cleveland/northeast ohio : Innovation + Job News

When life gives you lemons, make shampoo. That seems to be the motto of Gay and Buz Fifer, a Wooster couple working to take their pet care company to the next level by focusing on a line of all-natural products.

Parsley Hollow, which began selling its products in 2005, grew from an all-too-common circumstance in today's economy: Both she and her husband had been laid off from their jobs.

"I'm 63, Buz is 65, we had good careers, we had good jobs, we have good resumes, but nobody wants to hire people who are our age," Gay says. "And so we started a business."

Gay says that before Parsley Hollow sold its first product, she already had been "making these organic, all natural products for my own animals, which had skin problems." One day, she asked her vet if he thought she could make something that might be as effective as the expensive stuff sold commercially. "And he said 'yeah, I think you could.'"

In fact, that vet carried the Parsley Hollow line until his recent retirement, the Fifers say.

Today, the company sells six products, all of which the Fifers say differ from most mainstream pet products because they are "completely all natural and organic." Additionally, each product includes a natural antibacterial agent, Gay says.

The company has some celebrity endorsements, including legendary Miami Dolphins running back Larry Csonka and country artist Kasey Lansdale. Three veterinarians, 10 specialty pet stores and 12 groceries are actively selling the products, Buz says.

While an economic downturn has affected sales, the Fifers say they are negotiating a national deal that could put their products on shelves nationally -- though under a different name -- late this year.

Sources: Gay and Buz Fifer, Parsley Hollow
Writer: Gene Monteith

Athens-based Sunpower soon could see its super-efficient engine technology blast into the heavens though a partnership with NASA.

Sunpower founder William Beale, a former Ohio University professor, developed Sunpower's signature Stirling engine � a free-piston Stirling engine that will run for 100,000 hours without stopping � that's been the basis for the company's cryo-coolers, engines and compressors. Beale developed the technology in the 1970s, but it's been refined over decades.

Sunpower's cryocoolers have long cooled down highly sensitive sensors, including medical devices, nuclear material detection devices and their engines have been developed for solar, biomass, diesel, and natural gas generators. But recently the company has set its sights higher, into space to be exact, through a partnership with NASA that will launch Sunpower technology into deep space.

"When we started, this technology had just been invented, now we have commercial cryocoolers products and engines designed for space applications," company CEO and president Mark Schweizer said. "Our engineering services today are all around NASA. Going forward we're developing engines for terrestrial applications (solar power generation and critical remote power) for commercial customers."

Under the joint sponsorship of NASA and the Department of Energy, Sunpower is helping developed a high-efficiency Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (or ASRG) for future NASA Space Science and Exploration missions.

Sunpower is developing two Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASCs), operating at a hot-end temperature of 650 degrees Celsius for the ASRG. It's a joint project, along with Lockheed Martin and the NASA Glenn Research Center  of Cleveland.

The company's work with NASA has fueled expansion. Sunpower has grown 32 percent in the last two years, and now employs 71. Many of the employees are engineers and technicians, many who have been recruited from Ohio University and nearby Hocking College respectively.

Source: Mark Schweizer, Sunpower
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

It almost sounds too good to be true: Transform old tires, carpet, and other polymeric trash destined for the landfill into readily useable fuel. This trash-to-treasure tale is no fantasy; it is precisely what three modern companies already are doing on a daily basis.

Vadxx, an eight-person firm headquartered in Cleveland, has perfected a technique that transforms discarded tires and waste oil into synthetic crude and natural gas. The oil is sold to energy marketers while the gas is reserved to fuel future processes. The company has multiple letters of intent to build large-scale units, including one from the Portage County Solid Waste Management District.

"This is one advanced energy concept that if we achieve our objectives the marketplace will overwhelm it because the capital costs are so small," explains CEO James Garrett.

Joseph Hensel, chairman of Akron-based Polyflow, says that what distinguishes his company from the others is the range of waste that the Polyflow process can utilize. "This is a stunning process designed to handle a truly mixed range of polymer waste," Hensel explains. Tires, carpet, PVC pipes and plastic children's toys that would otherwise clog up a landfill are broken down to oil that is sold to local blenders. For every ton of waste processed, the system yields .7 tons of fuel.

