Innovation + Job News

Estech believes it has found a clean energy alternative to fossil fuels -- and a way to keep from filling up landfills. With sales pending around the world, it's hoping that when the technology catches on, it will create hundreds of new Ohio jobs developing and building garbage-baking autoclaves.

Founded in 1998, the Powell-based company takes municipal waste and cooks it down to usable components.

"When we get through with that, it's easy to separate out the fiber, which is really clean when we separate it out, and metals, aluminum and plastics," says Ted Thomas, manager of engineering. "And all of those have a value in a recycle market."

Thomas says Estech is well positioned to provide both cheaper electricity -- by burning processed biomass -- and savings on municipal landfill costs.

While the process is straightforward, the market realities are more complicated. In the United States, it's now difficult to compete with a typical landfill's low "tipping fees" -- the cost of dumping garbage. Regulations also present a barrier to hooking up generators to the existing power grid, Thomas says.

But in much of Europe, where land is more limited and tipping fees represent a hefty cost for waste generators, Thomas says Estech, through Estech Europe, expects to make significant inroads into the marketplace. Likewise, Estech sees opportunity in developing countries where the cost of dumping may be free (in other words, along the road) but the cost of electricity is extremely high.

Thomas says the company now believes it could also operate profitably in the U.S., reducing the need for landfills and providing electricity cheaper than utilities -- if it can hurdle the barriers to market entry.

Estech received a TechColumbus Green Innovation award last year. It employs seven.

Source: Ted Thomas, Estech
Writer: Gene Monteith

"The only reason we're here is to create jobs, create new enterprises, and hopefully become a center of excellence in the area of sensors," says Dennis Cocco, co-director of Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE).

Thanks in no small part to a $75,000 Ohio Department of Development Edison Technology grant, the incubator on the campus of Lorain County Community College will be one step closer to becoming that "center of excellence" in the high-tech world of sensors. The money is being used to transform unused building space into labs suitable for sensor start-ups to perform prototype development work.

GLIDE already serves as an incubator for 20 on- and 40 off-site companies, offering a wide range of consulting and mentoring assistance such as preparing business plans and securing human and financial resources.

Long term plans to build more ambitious lab space that can handle harsh environmental testing will help GLIDE and Lorain County attract more sensor-based start-ups. Lorain County Community College also intends to build an educational program around the field to prepare students for work in that industry.

"We see a lot of need for companies in the sensor field," says Cocco. "The instrument, controls and sensor area is a technology that cuts across a lot of platforms, including biomedical, manufacturing, and transportation."

Source: Dennis Cocco, GLIDE
Writer: Douglas Trattner

Innovative Medical Device Solutions in Vandalia takes high-tech medical devices from the drawing board to the market place, creating jobs in the process.

IMDS has evolved over the decades, beginning life as AF Leis, a company that designed dedicated machines for the automotive industry in 1950. The company dove into the medical devices industry in the 1980s, says company board chairman and Chief Business Development Officer Harold Linville.

The contract manufacturer and supplier now specializes in product sourcing, co-innovation, and discovery research. IMDS acquired additional companies between 2006 and 2009, and expanded its mission beyond engineering into full-service medical device development, testing and manufacturing.

The company works with international companies like Johnson and Johnson and X-Spine in Miamisburg to develop intricate medical implants like spinal implants and joint replacement materials. The company also works with individuals surgeons who have ideas they want to bring into the medical marketplace.

Though IMDS's main offices and manufacturing facility is on Vandalia, the company also has facilities Oregon and Utah.

IMDS employs 475 and has hired 32 employees and four interns in the past year. The company has 15 open positions currently.

The Ohio Department of Development has also awarded IMDS a $1 million direct loan which it plans expand its Vandalia manufacturing facility.

Source: Harold Linville, IMDS
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

What started out as the purchase of few reburbished robots has grown into an internationally known company that sells, programs and services robots needed for complex manufacturing work.

Ken Carrier, owner of KC Robotics, says that besides selling robots, the company programs them to weld, cut, assemble route and handle a variety of industrial and manufacturing tasks. KC Robotic's technicians can also install, repair and service the robots on site.

"I'll put my guys on a plane and fly them all over the country. We work nationally and internationally. Right now I have a crew in Washington State, and we spend a lot of time on the West Coast," Carrier said, of his Fairfield-based company.

Carrier started KC Robotics in 1989, after transitioning out of an electronics sales and repair job for a Detroit manufacturer.
 
"I started buying used robots and then I had an inventory of 150. One thing led to another," Carrier said.

Like many companies, the recession dealt KC Robotics a bit of an economic hit, but business has begun to pick up. The company lost a few workers in the last year, but Carrier said he plans to rehire several of them this year. He currently has 14 employees.

