Third Frontier : Innovation + Job News

Ohio isn't well known for its abundance of sunshine. And that's just fine for Replex Plastics.

The Mount Vernon-based supplier of domes and mirrors is working to commercialize solar components that utilize mirrors onto photovoltaic cells in areas that don't have optimal solar conditions. Places like Ohio.

The company � founded in 1991 � got its start manufacturing optical domes and mirrors. For the last two years, Replex has been tinkering with mirrors that collect solar energy. And in another two years, the company expects to have a product ready for commercialization.

Replex President Mark Schuetz says the technology could be deployed even on cloudy days using "the diffuse part of the sunlight." That's something not many companies can claim.

"We've been making mirrors for almost 20 years. We're trying to adapt to solar applications," Schuetz says. "This is a major leap for us."
The company was awarded a $1.2 million grant from the Ohio Third Frontier Photovoltaic Program for its innovative work. The goal is to reduce the cost of solar power by reducing the cost per watt of the most expensive component � the photovoltaic cells. Replex has collaborated the University of Toledo, the Ohio State University and Dovetail Solar and Wind for research, testing and evaluation.

In 2009, the recession hit Replex hard, whittling the staff to 17 from 25. But Schuetz says the company will most likely gain those positions back this year. There are plans to manufacture the modules in the Mount Vernon facility � adding as many as 500 jobs, Schuetz adds.

"We really think renewable energy is here to stay � and its only going to get bigger," he says. "And we want to be a part of that."

Source: Mark Schuetz, Replex Plastics
Writer: Colin McEwen

Supported by a $500 loan from an uncle, Swagelok was founded in 1947 by Fred Lennon as the Crawford Fitting Company. Shortly afterward, the business began manufacturing Swagelok tube fitting.

In the beginning, there were just two employees: Fred Lennon and Cullen Crawford, the original design engineer of the Swagelok tube fitting.

Today, the Solon-based company's products are delivered at more than 200 authorized facilities in 57 countries on six continents � by approximately 4,000 employees.

Swagelok products are still designed to provide leak-tight operation, reducing the possibility of fugitive emissions. Its newest product � the Swagelok compact gauge valve � is designed with a purge valve and tube-fitting-end connections to reduce leaking. That allows customers to save on both energy and maintenance costs.

"Swagelok's skill sets are in precision manufacturing," says Jim Francis, the company's vice president of human resources.

The company's special expertise was recognized in late 2006, when Swagelok, along with research collaborator Case Western Reserve University, received a three-year, $5.5-million grant from Ohio's Third Frontier initiative to research and commercialize a new method for heat-treating stainless steels to dramatically improve hardness and other performance characteristics.

"Because of Cleveland's history of precision metal fabrication and machining, we've always been able to rely on its diverse pool of talent," he says. "And the education system in Ohio has produced great engineers and business candidates."

But the learning doesn't stop when people are hired. The company hosts almost 100 classroom courses on a number of topics � including personal development, management and technical training.

Source: Jim Francis, Swagelok
Writer: Colin McEwen

More than $1 billion in venture capital has been invested in northeast Ohio companies during the past five years -- a commitment to growing firms that, in time, could result in more than 40,000 jobs.

Not just that, but 2009 seed funding for the newest northeast Ohio firms was the highest in four years.

That's the lowdown as presented Tuesday by the Venture Capital Advisory Task Force, a group of regional venture community members who have been formally tracking such investments since 2006.

While the report isn't all rosy -- total venture capital investment was down significantly between 2008 and 2009 -- VC leaders said they're encouraged by the fact that 2009 seed stage investment -- $18 million spread among 27 companies -- is rising while national numbers remain flat. They call it a sign that state job-creation programs are working.

The regional task force report shows that the largest single investment sector in northeast Ohio was in healthcare, in which $729 million was invested in 69 companies. The second largest sector was "cleantech," in which 33 companies benefited from $115 in equity capital.

Cathy Belk, chief marketing officer for Jumpstart, a venture development organization that accelerates the progress of early-stage businesses in northeast Ohio, says the report demonstrates the important role the Ohio Third Frontier, the Ohio Investment Tax Credit Program and the Ohio Capital Fund have played in growing Ohio jobs. She says it also points to the need to keep those funding sources available for future entrepreneurs.

