Innovation + Job News

Anybody with a computer or PDA can tell you that there is no shortage of online guides devoted to supplying information about various venues, be they restaurants, nightclubs, galleries or concert venues. The difficulty, most of us quickly discover, is staying abreast of the ever-shifting events that occur at these venues.

Zipscene, launched in 2004 by Sameer Mungur and partner Jaydev Karande, endeavored to streamline and simplify the events-listings game by aggregating the information into one easy-to-use portal. Users found they could plan their entertainment calendars simply by browsing event types, dates, venues or location.

"The local entertainment business is very event-driven," explains Mungur, Zipscene's chief executive officer. "These operators are constantly changing their offerings in an attempt to attract a wider audience." A bar may launch a new happy hour; a restaurant might organize a wine dinner; a gallery may be planning a buzz-worthy art opening.

Not only did the site immediately improve a consumer's experience, it allowed the business owners to concentrate on other tasks. "To reach a highly fragmented audience, an operator constantly has to promote their events in print, on air, and on Facebook, Metromix, Twitter, and whatever the next thing to come along is," says Mungur. "Zipscene takes care of the things they don't have time to do."

Once Zipscene found its groove in Cincinnati, the owners focused their efforts on building a scalable solution that could be exported to additional markets. By developing a better platform and teaming up with media partners in other cities, Zipscene has already expanded into 15 new markets. The goal, adds Mungur, is to have a presence in the top 30 U.S. cities.

Source: Sameer Mungur, Zipscene
Writer: Douglas Trattner

Paul Edmiston, a chemistry professor at Wooster College, had been working on his experimental, patented nano-glass for a few years but couldn't quite figure out a way to market a product.

But thanks to a chance encounter on an airplane this past January with entrepreneur Stephen Spoonamore, that all changed.

Since then, Absorbent Materials Company has exceeded both of their expectations, creating a workforce of nine and manufacturing two operational products -- with a few more in development. By year's end, the reactive glass company hopes to pad its staff by as many as 10 additional employees -- including sales, engineering and production positions -- as the business continues to expand.

The mainstay of ABS Materials' product line is Osorb, a stable engineered silica capable of swelling to absorb eight times its weight in liquids. One of ABS Materials' products, Osorb Water Mesh, separates dirty, toxic water mined as a byproduct to gas and oil, using Edmiston's hi-tech, patented embedded glass mesh.

Another, Iron-Osorb TCE, soaks up and remediates excess chemicals in the ground near commercial production facilities.

During initial conversations, Spoonamore recalls Edmiston saying "No one is taking me seriously."

"I took his science very seriously," says Spoonamore, now chief executive officer of the firm. "I recognized his brilliance."

The company now has a lab in Wooster, as well as a production facility and office. ABS Materials hopes to add some labs at the Ohio State University in the coming year.

For its innovative work, ABS Materials was awarded a GLIDE award from the state, initial funding from private investors and is working with two initial customers on recovery and remediation operations.

Source: Stephen Spoonamore, Absorbent Materials Company
Writer: Colin McEwen

In 1997, Bahman Taheri, Tamas Kosa and Peter Palffy were researchers at Kent State University's Liquid Crystal Institute. Then the U.S. Air Force came calling -- and the trio became businessmen.

The resulting company, AlphaMicron, Inc., set out to solve a nagging problem with the forward positioning of flight deck displays, says Kosa. Specifically, military pilots in a dogfight must always look forward, unable to turn their heads to look outside.

What if you projected the data on the inside of a pilot's visor instead? Problem one: No one had the technology to place a liquid crystal display on a curved surface like a visor. Problem two: The data needed to be visible even with the sun shining in the pilot's eyes. And it couldn't go dark if the pilot ejected.

"Our response was, let's start a company," says Kosa, now AlphaMicron's chief operating officer. (Taheri became AlphaMicron's chief executive officer and Palffy, who remains on staff at Kent State, is what Kosa describes as "a silent partner.")

AlphaMicron, based in Kent, solved the first problem by developing the world's only liquid crystal technology for curved surfaces. While the firm continues to perfect technology needed for a usable military visor, the 35-employee company is making waves with a line of "switchable" goggles that allow skiers and snowboarders to adjust to prevailing conditions.

