based Branam Oral Health Technologies. But it's the company's innovative line of products toward that goal that's getting all the attention.

Developed two years ago by Dr. Stephen R. Branam, a local dentist with a big idea and 30 years of experience, the company is poised to smile in the face of tooth decay nationwide.

"Treatment is of course reactive and impacts the healthcare system in a dramatic fashion � not to mention the health implications on the affected child," says Branam CEO Mick Janness.

By using Xylitol � a natural sweetener and a proven inhibitor of tooth decay � Branam has developed a suite of naturally formulated products giving children and their parents an alternative to the mass-marketed products currently on the shelves. Branam's line includes toothpaste, mouthwash, gum and mints � all free of detergents, artificial dyes, saccharin and fluoride.

Ortho-Gibby, Branam's orthodontic pacifier, is geared to cut out jaw deformities associated with traditional pacifiers. The Ortho-Gibby was designed to reduce pressure that causes ear infections while also promoting proper oral development.

The company shipped its first order of products in March and is expected to make millions in sales. Janness says the company's launch is now official.

With some financial backing from the Regional Growth Partnership, the company focused on research and development of the products. Branam received a $1million investment from the RGP and $250,000 grant from Rocket Ventures to launch the company.

Three people are currently employed with the company, but Janness says more people (in marketing, compliance and administration) will be hired within a year.

Source: Mick Janness, Branham Oral Health Technologies
Writer: Colin McEwen

Energy Technologies is working to take its fuel cell technology from the laboratory to the battlefield. And the Mansfield-based company hopes to add a few jobs along the way.

Since 1992, the company has been producing portable power sources for the most rugged conditions, with Department of Defense as its most interested customer.

Now, the company has its sights set on fuel cell technology � a device that could be employed as a portable power plant at a temporary, military tactical facility.

"Our big claim to fame is that there is no platinum in our fuel cells, so our costs are way down," says Energy Technologies Vice President Tim Lowe. "This program (uses) technology that pulls out that noise and stink of a diesel engine and replaces them with fuel cells."

Lowe also touts the company's product as small, lightweight, low-cost and quiet � but it is the stack's smooth transition that separates Energy Technologies product apart from a run-of-the-mill generator at the hardware store.

The Ohio Third Frontier has taken notice. In the last three years, Energy Technologies has been awarded three $1-million grants for its work. Lowe says the company is making arrangements with the Department of Defense for field-testing. And he adds long-term goals include adding as many as 200 jobs to a current staff of 72.

More good news: The company also plans to continue to manufacture the mini-power plants at its Mansfield location. Lowe proudly points out that the company recently installed the hardware for welding the stacks.

"When Governor Strickland came here, he said this must be one of the better kept secrets in Ohio," Lowe recalls.

Source: Tim Lowe
Writer: Colin McEwen

Almost 2 million Americans suffer from pressure ulcers � also know as bed sores. And almost $1.3 billion is dedicated annually for that treatment. A new device capable of relieving chronic pain (with a lower price tag) is now a reality.

But it took a neighborhood of Ohio innovators in the state for the Valtronic Advanced Photobiotherapy Device to make it to the marketplace.

The Cleveland-based Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network (MAGNET) provided engineering expertise, patented the design and developed working prototypes; the University of Toledo's Department of Bioengineering developed the optical system; the UT College of Medicine conducted clinical trials. Valtronic Technologies USA , of Solon -- which specializes in medical industrial products -- handled commercialization, manufacture and distribution.

Greg Krizman, senior director of marketing for MAGNET, exudes pride while talking about the Valtronic Advanced Photobiotherapy Device.

He's also proud of MAGNET's role. "We're a one-stop shop for manufacturers who wish to grow their businesses," Krizman says. "Whatever people need to make their operations go faster, better and smarter, we have people to make that happen."

Krizman says one of the consequences of the recession is that companies have often been forced to lay off engineers. MAGNET serves companies with engineers on an "as-needed basis."

The partnership of organizations received some assistance from the Ohio Third Frontier initiative. About $1.3 million in assistance.

About 100 units have been sold to date. But those involved are optimistic about the product. Home care clinics and nursing homes are more likely to afford the portable device at $20,000 a unit � compared with the predecessor's $70,000 price tag.

Source: Greg Krizman, MAGNET
Writer: Colin McEwen

Arising from expertise within the glass industry and the abundance of cheap natural gas needed to melt silica for solar modules, the Toledo area has long been recognized for incubating advanced and alternative energy players.

In the thick of things has been the University of Toledo. So, it's only fitting that when it came time for the State of Ohio to establish a new Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization (PVIC), UT was a logical choice.

PVIC was founded in January 2007 with $18.6 million in Ohio Third Frontier funding and matching contributions of $30 million from federal agencies and university and industrial partners. The center -- which also has hubs Ohio State University, and Bowling Green State University -- has become a state of the art laboratory with three purposes, says Robert Collins, professor of physics and co-director of the PVIC: to help new companies commercialize their products, to help existing companies improve their products and expand product lines, and to build a large solar cluster in northwest Ohio.

The PVIC serves as both a testing ground for new applications and a resource for commercialization of those techniques. The center is now working with 30 companies from around the country -- including a start-up from Silicon Valley, Collins says.

The center has led the way in development of new thin-film technologies that can be produced more quickly and less expensively than traditional solar films. Meanwhile, UT is working on next-generation films using nanostructures, recently hiring two experts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to lead the work.

Source: Robert Collins, University of Toledo
Writer: Gene Monteith

On Front Street in East Toledo, sandwiched between two abandoned buildings, LexaMed � a medical and pharmaceutical company �opened for business with eight employees in 2006. And hasn't looked back.