Polyflow is currently scaling up its pilot program to a unit that can handle two and half tons of waste per hour. "I'm hoping that you'll soon see this in every major municipality," adds Hensel.

Princeton Environmental uses a different technology to turn trash into fuel. Sorted solid waste is converted to synthetic gas in a process called gasification. That highly efficient gas is then burned in a turbine to generate electricity. The New Jersey-based company has plans to build its first U.S. power plant in Cleveland.

All three of these processes eliminate or greatly reduce the production of noxious emissions and carbon dioxide, making them far greener than the trash-burning power plants of yesterday.

Sources: James Garrett, Vadxx, and Joseph Hensel, Polyflow
Writer: Douglas Trattner

Banking on a homegrown, high-tech solar cell system, Ohio's GreenField Solar Corp. is positioned for a fast-paced growth that kicked off this month with the grand opening of its new corporate headquarters in Oberlin.

GreenField, founded in 2008, is the convergence of two earlier companies: PhotoVolt and Greenfield Steam and Electric.

"We develop and manufacture the solar cells and the PV systems," said Mico Perales, GreenField Solar's director of business development.

The company also has facilities in North Ridgeville, Ohio, and at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The Oberlin location will serve as corporate HQ and the primary fabrication center.

Founder Bernie Sater, a former NASA Glenn Researcher Center scientist, invented the solar cell technology behind the company's StarGen Concentrated PV system. This heavy-duty, innovative system captures the sun's rays to produce electricity and thermal energy for high use customers including utilities and other large, commercial companies.

Among the company's clients are Duke Energy, American Electric Power, and the City of Lanier.

GreenField Solar aims to drive down the cost of its product and installation to make its technology affordable without using subsidies.
 
"In addition, the company seeks to leverage the experience and expertise of the state's Edison Centers," Perales said.

The company has 20 employees, but is planning big gains through increased commercialization of its product over the next five years.

"With the opening of our Oberlin facility, which includes laboratory and clean-room environments, we are taking a significant step towards hiring over 200 additional employees over the next five years within Ohio," said Jim Latham, GreenField Solar Director of Operations.

Those jobs will be in solar cell and system production, engineering, finance, sales and marketing.

Source: Mico Perales and Jim Latham, GreenField Solar
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

Remember the Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia in 2006? The mine collapsed and a dozen people died when rescuers could not locate them in time.

The folks at InSeT Systems remember the incident well; and their goal is to make sure that never happens again.

The Akron-based company is fine-tuning its Inertial Sensor Tracking System, which uses inertial technology to provide the most accurate location data available underground. The device will also work any other places GPS can't reach (think outerspace and underwater).

The mining industry got a push toward additional safety standards in 2006 with the passage of the MINER Act, requiring mining companies to wirelessly track where all of their employees are at all times.

Jay Breeding, InSeT's chief operations officer, says the founders of the company knew that no such technology existed on the market.

They got a $400,000 loan from JumpStart and began the work. InSeT later received loans from the state and a grant from the Ohio Coal Development Office for $330,000.

With a product developed, InSeT will now begin large-scale testing. What better place to test than the largest underground mine in Ohio?

"We're very optimistic about this test," Breeding says.

He adds there are plans to add as many as 50 jobs by the end of 2012 -- not including subcontractors. Four people, including Breeding, are currently employed with InSeT.

"We had to start from scratch but we know we've got superior technology," he says, adding that the company recently took home a 2010 NorTech Innovation Award. "We'll hang the gold star on our door when someone gets to go home who otherwise wouldn't have."

Source: Jay Breeding, InSeT Systems
Writer: Colin McEwen

JumpStart will lead the way on a new Ohio program to give minority-owned, women-owned and inner city businesses the technical and financial assistance they need to create jobs.

The Cleveland-based not-for-profit venture development organization today will formally unveil Launch100, a five-year program in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Development and 15 state-funded business assistance organizations. Scheduled attendees at the kickoff include Gov.Ted Strickland and State Rep. Sandra Williams.

Darrin Redus, chief economic inclusion officer for JumpStart and president of JumpStart Inclusion Advisors, says his organization will lead a 12- to 18-month pilot aimed at proving the effectiveness of such a program in advance of a statewide roll-out. He says the program will extend JumpStart's reach beyond its traditional technology-based portfolio.