Sun too bright? Push a button and dim your lenses. Sun behind a cloud? Push it again. Developed in collaboration with Uvex Sports in 2004, the goggles won a Popular Science "Best of What's New" award in 2004. Similar technology is now being used to commercialize switchable visors for other sports eyewear and motorcycle helmets, Kosa said.

Source: Tamas Kosa, AlphaMicron
Writer: Gene Monteith

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

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 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

Sooth Inc. is hoping to put thousands of technology geeks into a box. A really small box.

Erwin Bruder, the CEO of the Beachwood-based company, says Sooth could permanently change the way computer networks run with its cost-saving programs that eliminate the need for an army of behind-the-scenes techies.

His company's innovative new programs lend a hands-off approach to keep things running smoothly.

For example, Seer and Supervisor are two programs that can function together or on their own. Seer collects and reports information ranging from inventory to troubleshooting, and Supervisor, like its name suggests, does the busy work -- freeing up high-level technicians to do more important things.

"We have automated this. You don't have to have a person dusting and cleaning," says Bruder. "Unless there's smoke coming out of the back of the device, you'll never have to touch it again."

The company was formed in 2006 by networking expert Michael Carpenter and computer scientist Dennis Dumont -- who each have 20 years of experience in the networking sector of the computer industry.

"The two got together and realized these things were all done manually, and asked 'Why hasn't anybody automated this?'" Bruder says. "Automobiles used to be painted by hand. Now they are painted by robots. Why are these networking problems still managed by hand when they can be managed by robots?"'

There are currently nine employees at Sooth, but Bruder expects to add as many as 35 technical support and sales positions by the end of 2010.

"After that, our growth will be exponential," he says. "We are just cranking up right now."

Source: Erwin Bruder
Writer: Colin McEwen

Geoff Hardman admits that his Cleveland-based company lacks the sex appeal of other, more glamorous tech startups. As a processor of customized stored-value programs, SparkBase operates behind the scenes, servicing its client base while garnering little attention.

"Folks never think about these systems, but somebody has to make them run," says Hardman, the company's president.

When a customer uses a gift or loyalty card at one of his or her favorite merchants, the transaction is wired to a company like SparkBase, which manages and keeps track of the money. Fast becoming a leader in the stored-value card field, SparkBase handles millions of transactions annually for merchants in five different countries.

What makes SparkBase unique, says Hardman, is that clients have complete control of the loyalty card programs, which allows them to rebrand them any way they wish before marketing them to merchants. The system is also fully customizable, permitting configurations that appeal to a wider range of companies.

"We are more like a technology partner," adds Hardman. "Every bit of code, every piece of hardware is owned by us."

Founded in 2004 and located in Cleveland's AsiaTown neighborhood, SparkBase has 10 full-time employees. That number is expected to double in the very near future, says Hardman, as the technology expands to new applications.

Source: Geoff Hardman, SparkBase
Writer: Douglas Trattner

Light bulbs often flick on during the darkest times. The light bulb behind Turning Technologies went on after 9/11.

At the time, Mike Broderick was working at a firm that provided businesses with audience response software used in settings like annual meetings. When the Twin Towers fell, U.S. companies immediately canceled events that depended on travel.

"Our business went away for the rest of the year," says Broderick, now Turning Technologies' chief executive officer. "We saw it as an opportunity. We said 'if we sat down with a blank sheet of paper and applied the technology to universities, schools, corporate learning environments, how would we do it?'"

The Youngstown-based firm seems to have done it right. In 2007 -- just five years after Turning Technologies opened its doors -- Inc. Magazine ranked it the fasted-growing, privately held software firm in the country and the 18th fastest over all, with respect to revenues.

Key has been the company's flagship product, TurningPoint, which integrates natively into Microsoft PowerPoint.

"With this technology, everybody in the audience is forced to be engaged," Broderick explains. "Responses are anonymous to others in the class, but the instructor is able to know who responded and how well the entire class understands the material. It can also be used for homework and to reduce paperwork."

Turning Technologies products are now found in 1,800 major colleges and universities and 15,000 to 20,000 K-12 buildings, Broderick says.

While the firm is no longer growing at its previous pace, Broderick expects to add a modest number of jobs this year to his current 150-employee base and to enjoy double-digit revenue growth "for the foreseeable future."

Source: Mike Broderick, Turning Technologies
Writer: Gene Monteith

Imagine hitting a hole-in-one on your favorite golf course. Now imagine that the once-in-a-lifetime experience occurred during an afternoon of solo play, while nobody was around to verify it. Ouch!