The company's customers include food industry suppliers, foundries and aerospace companies. Technicians do work in South America, Europe, Asia, Mexico, and Canada, as well as the U.S.

Source: Ken Carrier owner KC Robotics
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

While the global economy has presented a rough road for many companies, Kendle International has managed not only to miss the potholes, but to pave its own way to growth. 

A leading global clinical research company, Kendle recently opened a new operations center in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Knowledge Corridor in India.

"Growth in India is a key component of our strategy and will be very important to the future of Kendle" says Stephen Cutler, senior vice president and chief operating officer. "Our expanded presence in Asia, and in India in particular, creates efficiencies in the clinical development process for our customers worldwide."

Founded in Cincinnati in 1981 by Candace Kendle and Chris Bergen, Kendle was also ranked a top clinical research organization (CRO) to work with in the 2010 CenterWatch European Investigative Site Survey. Kendle is the only CRO to be ranked consistently among the top three providers for each of the past four years in the annual U.S. and European site surveys conducted by CenterWatch, a leading publishing and information services company focusing on the clinical trials industry.

"Kendle's ability to forge strong and collaborative relationships with investigative sites across the globe is key to our ability to deliver studies more efficiently and cost effectively for our customers, which is increasingly important in today's environment," says Cutler.

The company reported net income of $1.2 million for the first quarter 2010 compared with net income of $886,000 for the first quarter 2009.

Source: Stephen Cutler, Kendle International
Writer: Val Prevish

LifeServe Innovations -- a student-run, ground-stage medical device company -- is bridging the gap between academia and medicine. And its founders hope to save some lives along the way.

Richard Arlow and Zachary Bloom formed LifeServe Innovations after completing undergraduate research at Lehigh University. While the company is incorporated in Pennsylvania, the two are in the process of moving LifeServe permanently to Ohio, where they are getting plenty of attention.

Arlow, a second-year medical student at Case Western Reserve University, says it was his work as an EMT where he began to realize needs in the medical field. "We started talking to emergency physicians and EMTs about what problems they had and we decided to hone in on the airway field," he says.

LifeServe's two products, Cobra Tracheostomy and Viper Cricothyrotomy, are both geared (using a snake's fang design) to open airways in the neck during last-resort emergencies for the delivery of oxygen.

"It was really shocking to see the tools that people are currently using," Arlow says. "A lot of these devices are horrible and can be extremely complicated � it can be even worse in battlefield situations."

So far LifeServe has raised $100,000 in funding, including $25,000 for taking first place at the Akron-based LaunchTown Entrepreneurship Awards last month. The company also won Goldstein Caldwell and Associates Pitch Day Competition in Cleveland in April. Arlow says the company is applying for additional grants from the government and the military.

LifeServe is still in the pre-clinical testing phase, but Arlow says the company will soon begin testing cadavers and a product on the market within one year � adding as many as five positions.

Source: Richard Arlow, LifeServe
Writer: Colin McEwen

Mason IT consulting firm Afidence's expertise in saving companies money through increased efficiency has helped this young company grow in just a few short months.

Afidence President Bryan Hogan started the company as a spinoff from Ray & Barney Group, an IT recruiting and consulting company based in Columbus. Hogan co-owned the Columbus company and bought out the consulting portion, opening an office in the Cincinnati area where he lives.

Afidence advises clients on how to best use IT to improve efficiency and the bottom line. The company works with a variety of large and small companies but has a large number of clients in the higher education and health care sectors.

Afidence doesn't promote or sell hardware or software, but its employees have expertise in more than a dozen programs including Microsoft Exchange, Cisco, Blackberry, Citrix, K2 automation, WMware virtualization and Windows 7.

Afidence's key focus areas include backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity, IT planning, strategy, and business goals alignment, business process automation and workflow, document, data, and content management, workforce planning and project management among others.

Hogan brought several employees from his former company, starting out with 15 when Afidence opened its doors in January 2010. The company has since hired three employees and could hire up to four more by year's end, he said.

Source: Bryan Hogan, Afidence
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

Despite the fact that only about three quarters of patients who undergo spinal-fusion procedures receive appreciable benefits, nearly 400,000 of the operations are performed annually. The odds are even grimmer for those hoping for complete recovery, with only half of the patients reporting total pain relief.

Companies like Cleveland-based AxioMed Spine Corporation will soon offer a new solution with more promising outcomes: total disk replacement.

Unlike the first generation of artificial disks that utilized ball-and-socket articulating bearings, the latest "next-gen" devices better replicate the natural function of the native disk. AxioMed's patented polymeric core, along with the device's unique design, provides three-dimensional motion that reduces pain and increases mobility.