"We were coming across high-potential opportunities led by women and minorities that may or may not be in some of those core emerging technologies but still represented very high growth potential businesses," Redus says. "So . . . we began to have conversation with the state around wouldn't it be great to try to position Ohio as a leader in growing minority firms?"

Participating companies must meet a number of initial criteria, including potential for sales growth, job-creation and market potential. They must be minority-owned, women-owned or operate in the inner city. Assisting promising inner-city business, regardless of ownership, is key, JumpStart says, noting a report by The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City that found growing inner city firms hire inner city residents at almost twice the rate of other inner city firms -- and six times the rate regionally.

JumpStart, which serves a 21-county area, hopes to engage 12 to 15 companies over the course of the pilot; the eventual goal statewide is 100.

Sources: Darrin Redus and Cathy Belk, JumpStart
Writer: Gene Monteith

There might come a day when you can leave the doctor's office and have your check up without returning. The doctor could simply turn on a computer and monitor your progress online.

Sound super futuristic? It may come sooner than you think.

The folks at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are working on a radio frequency system for implantable biosensors � ones that could go inside a person.

Rainee Simons, branch chief at the NASA Glenn Research Center, says the Radio Frequency Telemetry System for Implantable Bio-MEMS Sensors -- or BioMems for short -- were originally planned for astronauts, but the space suits complicated things.

The research center teamed up with Endotronix in Peoria, Ill., for the product's newfound focus on heart patients.

But Rainee says there's no limit to the Bio-MEMs' success. NASA Glenn Research Center was recently contacted by a company in Texas, inquiring about the device's possible use in spinal monitoring.

"The advantage of our system is that the device is extremely small (1mm x 1mm) and it is does not require batteries and there are no wires," Simons says. "And it's is non-invasive; therefore it prevents any toxicity."

Without batteries, the device works through a real-time inductive system, meaning it is charged from the outside of the body.

Not surprisingly, the Bio-MEMs has gotten some attention. The system was awarded a 2010 NorTech Innovation Award. Also in 2009, the device was runner-up for best invention by the Wall Street Journal.

The device is currently undergoing trials, and there is no timetable set for market entry, Rainee says. But, he adds that Endotronix is considering a move to Cleveland � which could create countless jobs in Northeast Ohio.

Source: Rainee Simons, NASA Glenn Research Center
Writer: Colin McEwen

Rich Petrovich describes his company's transformation from an old-school tooling company to a high-flyer in Ohio's advanced materials industry as "quite a paradigm shift for us."

Petrovich is president and chief executive officer of Brooklyn Heights-based North Coast Tool & Mold, founded in 1976, and North Coast Composites, launched in 2003. He says North Coast got involved in high-performance composites about 20 years ago "but as a tool maker."

North Coast took a giant step forward seven years ago when it moved into production of composite parts. North Coast Composites, which manufactures carbon, Kevlar and fiberglass parts, primarily for the aerospace industry, shares 65,000-square-foot building with its sister company -- and the two work hand in hand, Petrovich says.

While Petrovich can point to a number of customers, competitors and suppliers who have gone out of business during the current recession, the Companies of North Coast are growing. In the past year, the company has increased employment between 24 and 27 percent, to 33 employees. 2009 sales were up 75 percent from the year before, and Petrovich expects them to double this year over 2009.

Two years ago, North Coast was included in an Ohio Third Frontier-funded consortium managed by the University of Dayton to develop a new process to include nano-enhanced materials in a composite inlet guide vane for military aircraft. The $5-million grant, of which North Coast received a part as a subcontractor, "has supported our growth in nanocomposites," Petrovich says.

The company is currently negotiating for serial production of a rudder it helped develop for the new Gulfstream G250 aircraft and is producing low-cost, lightweight containment cases for jet engines.

Source: Rich Petrovich, North Coast Companies
Writer: Gene Monteith

There is little argument that the medical device industry is one of the hottest growth sectors in the U.S. But a niche within that field, says entrepreneur Tim Moran, is being largely ignored. And that doesn't bode well for healthcare's littlest consumers.