Today, LexaMed stands out as a neighborhood bright spot, even though it's surrounded by years of economic neglect.

LexaMed tests medical devices and pharmaceuticals, does auditing and conducts laboratory work. The company's own product line, BEC Growth-Chek � a liquid suspension containing micro-organisms for testing � is helping to take LexaMed to the next level.

The company now boasts 30 employees, not counting an additional 45 contracted employees. President Robert Reich proudly points to the company's hundreds of years of combined in-the-lab experience.

"I think we have a success story to tell, especially in Toledo," says Reich. "The environment in Northwest Ohio is certainly changing. We can't live on automotive batteries and auto parts anymore."

When LexaMed took over the previous company, the building had fallen into receivership. "The whole area has seen better days," he says.

Now, LexaMed is in the process of purchasing the 25,000-square-foot building. And plans are also in the works to spend some cash to fix up the aging facility and its 10 labs.

"It shows our commitment to staying in Ohio," Reich says. "And staying in Toledo."

He says he "wouldn't be surprised" if the company hired an additional half-dozen employees this year. LexaMed is also considering branching out its operations.

"We're constantly looking to improve," says Reich. "We're expanding our product offering, and expanding on our technologies. We want to stay current."

Source: Robert Reich, Lexamed
Writer: Colin McEwen

About 80 acres of earth is being moved to make way for a farm in Wyandot County for a new brand of cash crop: clean, renewable solar energy.

When completed sometime in mid-2010, the $30 million project � adjacent to the Wyandot County Airport � is expected to be one of the largest solar fields east of the Mississippi.

American Electric Power recently inked a 20-year agreement with Wyandot Solar to purchase electricity generated at the 10.08 megawatt farm.

The project counts a few big players. Wyandot Solar, a subsidiary of Germany-based juwi solar will fund construction of the project, including more than needed160,000 solar panels, which will be built by First Solar's nearby Perrysburg operations.

Shelly Clark, a spokesperson at AEP, says excavating for the project is already underway.

"AEP Ohio was heading in the direction of clean energy," she says. "It will help us to continue our growth and to meet our mandates from the state of Ohio."

A major impetus: Last year, the Ohio legislature passed a bill requiring 25 percent of Ohio's energy to come from alternative and renewable sources.

"(We're) working towards the goal of producing electricity where it can be most efficiently produced and moving it to where it is needed the most," Clark says, adding that 1,500 nearby homes and businesses will be the first recipients of the energy.

Using labor from the surrounding area, about 70 construction jobs were created to complete the project. Three permanent positions are expected when the job is done.

Source: Shelly Clark, American Electric Power
Writer: Colin McEwen

Crown Equipment Corp. is putting a new economy spin on an old-economy industry. Already one of the leading lift truck manufacturers in the world, Crown wants to be the industry leader in application of fuel cell technology.

The New Bremen-based Crown began making lift trucks in the late 1950s. Today, the company, with 8,000 employees worldwide, is considered the seventh largest lift truck manufacturer, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world.

Eric Jensen, manager new technology research and development, says fuel cells make perfect sense for customers, who must now recharge lift truck batteries an average of every eight hours.

"Batteries have six to 10 hours of runtime," he says. "Some of our customers have three batteries for each vehicle -- one is in the vehicle, one is cooling and one is being recharged. To change a battery, it can take 20 to 30 minutes," during which time the vehicle is out of service and an employee is tied up with maintenance. Translation: lost productivity.

The hydrogen fuel cells now being applied to lift-trucks do everything a battery does, but can be refueled much more quickly using a hose from a tank, Jensen says.

In 2008, a $977,000 Ohio Third Frontier grant helped Crown with the first phase of a project to study the technical and commercial barriers to the application of fuel cells in Crown lift trucks. A subsequent $1-million grant will allow the company to begin researching the integration of fuel cells into the manufacture of its vehicles, Jensen says.

While qualification will continue over the next several years at the company's Huber Height's research center, the company already has delivered two initial shipments of its fuel cell-equipped vehicles -- one to a grocery chain in Texas and one to the U.S. Air Force in Georgia. Future shipments are planned to a grocery chain in Pennsylvania.

Source: Eric Jensen, Crown Equipment Corp.
Writer: Gene Monteith

The University of Toledo is already well known for its role in incubating young alternative energy companies, like solar products manufacturer Xunlight. Now it has a campus devoted purely to the development and commercialization of advanced and alternative energy technologies.

Last week, UT signed the first two leases for its new Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation, dedicated in September as the university's newest technology accelerator, says Chuck Lehnert, vice president of facilities and construction. The university calls the 177-acre campus the first in the country committed solely to advancing renewable, alternative and sustainable energies.

"Our university's mission is to improve the human condition," Lehnert says. UT's pioneer work in new energy options has made "renewable and sustainable energy part of our DNA. Scott Park demonstrates our commitment."

The campus will serve as an alternative energy laboratory for teaching, research and demonstration and an accelerator for new ideas coming to the marketplace. The hope is that resulting new companies will locate within the UT technology corridor and spur economic growth in northwest Ohio, Lehnert says.

While the Scott Park Campus hopes to make an economic impact on northwest Ohio, it hopes to make no impact on the environment. A 10-kilowatt solar array and a 100-foot wind turbine have already been installed at Scott Park. And there are plans for a larger, 1.12 megawatt solar array to be installed on eight acres near the UT soccer field. The goal: a neutral carbon footprint.

Source: Chuck Lehnert, University of Toledo
Writer: Gene Monteith