Following a successful European clinical study, the company's Freedom Lumbar Disc received CE Mark approval, signifying that the product meets European Union consumer safety standards.

"The Freedom Lumbar Disc is the only elastomeric lumbar total disk replacement device to receive CE Mark approval based on a rigorous multi-center clinical study conducted in the European Union," explains Patrick McBrayer, AxioMed's president and CEO. "We are particularly pleased to be able to provide surgeons in Europe with the Freedom technology that has been shown to provide patients pain relief, reduced disability and improved lifestyle."

The company recently completed the first part of its third financing round. An unnamed venture capital firm that participates in the Ohio Capital Fund has invested $6.4 million toward a Series C goal of $18.5 million. The lumbar disk is still a few years away from approval for a U.S. launch, McBrayer says.

Source: Patrick McBrayer, AxioMed
Writer: Douglas Trattner

Using proprietary new monomer chemistry, Bioformix, has carved out a based of sustainable products using natural raw materials, such as plant products.

Based in Blue Ash, Bioformix' new class of "benign monomers," resins and polymers could be used in a range of plastics and adhesives.

Unlike other competitive product initiatives that are limited to a single chemical structure or require tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in new technology investment for each product, the Bioformix platform uses existing capital infrastructure and know-how, thus radically reducing the costs to initiate and grow the business, says Adam Malofsky, president and CEO.

Initial markets include high value-added adhesives, coatings and sealants and Bioformix has already initiated several retail partnerships for sale of their products. These adhesives would be aimed at the consumer marketplace for use in ordinary home applications, says Malofsky.

Bioformix was founded by Malofsky, Bernard Malofsky, CTO and chief scientist, and Steve Levin of Acara Global, who now serves on Bioformix's board of directors and was the initial seed investor.

The company has raised $1.05 million in venture capital funding from the Queen City Angels and CincyTech.

Malofsky says he expects to be producing and selling products in the next 24 to 36 months. By the end of 2011 he says he plans to hire eight to 10 employees. In the next five years, he expects to have added 30 to 45 professional jobs in the Greater Cincinnati area, and within 20 years he predicts the company could be producing 10 to 30 million metric tons of product, essentially a multi-billion dollar venture.

Source: Adam Malosfsky, Bioformix
Writer: Val Prevish

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

An electric utility's biggest bane, John Lauletta says, is the power outage. It makes sense that if utilities could predict outages -- or at least when parts of the system were about to fail -- they'd jump at the chance.

Enter Exacter, which over the past four years has grown rapidly by helping to predict how and where overhead power distribution systems might fail.

Lauletta, Exacter's CEO, says the company began to gel in 2004, when he and fellow utilities veteran Larry Anderson (Exacter's vice president of international business) "started talking about this idea of predictive technologies. We started our work with the Ohio State University High Voltage Laboratory, and we opened our company on July 1, 2006."

Today, Exacter has 100 utility customers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia and the U.K.

In a nutshell, here's Exacter's approach: As a vehicle drives along the distribution route at regular speeds, a patented sensor in the car detects radio emissions from damaged components. Exacter sends a person into the field to confirm which component is damaged or failing. A digital photograph is taken, latitude and longitude confirmed, and reported to the utility so the problem can be fixed.

While there are other methods for finding bad components, none is as accurate, fast or as comprehensive as the method Exacter uses, Lauletta says.

Lauletta says another growing service for Exacter is helping utilities understand the feasibility of laying "smartgrid" networks over their distribution lines.

Exacter has received support from the Ohio TechAngel Funds and the Ohio Third Frontier Innovation Ohio Loan Fund. Last year, the company received Outstanding Startup and Outstanding Service awards from TechColumbus, and, more recently, a statewide professional engineering award for innovation for small companies.

Source: John Lauletta, Exacter
Writer: Gene Monteith

A news release calls it "a game-changing new nanomaterial that will allow composites to multitask - a wind turbine tower that can de-ice its own blades in winter, or store energy to release on a calm day, powering a grid even when its blades are not moving. Or a military vehicle whose armor can serve as a battery - powering some of the vehicle's electrical components."

Khalid Lafdi, who discovered the material, says it's not hype. He says his "fuzzy fiber" could revolutionize everything from water treatment to electronics to the manufacture of airplane parts.

Lafdi, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Dayton and group leader for carbon materials at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), says the new carbon nanomaterial surfaced eight or nine years ago while he was working on subcontract with the U.S. Air Force. But the material has drawn more attention recently because of a $3-million Ohio Third Frontier award to UDRI to fund scale-up and production.