"There aren't many players in the pediatric medical device space because there isn't huge cash-out potential," explains Moran, founder of Cleveland-based PediaWorks.

The issue, he notes, is simply a matter of market share. Whereas the adult medical device market caters to patients aged 18 to, well, death, the pediatric market stretches only from birth to 18. "And people in that younger age group are, thankfully, relatively healthy."

The lack of medical devices designed for young patients often leaves practitioners scrambling for suitable off-label replacements. In fact, there are relatively few devices that are FDA-approved for pediatrics. The associated problems can range from pain and discomfort, as in the case of an ill-fitting airway mask, to matters of life and death, illustrated by the absence of pediatric pacemakers.

Working with medical practitioners who design and test products they'd like to see, Moran says that PediaWorks is devising products such as cardiac catheters designed for infants and a brain retractor for use during neurosurgery. The latter of the two, adds Moran, also can crossover to the adult market without any modifications.

Moran, PediaWorks' sole employee, says that he founded the company as a nonprofit in order to accept charitable grants. The intent is to spin off for-profit companies that bring the devices to market.

Moran says that he recently left the field of IT outsourcing in search of a more stable industry. "It doesn't get more stable than the medical industry," he says.

Source: Tim Moran, PediaWorks
Writer: Douglas Trattner

Quasar Energy Group is banking on the promise of alternative energies and an abundance of farm, food processing and other biomass that can be converted to electricity, gas and heat.

The Cleveland company is developing that potential at Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster, where a bio-digester is currently supplying a third of the center's electricity needs. But the potential extends beyond the demonstration stage, Quasar says. Its commercial digester in Zanesville is nearing completion and the company plans to break ground on a Franklin County facility in spring or summer.

Digesters heat biomass like manure, crop waste, food waste, or fats and greases to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which allows bacteria to turn the mixture into methane. The gas can then be used as fuel to generate electricity -- which in turn can then be sold to the local power company or used on site -- for example, on a farm. Farmers can also use the processed biomass as clean animal bedding or fertilzer. While farmers aren't widely adopting the technology today, Ohio produces enough biomass to support at least 7,000 digesters large and small, says Clemens Halene, vice president of engineering.

The company had its beginnings three years ago when Schmack BioEnergy of Germany built a digester to help KB Compost Services process bio-solids generated at the Akron wastewater treatment plant. Later, Quasar spun off.

A recent $2-million Ohio Third Frontier grant is allowing Quasar and the OARDC to research and develop next generation technology and new possibilities, such as auto or home heating fuel. The company recently added five positions, giving it 20 employees. 

Sources: Clemens Halene and Caroline Henry, Quasar Energy Group
Writer: Gene Monteith

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

ACME Express wants to take $35 million a year out of Ohio healthcare costs. So far, it's received a lot of help to pave the way.

The Cleveland-based software developer, founded in 1980, has caught the attention both of the federal government and the State of Ohio, which have helped fund research and development as well as commercialization of software that makes scheduling of medical personnel more efficient.

ACME Express was founded in 1980, and since then has developed products and services aimed at everything from logistics, to education, to medicine. These days, however, "we're focusing on healthcare," says President and Founder Don Scipione.

Grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Ohio Third Frontier have made it possible.

First came a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the NIH in the late 1990s for Phase I "proof of concept" work. The successful completion of early work led to a Phase II grant for $250,000, Scipione says.

The company's successful DOCS scheduling software is now being used by 80 healthcare customers representing 5,000 doctors, Scipione says.

In 2009, ACME received a two-year, $350,000 grant from the Third Frontier's Ohio Research Commercialization Program to extend the product's reach into hospitals and clinics, where Scipione says the real healthcare savings will be. Meanwhile, the company is awaiting word on a pending Small Business Innovation Research Grant to extend the capabilities of the product to maximize savings.

Scipione, whose company went from 4.5 employees last year to a current seven, counts among his staff three interns attracted through the Ohio Third Frontier Internship Program.

Source: Don Scipione, ACME Express
Writer: Gene Monteith

Search engine optimization is big business these days and one that Idea Engine Inc. of Rocky River has tapped into with great success.