The report mirrors an announcement by the Ohio Third Frontier Tuesday that seed and early stage investments in Ohio increased by 67 percent in 2008 while national numbers declined about 20 percent.

Source: Cathy Belk, Jumpstart, and wire sources
Writer: Gene Monteith

Stem cell research is a hot topic, both scientifically and politically, and nowhere is it hotter than at the Center for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine in Cleveland.

Founded in 2003 with a $19.4-millon Ohio Third Frontier grant as a Wright Center of Innovation, CSCRM now conducts research that may someday lead to new treatments for cancer and all sorts of blood, neurodegenerative, musculoskeletal, orthopedic and cardiovascular disorders.

"The center has a huge amount of intelligence behind it," says Director Stan Gerson. "We have about 90 investigators with funding. It's fair to argue that we have as many different types of stem cells in clinical trials as anywhere in the world."

The center is not one entity, but a collaboration of six: Case Western Reserve University, The Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, The Ohio State University and Athersys, Inc., a leading company in development of therapeutic stem cell treatments.

CSCRM has continually received support for its work from the State of Ohio, including an additional $8-million award in 2006 from Ohio's Biomedical Research and Commercialization Program and a $5-million award last June from the Ohio Third Frontier Commission.

Despite progress being made, Gerson cautions that cures arising from stem cell research may not come as quickly as some would like.

"If you've heard of early phase technology, this is it," he says. Creating new drugs from stem cells "is a 25-year process."

In early December, the National Institutes of Health announced approval of 13 new cell lines for study using tax dollars.

"It's going to be very helpful to us to have access to additional cell lines," Gerson says.

Source: Stan Gerson, Center for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine
Writer: Gene Monteith

Ninety-five percent of American businesses have nine or fewer employees. But until recently it was almost impossible to find a single source of information about them.

Today, that's changing, thanks in large part to Manta, which bills itself as the "largest free source of information on small companies."

The Columbus-based website, which launched in September 2005 as the offspring of ECNext, has sometimes been described as "the fastest-growing business site you've never heard of." But these days, plenty of people are hearing about Manta.

Launched with a data base encompassing 24 million companies, the online resource now covers 64 million -- 20 million of which are U.S. companies -- and was cited in September as the fifth-largest business/finance/news site according to ComScore, recognized within the industry as the Nielsens of the digital world.

Manta's Internet audience penetration of 5.8 million outranked even Forbes Property, CNBC.COM, Reuters, CNN Money and BusinessWeek.com. And its October visitor count topped 14 million, up 34 percent from the year before.

Pamela Springer, president and CEO, says Manta's appeal is simple: give information away for free and let listed companies update and add to the information that's there. Revenue comes from advertising, she says.

"We have democratized this information and leveled the playing field," she says. "It's not just the big guys anymore."

She says Manta's primary target audiences are small-business owners, account executives and business development professionals, senior executives, researchers and analysts who are looking not just for information, but to connect.

Boosted by a $1.2-million Ohio Third Frontier Innovation Loan in 2006, Manta continues to report breakneck growth, both in audience and employment. When ECNext launched in 2003, the company employed 12; Manta now employs 45, with plans for an additional 10 this year.

Source: Pamela Springer, Manta
Writer: Gene Monteith

Novolyte Technologies blew the candles out a little early to mark its first year in business, but the eagerness could be well understood: There was plenty to celebrate.

The manufacturer of products such as lithium battery electrolytes hired five people in Ohio (14 worldwide) in its first year, added $561,000 to the local payroll and plans to invest $750,000 at its Independence headquarters in 2010.

Spun off of from the chemical division of Ferro Corp., Novolyte consists of two business platforms: energy storage products (battery materials) and performance materials, says CEO Edward Frindt.

Among the uses for the performance materials are solvents and other specialty materials for pharmaceuticals, agricultural, coatings, inks and gas scrubbing. Frindt is also excited about the company's new green product line.

Those products are shaped at the Independence location, which doubles as a headquarters and a research/development facility.