For courses equipped with the VeriShot monitoring system, that dream shot would be recorded for all to see. Concocted by a law student who worked part time as a golf course cashier, the system uses high-tech digital cameras to record memorable golf shots at select holes.

During tournaments and group outings, the holes that feature closest-to-the-pin and hole-in-one competitions generate the most buzz. But those scenarios require manpower to run them. The VeriShot system essentially turns every hole into a potential contest hole.

Golfers who choose to participate pony up a small fee at the pro shop before teeing off. Those who sink a hole-in-one can win as much as $10,000 and have video of their shot posted on VeriShot's Winning Golf Shots website. The system can also be used to record swings and other contest scenarios.

Founded in 2004 and based in Independence, Ohio, Verishot is marketed to golf courses as a way to increase revenue by generating heightened golfer excitement. The main system utilizes a solar-powered camera pole mounted by the featured hole, while a portable version can be rolled out for special events and tournaments.

"Since the program started at Falcon Ridge, the Verishot system has created quite the buzz among our customers," explains Dean Lytton of Kansas City's Falcon Ridge Golf Club. "After only one month we were able to reward one of our golfers with $10,000 for a hole-in-one."

Sources: Verishot, (http://www.verishot.com/); Dean Lytton, Falcon Ridge Golf Club
Writer: Douglas Trattner

Like most freelance jazz musicians, John Knific was always searching for his next gig. While attending classes at Case Western Reserve University, the student supplemented his income by playing in trios at restaurants. When Knific looked at ways to promote himself on the Internet, he found that the available tools were woefully lacking.

"The only real option was MySpace Music, which was like Web 1.0," explains Knific. What he was looking for, he adds, was something more like LinkedIn for musicians. The model didn't exist -- so he created it.

Founded last year, CitizenGroove is radically different from the "flat" one-person, one-profile social networking sites dedicated to music, says Knific, the Cleveland-based startup's CEO. Artists work with numerous people on various projects, making static portfolio pages inadequate. CitizenGroove's dynamic platform links musicians to all the artists with whom they have collaborated.

This structure makes it easier for listeners to discover new music by creating a trail from a favorite band or artist. Talent scouts can use the site similarly, finding acts that fill certain niches and attract specific audiences. Conservatories are finding the platform extremely useful in promoting their music students and helping them succeed in the post-grad world.

At present, the company employs the four founders and a fulltime developer. The team has wrapped a successful beta launch and is preparing to go live in early 2010.

After receiving his undergraduate degree, Knific was accepted to Case Western's medical school. That's on hold.

"I took a one year deferral to make a go of this company because I knew I'd never forgive myself if I didn't," he says. "I don't think I'm ever going back."

Source: John Knific, CitizenGroove
Writer: Douglas Trattner

Adapt or die, the saying goes. And had it not been for its ability to embrace changes in the marketplace, American Trim  would be a mere footnote to history rather than a cutting-edge 60-year-old manufacturing company.

American Trim began its life as Lima Tool and Die, a family-owned company that produced appliance handles for kitchen ranges. Today, the company is a leading supplier not only for the appliance trade, but also the heavy truck industry. An eagerness to stay on top of the latest technologies has made American Trim a pioneer in the areas of electromagnetic forming, digital printing and advanced surface modification.

Currently under development is a process called physical vapor deposition. This technology is used to deposit thin film coatings onto ferrous and non-ferrous substrates. In layman's terms, it creates a "near-chrome" finish that can be used to simulate stainless steel on refrigerators, ovens, washers and dryers. In the not-too-distant future, consumers can look forward to improved durability and beauty on a wide array of household appliances.

American Trim hopes to build a new production facility that will create 60 new jobs, replacing many lost to off-shoring. This facility is expected to generate annual revenues in the $12- to $14-million range.

American Trim's adaptability has landed the company more than $10 million in grant funding from the Ohio Third Frontier Wright Projects program, which provides grants to support specifically defined near-term commercialization projects. In collaboration with Lima's Rhodes State College, the company recently unveiled the Materials Deposition Center at its Lima facilities.

Source: American Trim, http://www.amtrim.com/news.asp
Writer: Douglas Trattner

With all of the gains made in advanced manufacturing, some work still can be dirty, expensive and dangerous. But a Cincinnati area company is working to make manufacturing and medical processes safer, cleaner and less costly.