The company's proprietary software, SyncShow, has helped propel growth at Idea Engine by enabling its clients to automatically optimize their web site content as they update the site, says Dan Carbone, technology director, creator of SyncShow and co-owner.

"We tap into Google's data base and use our marketing expertise to tell you what you need to do to optimize your business specifically," says Carbone. "This allows you to update your web site quickly and to put the correct things in so you rank higher."

Idea Engine also helps businesses generate leads that turn into sales. One recent client reported nearly doubling its lead generation through SyncShow after it had suffered a significant loss of business due to the auto industry slump, he says.

Founded in 2002 by Christopher Peer and first operated out of his attic, the company's roots are based in brand strategy and graphic design. In 2005 the company won an NEO Success Award recognizing it as one of Northeast Ohio's fastest growing companies. In 2006 Idea Engine merged with SyncShow Interactive and became a technology and marketing firm.

Typical clients for the company include manufacturing and software companies with revenues between $20 and $200 million that market business to business services, says Carbone.

Growth has been steady at Idea Engine, which added two employees last year and now stands at 10. The company expects to duplicate its 25 percent growth again this year, but it may not add new employees.

Source: Dan Carbone, Idea Engine
Writer: Val Prevish

Ice on your car's windshield is a seasonal nuisance, removed with elbow grease and a plastic scraper. Ice on an airplane is much more serious. It'll stop you cold. Gravity is such a downer.

Willoughby-based Kelly Aerospace Thermal Systems, helps general aviation and commuter aircraft (such as Cessna 350/400 planes) with the ThermaWing system. The system is lightweight (46 pounds), covers a large surface area and sheds ice fast. All the pilot has to do is activate a switch. The system monitors the outside air temperature and controls itself. A flexible, electrically conductive, graphite foil attached to a wing's leading edge makes an instant temperature rise. The ice melts then goes away due to aerodynamic force. It's quick, and cleaner than liquid de-icing products.

Development began around 1999 and took off via a NASA Small Business Innovative Research grant. Kelly's great innovation  was adapting graphite heating element materials used in other high temperature applications to de-icing an aircraft.

ThermaWing installations began in 2006. Today, system maintenance can be performed not just at the 14-person site in Lake County near Cleveland, but also in Oregon, New York, Alabama (parent company Kelly Aerospace is based in Montgomery) and in Germany. The company plans to make the system available for a wider range of aircraft. Also a result of the research grant, the company has had success with product integration and certification of high-output alternators and DC-powered air conditioning.

Demand for ThermaWing has been steady, spokeswoman Michelle Beckmann says. And she points out that in aviation, due to thin air at higher altitudes, ice is a year-round hazard. (Take heart, fellow auto owners. Our de-icing needs are only seasonal.)

Source: Michelle Beckmann, Kelly Aerospace Thermal Systems
Writer: Gabriella Jacobs

While nobody knows exactly why autism is on the rise, the skyrocketing incidence of the condition is putting increased financial and programming pressure on school districts and parents alike. Hence, Monarch Teaching Technologies' VizZle.

Just a year into the commercial sale of VizZle (it stands for visual learning), sales are strong and the product has gardnered a passel of awards, says Terry Murphy, CEO of the Shaker Heights-based company. According to Murphy, between 400 and 500 individuals are now using VizZle outside the Monarch School (also in Shaker Heights), where the program was developed and piloted. Murphy says half the public schools in Loraine County are using VizZle, as is the Pasadena, Calif., school district. Schools in Durbinville, Capetown, South Africa, recently signed on as trial users.

"Research has shown that children with autism are tremendously gifted visual learners; they do not learn in the traditional way where a teacher can stand up at a blackboard and lecture on a topic and kids will take notes," says Murphy. "But if you can show them what you want them to do, or they can show you if they don't have language . . . then they can make their needs known to you and you can make your needs know to them."

According to Murphy, "teachers need to be able to personalize the material, so we created an online toolbox with all the tools in there to build your own visual supports. You can build your own lessons, build your own materials. So it's an authoring system. But once people build them, they can save them to a (shared) public library, and we have 1,800 activities now."

The company, founded in 2005, has grown to 14 employees and "couple of contractors."

Source: Terry Murphy, Monarch Teaching Technologies
Writer: Gene Monteith