Novolyte was awarded a $20.6-million grant from the Department of Energy and a $1.2-million Ohio Third Frontier Grant for the company's work on the "electrification of the auto industry."

"The company built its reputation on quality and service through custom manufacturing and established a loyal customer base by consistently meeting specific technical requirements," Frindt says.

Novolyte employes about 165 people, with 24 people in Independence, 90 at its Baton Rouge, La., facility and about another 50 at the company's plant in China.

"We have added 14 jobs in 2009, five in Ohio, during one of the worst recessions in several generations as we have continued to fund our growth plans," Frindt says.

Source: Edward Frindt, Novolyte
Writer: Colin McEwen

Jack Berlekamp is an idea guy. A former marketer, he took knowledge garnered as a contractor for the armed forces, where workers handled specialized electronic instruments out in the field.

Those instruments, which tested or measured equipment on large vehicles or airplanes, were cumbersome and often failed in bad weather. For more than a decade Berlekamp worked to understand how to make life easier for these men and women in uniform. And in 2005, he founded Pallas Systems, LLC, an advanced logistics tool provider.

He started the company out of his Delaware County basement in 2005, with the help of some talented Ohio engineers who could make reality his idea. They created a rugged, multi-functional tool that streamlined tasks.

"Most of the time, when you go out in the field, each instrument has single function, and you have multiple boxes that you take out. We created a ruggedized instrument and its software is programmable. It can change its personality and add function based on what field service is doing," he said.

Berlekamp moved his company from Columbus to Springfield to be near the opportunities afforded by being located near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base . He's currently in Springfield's National Environmental Technology Incubator where he moved the company earlier this year. He has four contract engineers he plans to make full-time employees early next year, with the help of an Ohio Third Frontier Innovation loan.

"Because of the defense focus I recognized I needed to be more involved in the Dayton area. I moved my company to a part of Ohio better able to support the technology," he said. "You have to be a little flexible to be able to tap into those levels of expertise."

Source: Jack Berlekamp, founder Pallas Systems
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

If you're like many Web users, you have a zillion bookmarks set up in your browser's favorites list. You may also have come across must-see content that you want to share with your friends: that cool llama farm, the dancing baby video, a list of favorite books or movies.

The problem is, when it comes time to share those things, you find yourself wading through an unorganized morass of bookmarks.

That's why Toobla was born. Founded in 2008 and launched this fall, the Columbus-based tech company is banking on your need for order -- and your desire to share web content with friends and acquaintances.

"Toobla was created because there are a lot of bookmarking services out there, but no one is doing it in a very visual way," says Brian Link, CEO of the fledgling company.

Toobla solves the problem by organizing everything in folders within a free Toobla account. Have a list of favorite publications? Stick them in a folder. Favorite bands? Another folder. A Toobla user can either keep the folder private for personal reference or make it public -- allowing it to be shared with friends, business associates or a wider audience via one click from within a social networking site.

"People really haven't innovated the shared space (of the Web)," Link says. "People are sending links one at a time."

The Columbus-based company, which employs four but plans to grow to around 35 over the next three years as revenues grow, has raised more than $1 million in capital through TechColumbus, the Third Frontier's Entrepreneurial Signature Program and other sources. Link says the company anticipates $335,000 in revenues in 2010 -- and as much as $31 million within five years.

Source: Brian Link, Toobla
Writer: Gene Monteith

As a urological surgeon for OhioHealth, Wayne Poll knew there must be a way to keep his laparoscopic lenses clear without constantly having to stop and clean them. While it took him 10 years to bring that vision to fruition, Poll's FloShield is now in the marketplace.

"I tried going to companies with my ideas, and I did that for ten years," says Poll, whose Columbus-based Minimally Invasive Devices gained FDA clearance for the product last year. "But I was constantly frustrated. I got to know some people and entered the Ohio State University (Fisher College of Business) 2006 business plan competition, and we won it. That got us some momentum and we started to raise money."

With the help of TechColumbus, a technology business incubator serving a 15-county area in Central Ohio, MID raised an initial $200,000 in start-up capital and a total of $2.4 million in angel funds, a portion of which came from funds supported by the Ohio Third Frontier. In October, following FDA approval of FloShield, the company raised $2 million in Series B funding.