Most carbon nanomaterials are used purely for structural purposes. They are stiff, light and strong. But they are poor conductors of heat or electricity because they are locked inside a flat sheet of resin. Sort of like slicked down hair.

But, Lafdi says, imagine if you put that gel into your hair and tousled it for a rakish, stylish Hollywood look. Voila -- more surface area, which makes for a better conductor of heat and electricity and provides other functionality that traditional carbon nanomaterials can't approach. All without lessening the structural benefits.

The Third Frontier award will help fund creation and equipment of a full-scale production facility for the hybrid fabric. The award will be matched by UDRI and Ohio collaborators Goodrich and Owens Corning -- potential end users of the material -- and Renegade Materials -- which intends to commercialize the product.

Source, Khalid Lafdi, UDRI
Writer: Gene Monteith

Global Neighbor has struck a chord with dandelion haters who want to kill the buggers in an environmentally friendly way.

Jon Jackson, president of the Dayton-based company, reports that by the end of the year he expects to sell his 1,000th unit of the NaturZap, a device that kills broadleaf weeds without chemicals.

The company was formed in 2003, and in 2006 piloted the NaturCut, an energy-efficient, battery-operated, shear-cut lawn mower. While Global Neighbor is still working on a cost-competitive design for the NaturCut, gardeners seem to have found a new friend in the AC-driven NaturZap, which was rolled out in 2008.

The device works with a combination of high heat -- which damages the root system -- and natural processes that introduce fungus into the damaged root.

That's good news for consumers like Jackson, who says his lab/pit bull mix gets a rash every time it encounters a chemically treated lawn.

NaturZap is sold primarily through online organic gardening outlets and is on back order, Jackson says. While the product is currently manufactured overseas, he intends to move production to Tipp City as volumes increase. Jackson also hopes to increase his number of employees from one -- himself -- to three next year.

Jackson is working on a souped-up, battery driven NaturZap. But he hasn't given up on the NaturCut's technology -- in fact, he hopes to springboard off of both products to create "a lawn care solution that has zero environmental impact," he says. "We envision something that is self propelled or you push through the lawn. It cuts the grass, it kills the weeds, it applies an organic fertilizer, all under computer control."

The company has benefited from a $12,500 Third Frontier grant through the Dayton Development Coalition, resulting in matching funds from private sources.

Source: Jon Jackson, Global Neighbor
Writer: Gene Monteith

Ohio State University has announced a new commercialization center that it calls a unique model for collaboration between university researchers and business -- one that will strengthen the state and national economies and increase university revenues.

The Technology Commercialization Center, which Ohio State says departs from typical university commercialization models, will emphasize partnerships between the colleges of engineering, food agricultural and environmental sciences, health sciences, business, law, and the Office of Research.

In a news release, OSU said the center will be housed within the Fisher College of Business and will "bring together, in one unified organization, new-technology evaluation, license negotiation, company-formation mentorship and undergraduate and graduate education on entrepreneurship and commercialization."

In addition, a Proof of Concept Center will be established to ensure inventions with the greatest potential for the commercial market will receive the most attention.

Caroline Whitacre, vice president for research, told hiVelocity in May that the center was in development.

"We need to prioritize these technologies and develop the most promising ones further within the university," she said at the time. "So the idea here is twofold: to do a thorough evaluation of these technologies, and that involves bringing in some people from outside as well, bringing in some market experts, both local and national. And using the expertise within the university to look at what's really valuable."

OSU says the strategy presents a significant opportunity to generate new revenue for the university, which is recruiting a chief commercialization officer to lead the effort. Ohio State, based in Columbus, ranks in the top ten nationally with $716 million in research expenditures in 2009 and is second in industry-sponsored research. The university's 2009 licensing revenue was $1.7 million.

Source: Ohio State University
Writer: Gene Monteith

By working with customers ranging in size from large pharmaceutical companies to small biotech startups, WIL Research has managed to weather many of the economic problems faced by its competitors.

Able to serve the contract research needs of a wider market, WIL has grown to nearly 700 employees since its 1976 launch.

Headquartered on a 78-acre campus in Ashland, Ohio, the company provides product safety assessment research and services to a wide range of industries, including pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agriculture, food additive and veterinary medicine.

The interdisciplinary staff includes experts in toxicology, pharmacology, neuroscience, pathology and animal medicine.

A recent expansion added 52,000 square feet of lab space to the already massive facility.

In addition to working with clients in all parts of the United States, WIL is poised to increase its European presence following the acquisition of Notox, a contract research firm in the Netherlands.

Source: WIL Research
Writer: Douglas Trattner