Brighton Technologies Group, in St. Bernard, has developed nearly a dozen new technologies including pretreatment, coatings and films for metals and wood. They include Oleophic Thin Films that prevent oil from clogging industrial filters, Water Resistant Thin Films that protect decorative metal surface finishes and Polymer Surface Treatment for tough-to-bond materials. All are designed to be cleaner and less hazardous to workers and the environment.

Brighton was founded in 1997 as an independent research and development consulting firm, but eventually evolved to improve and develop coatings for medical and airplane parts. BTG changed course when it invented a viable high performance alternative to the toxic, hazardous, and expensive chromate metal pretreatment processes most commonly used, the company says. Recognizing the gravity of the problem, the EPA and NSF provided substantial financial support for development of BTG's technology.

In June, Brighton was awarded $748,000 in Ohio Department of Development and Ohio Third Frontier grants to bring its Surface Energy Probe, or SEP, to market. The hand-held SEP assesses a surface's readiness for coating, printing and bonding to reduce work failure and rework costs. The automobile and packaging film industries are among those excited by this new technology.

"We plan to deliver beta versions to Lockheed-Martin, Boeing and the US Air Force before the end of the year," says Eric Oseas, BTG's Chief Operating Officer.

Brighton also is developing an anti-microbial coating for medical devices aimed at reducing infections that patients acquire in hospitals.

Source: Brighton Technologies Group news and Eric Oseas, Chief Operating Officer
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

Home brewers know that fermentation stops when the yeast produce so much alcohol they can no longer survive. If you want a higher alcohol content, you'd better find a different yeast strain that can survive in a more toxic soup.

That, in essence, is what Ohio State University researchers have done in developing a new strain of bacterium (clostridium beijerinckii) that produces twice the amount of alcohol -- in this case butanol -- before kicking the bucket. The potential payoff is a motor fuel that has many advantages over ethanol -- America's current biofuel of choice.

Shang-Tian Yang, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, says butanol, which is used widely as a solvent, now sells for $3.50 to $5 a gallon. Because much of the cost is in production, getting twice the amount of butanol from the same amount of bacteria could reduce the cost by half.

"Ethanol has severe limits," Yang says. "It is corrosive and can't be shipped through a pipeline, you have to ship using trucks. And it must be mixed with gasoline to be used as a fuel in current automobiles."

He says ethanol alone has around a third less energy content than gasoline and gets only 65 percent of the mileage. It is highly volatile and explosive. Yang says butanol is superior to ethanol in every way but one: its price.

Boosted by a $1-million grant from the Ohio Third Frontier, Yang is leading work to develop the technology needed for commercial production. In the meantime, his team has applied for a patent on the new bacterium and production process.

Source: Shang-Tian Yang, Ohio State University
Writer: Gene Monteith

Chefs adore locally grown produce. Farmers enjoy selling it to them. The problem, though, has always been connecting the far-flung parties in a mutually beneficial arrangement.

That's where Fresh Fork Market comes in. Founded by Case Western Reserve University grad Trevor Clatterbuck, the innovative start-up offers a supply chain solution that moves the product from grower to chef.

The concept � billed as a "virtual farmers market" � has caught the attention of the Cleveland Foundation's Civic Innovation Lab, which doles out $30,000 grants to start-ups it believes can provide a boost to the local economy. During its six-year existence, the Lab has contributed roughly $1.5 million to help nurture over 50 great ideas -- ideas that might not attract the interest of more traditional funders.

It appears to be working. A recent study conducted by Cleveland State University's Center for Economic Development found that the Civic Innovation Lab generated $9.4 million and added 128 jobs to the local economy. In addition to Fresh Fork, the Lab has extended a financial leg up to an indoor mountain bike park, a teen-centric magazine, and CityWheels, the first car-sharing service in Ohio.

The modest grants are often the difference between survival and success. Often more helpful than the cash is the mentorship and training these young companies receive from more seasoned professionals.

"The money from the Civic Innovation Lab really gave Fresh Fork traction," explains Clatterbuck. "We used it to build an innovative web platform for local farmers and customers to interact. It turns out that what was designed to be a tool for us is actually a desirable product to sell as well. The business has now evolved to involve licensing the technology to other parties across the country."

Sources: Trevor Clatterbuck, Fresh Fork; Civic Innovation Lab
Writer: Douglas Trattner