FloShield works by keeping air flowing around the end of the scope, blowing away debris that can obscure a clear image at the surgical site. Poll says the company, so far, has sold about 600 of the devices and has introduced a new product, FloShield Plus, that uses a saline solution to clear the lens.

MID was founded in 2006 and grew from one employee to five this year. Poll serves as MID's founder and chief executive officer and as director of innovation for the OhioHealth system.

Source: Wayne Poll, Minimally Invasive Devices
Writer: Gene Monteith

If you've ever come home from the hardware store with hundreds of little stamp-sized paint color swatches and tried to match them to your couch or carpet then you'll appreciate a new product that Miamisburg-based Color Savvy Systems Limited is introducing next year.

Founded in 1993, Miamisburg-based Color Savvy has been seeing tremendous success with its original product, Color-Helper, that uses digital technology to find a matching color for any item in a room.

It works by taking a picture of the item, and then, using mathematical equations, precisely identifying the color and also colors that closely match it from a data base of more than 18,000 possibilities.

Color-Helper has primarily been sold to the commercial contractor market and has been a sales success around the world, causing Color Savvy's revenues to double each year since 1999, except for 2009 due to the economy, says CEO Gary Bodnar.

With the launch of a new, less expensive version of Color-Helper aimed at the retail market in the first quarter of next year, Bodnar says he expects to see even greater sales growth.

"The consumer market is 100 times bigger than the commercial contractor market," says Bodnar of the potential sales.

The development of the new consumer tool was made possible in large part by a nearly $1-million grant from the Innovation Ohio Loan Fund.

Without that Ohio Third Frontier loan, Bodnar says the research and launch efforts would have been impossible during the slow economy of this year.

As revenues increase after the roll-out next year, Bodnar says he expects to hire a few more employees, but he is still cautious about adding staff too quickly from his current employee base of six.

"If the economy improves then we will be adding a few select positions," he says.

Source: Gary Bodner, Color Savvy
Writer: Val Prevish

Catacel Corp. exists because William Whittenberger and two colleagues didn't want to move to Alabama.

Based in Garrettsville, Catacel -- an innovator in the fuel cell, hydrogen, gas-to-liquid, petrochemical and aerospace industries -- is the offspring of Camet, a Hiram-based company that made its name developing and manufacturing emission control products made from coated metal foils.

Camet was purchased by W.R. Grace in 1993, and then by Engelhard in 1998. Then, in 2000, the decision was made to move most of Camet to Alabama.

"A few of us said we didn't want to move to Alabama," says Whittenberger, Catacel's president. "The team was here. We knew all about the metal foil business, and we said what shall we do?"

The answer was to establish Catacel. Now the three are using what they knew about metal foils and catalytic coatings to supply crucial materials for hydrogen fuel cells, heat-exchange systems and industrial hydrogen production.

The company ended fiscal 2009 with an 86 percent growth in employment, a 50-percent increase in work space and a 72-percent increase in revenues. Commercial sales for Catacel increased from $900,000 in 2008 to just under $2 million this year.

Along the way, Catacel has benefited from nearly $5 million in Ohio Third Frontier grants, a recent $250,000 investment commitment by JumpStart Inc., and its own investments of more than $2 million.

The company employs 20 "but we're getting ready to hire more," Whittenberger says.

Source: William Whittenberger, Catacel
Writer: Gene Monteith

Yost Engineering Inc., a technology service, support and development company, knows a good intern can become a great employee. That's why the Portsmouth-based company has hired five of them, including three this year, from the Third Frontier Internship program.
 
"When they come into the work world they know what would get them a "B" on a (school) project isn't good enough for a client. If they're willing to do that that extra work, they turn into very good employees," said Yost Chief Operations Officer Francesca Hartop.

Among the company's products are sophisticated educational robotics kits, robotic and animatronics controllers and various software for healthcare providers. But it bucks the stodgy stereotype that often follows engineers, touting "a relaxed, friendly, team environment for employees. The dress code is casual, and staff members routinely bring semi-well-behaved dogs to the office. We also share our space with office cats and a large fish tank to provide feline entertainment."

