Cleveland : Innovation + Job News

Does a metal stamping tool with the potential to revolutionize an industry sound ambitious? Maybe. Is it possible? Absolutely.

That's exactly what the founders of M.O.M. Tools have in mind for the metal fabrication business.

M.O.M. (Men of Miami) Tools was established in 2003 by two Miami University graduates, Anthony Lockhart and John Collier. The pair created a patented "Dual-Head" punch for the metal fabrication and fastener industries, with the idea to improve productivity and reduce tooling, maintenance and scrap expenses.

With their innovative product, Collier and Lockhart believe the industry can be revived � with jobs that will stay in Ohio.

Lockhart says the Cleveland-based company found a niche, offering a product that has a longer life and better quality of a "punched" hole than the current tools on the market.

Typically, when a hole is punched through metal, it wants to close itself. The entire process takes "just a milli-fraction of a second," not visible to the naked eye. M.O.M. Tools' Dual-Head system has two cutting mechanisms and a groove to catch excess "flow." And the tool can last up to 15 times longer then conventional tools on the market.

"We want to revolutionize the metal stamping industry," Lockhart says. "Hopefully, by our efforts, we can retain some of the business in this country."

That type of innovation is bound to attract some attention. The Great Lakes Innovation & Development Enterprise (GLIDE) grant program awarded the company $25,000.

"Our goal is to continue to add jobs and continue to grow," Lockhart says. "And these are not minimum wage jobs by any stretch of the imagination."

Source: Anthony Lockhart, M.O.M. Tools
Writer: Colin McEwen

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

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

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

Parker Hannifin is known worldwide for manufacturing valves, fittings, hoses and dozens of other products.

The Cleveland-based company can now add another product to its catalog. Sometime this year, the company is expected to launch its line of high-speed brakes for wind turbines, similar to those used in helicopters.

Although the company is already well established � with more than 50,000 employees (4,000 in Ohio) and a 90-year history � Parker Hannifin is getting some serious support for this new economy project.

The company was awarded $1 million for the Ohio Wind Turbine Brake Commercialization project from the state's Third Frontier initiative and is working with other agencies, including Case Western Reserve University.

Spokesman Aidan Gormley says as many as 40 high-paying technology-based jobs will be added over the next six years, thanks to the company's new line.

The company is modeling the wind turbine technology off of its current helicopter brake experience. The part will be manufactured at its Aircraft Wheel and Brake Division in Avon � one of 30 Parker plants in Ohio.

"This is simply an adaptation and integration of our existing technology capabilities into solutions for a new and rapidly expanding market." Gormley says, adding that the company is moving toward the development of more energy efficient technologies � including geothermal, ocean energy, fuel cell, solar and hydropower applications.

"Parker believes that Ohio has a tremendous opportunity to grow its economy by building on the strengths of its existing business base in advanced energy technologies."

Source: Aidan Gormley, Parker Hannifin
Writer: Colin McEwen

As founder of the American Migraine Center, Bahman Guyuron sees about 3,000 migraine sufferers per year. Potential treatments range from pain medications and Botox injections to full-blown surgery, the latter of which Dr. Guyuron pioneered as Chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery at University Hospitals.

But not all of his patients desire medication or are good candidates for surgical intervention. For those migraine sufferers, the doctor developed a portable heating and cooling device that relieves pain on contact. "The efficacy of heating and cooling therapy in alleviating pain has been recognized for years within the medical community and amongst patients," explains Guyuron.

Along with Brad Pulver, the doctor founded Innovative Medical Equipment, the Cleveland-based company that sells the SootheAway Thermal Therapy System. Unlike traditional heat and ice packs, which are messy, clumsy and inconsistent, this small device -- it measures in at just 11 inches by four inches by four inches -- circulates thermostatically controlled water through therapeutic pads. Various pads target specific areas of the body, such as the forehead, eyes and neck.

Started just six months ago with two principles, Innovative Medical recently launched a website and is already filling orders from around the country.

"We're growing rapidly," says Pulver. "We are already up to five employees, and will be adding sales and marketing staff soon."

As SootheAway expands into other markets, namely orthopedics, physical therapy, and pre- and post-surgical, additional jobs will likely follow.

The company also markets Laser-Seal, a gel-based wound dressing that Guyuron invented.

Sources: Brad Pulver and Bahman Guyuron, Innovative Medical Equipment
Writer: Douglas Trattner

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

The Garland Company began manufacturing and marketing environmentally-conscious roofing and flooring solutions long before the term "sustainable design" became stylish. Today, sustainability is Garland doctrine.

The company that began with just one employee more than 100 years ago now employs more than 500 people across 12 sister companies under the umbrella organization of Garland Industries Inc.

Founded in 1895 as an oil, grease and paint supplier, Garland today is 100 percent employee-owned, manufacturing high-performance products for commercial, industrial and public properties.

The product line includes reflective, modified bitumen, metal, vegetative and photovoltaic solutions.

"Garland is at the forefront of our industry in the area of sustainable technology for the total building envelope," says Tom Bauer, a Garland Company product Manager. "We've built our entire family of technologies around the belief that longevity is the primary attribute of sustainable design."

Garland's earliest vegetative roofs were introduced to the market in 1991. And in 2008 the company launched "Garland Greenhouse" branding to identify its growing family of sustainable offerings.

Last year, Garland was recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in Northeast Ohio, receiving the Weatherhead Centurion award from the Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management and the Council Of Smaller Enterprises.

Bauer says there are no plans to leave the area.

"(Cleveland) has been hospitable to the numerous expansions we have undertaken over the years," he says. "We have been fortunate enough to have benefited at times from various economic development initiatives offered by the city, and (we) are proud to call Cleveland our home."

Sources: Michelle Sweitzer and Tom Bauer, The Garland Company
Writer: Colin McEwen

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