Maybe that's one reason Yost, founded in 1999, has attracted so many top interns.

"We put them right to work in coding and product development," Hartop says.

Yost Engineering is just one of more than 700 high-tech Ohio companies who've found a partner in Third Frontier. Established in 2002, it links employers with talented college students in an effort to train and retain some of the state's most talented young workers.

More than 3,000 students have gone through the program. Third Frontier reimburses company's 50 percent of a student's wages over a 12-month internship period, or up to $3,000. It's geared toward the advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, bioscience, information technology, instruments, controls and electronics and power and propulsion sectors.

Source: Francesca Hartop, Yost Engineering
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

As Ohio manufacturers, start-ups and individuals look to impact � and benefit from � the emerging green economy, an Akron-based company is developing a product to capture waste heat and solar thermal energy, converting it into electricity.

Today about 60 percent of heat generated by burning fossil fuels is wasted, released into the environment, according to two-year-old rexorce. And every day, the sun shines down enough thermal energy to power the world's demands for a year.

Now, rexorce -- A privately held company founded by CEO Philip Brennan and CTO Michael Gurin -- is developing the ThermafficientTM heat engine. This system recovers thermal energy from industrial and commercial waste heat, solar thermal, bottom and top cycling in power plants and other sources.

That energy, in turn is converted into electricity to power Ohio's homes and companies. The company has a growing intellectual property portfolio that protects the novel means by which their engine harvests heat and creates power, heat and shaft work.

The founders of rexorce describe their work as pursuing "profit with a purpose, by providing innovative solutions to the world's energy challenges." Its aim is to radically improve the way thermal energy is sourced, produced, distributed and consumed.

"The reason I got involved is because I have passion to help find a real solution to the energy challenge," Brennan said.

Individuals and companies are becoming more aware of the environmental impact of their activities, and increasingly are looking for ways to curb that impact. Now, rexorce has the potential to tap into a large area of wasted and renewal energy sources.

The company was founded April 1st, 2007 and employs 17 people, mostly engineers. The company soon will bring on two more employees, and has received millions in financial support from the state including from Jumpstart and the Ohio Third Frontier. Most recently the company was awarded $1.5 million from the Innovation Ohio Loan Fund.

That support has allowed the company to make great progress, says Brennan, who previously worked for several Fortune 50 companies as a packaged goods marketer. His partner is a veteran engineer who has done contract development work for NASA, BMW and Caterpillar.

"We are in the final stages of development with deployment of a commercial scale system with two industrial partners in Q1 and Q2 of next year," Brennan said.

A commercial launch is planned for late 2010, and will be marketed in steel, cement, pulp and paper, petrochemicals, oil and gas sectors.

Source: Philip Brennan, rexorce
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

The nation's tough economy has wreaked havoc on both the number of college graduates hired right out of school and on college internships. But there's a bright spot to the picture, at least in Ohio: The Ohio Third Frontier Internship Program, which reimburses companies half the cost of the internships with the hope that students will remain in Ohio and take jobs with some of those companies.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, businesses and others plan to offer 21 percent fewer internships in 2009 than they did in 2008. Employers also told NACE that they plan to hire 7 percent fewer new grads in 2010 than they did this year.

Enter the Third Frontier Internship Program, which places students with companies involved in advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, bioscience, information technology, instruments-controls-electronics and power and propulsion. Interns must be majoring in physical, biological or agricultural sciences; engineering; computer sciences; or mathematics.

"There is a great need, even in the economy we're in," says Julia Hinten, program manager. Hinten says nearly 520 Ohio companies have participated in the program since it was begun in 2002; the program placed nearly 2,000 college students with Ohio firms last year.

Seapine Software, based in Mason, has found the program a way to add talent in an extremely competitive environment, says Chuck Clevenger, Seapine's corporate recruiter. The company has employed more than 25 students in a co-op/internship role, he says, and has hired seven to full-time positions.

"With the assistance of the Third Frontier, Seapine will be able to continue our intern hiring, even in the face of a soft economy," Clevenger says.

Sources: Julia Hinten, Third Frontier Internship Program; Chuck Clevenger, Seapine Software
Writer: Gene Monteith