Lt. Governor Fisher announces $2.7 million in Third Frontier grants
COLUMBUS, OHIO (May 20, 2008) - Columbus, OH -- Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher, Chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission, today announced that the Commission recommended more than $2.7 million in grants through the Ohio Research Commercialization Grant Program to eight Ohio companies to support commercialization of new and innovative technologies. The awards are contingent upon State Controlling Board approval.
"In Ohio, success and sustainability mean supporting new ideas and research as well as providing assistance in order to connect these innovative products with the public," said Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development. "These grants today illustrate our dedication to helping companies flourish at every step of their process, whether it be creative or commercialization."
The purpose of the Ohio Research Commercialization Grant Program is to support Ohio small business enterprises as they commercialize new products within the next three years, and to fund commercialization activities for technologies that have been technically validated through federal programs.
The Commission announced the following awards for the Fiscal Year 2008 Ohio Research Commercialization Grant Program:
Acor Orthopaedic, Inc., located in Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), was recommended for $350,000 in funding to commercialize the TrueContour™ Therapeutic Insole System technology developed by DIApedia, a Pennsylvania company. The technology will use digital imaging of the foot to produce custom foot orthotics for patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The company anticipates this project will create 50 jobs and nearly $9 million in revenues by 2013. Acor Orthopaedic intends to use the funding for installing beta test systems in high-volume clinics, making necessary software modifications, expanding the use of the system to a wider base of patients, and developing marketing materials. A national product launch is planned for the end of 2010.
Think-A-Move, Ltd., located in Beachwood (Cuyahoga County), was recommended for $350,000 in funding for commercialization of a system that allows hands-free control of an unmanned ground vehicle via speech recognition. The technology consists of two microphones and one speaker mounted in a headset. An in-ear microphone picks up user speech inside the ear canal while an outer microphone detects exterior noise and cancels it out, producing clear speech for controlling devices. The device was developed for communications in high-noise environments and can be marketed to military and commercial markets, including police and fire departments. The company anticipates sales revenues to reach $2.5 million by the end of the 18-month project, and more than $20 million by 2013, as well as an up-to 33-percent increase in employment during that time. Think-A-Move intends to use the funding to complete the integration of the hands-free systems for military and commercial markets, support patent protection activity, prepare sales and marketing materials, and support joint sales calls.
LSP Technologies, located in Dublin (Franklin County), was recommended for $350,000 in funding for the establishment of a business division to manufacture, sell, and service Laser Bond Inspection Technology, a testing method for determining the integrity of bonded composite material joints. The company has developed and demonstrated the technology in conjunction with The Boeing Company. The company anticipates that the aerospace sector is projected to create systems sales of $2 million by the end of the project and will grow by about $2 million per year, reaching more than $8 million in 2013. LSP Technology anticipates its staff will grow to 18 employees during this time. Non-aerospace system sales are projected to begin around 2012 and over the next five years will increase the company's revenues to $20 million from $10 million and double its staff. The funding will be used to support a sales manager, perform an in-depth market analysis for the Laser Bond Inspection technology, execute market visits to potential customers, and complete the overall commercialization plan.
Spectra Group Limited, Inc., located in Millbury (Wood County), was recommended for $350,000 in funding for the commercialization of advanced photopolymers, which are polymers that cure or become solid when exposed to light. The project intends to commercialize these polymers for end-use applications in stereolithography, laser and digital light processing, and as a replacement for wax in investment castings. Spectra Group Limited anticipates that the project will create 16 jobs and more than $6 million in annual revenues by 2013. The funding will be used to upgrade its manufacturing capabilities by increasing its batch size and improving its quality control, and will provide the necessary raw materials to support extensive end-user evaluations in the target markets. The company also intends to use the funding to hire technical marketing partners to develop marketing strategies leading to new customer relationships.
L-3 Communications Nova Engineering, located in Cincinnati (Hamilton County), was recommended for $350,000 in funding for the commercialization of the Handheld Emissions Detector, a technology that allows detection, source direction, and location of radio frequency emitters. The device is of critical importance to the U.S. Army's concepts of the Land Warrior and Future Force Warrior. The Army has successfully tested the device and five enhanced units are scheduled for delivery to the Army by the end of 2008, with two to be immediately deployed in a combat environment. L-3 Communications Nova Engineering projects additional revenues from the device of about $4 million by the end of the 18-month project, increasing to $15 million per year by 2013, with $2 million of that amount coming from non-military sales. The company anticipates the technology will create 20 jobs, and intends to use the funding to prepare manufacturing procedures for volume production and building initial units, to conduct a reliability analysis of the Handheld Emissions Detector, obtain patent protection, conduct military user exercises, and expand its market plan.
Syncro Medical Innovations, Inc., located in Youngstown (Mahoning County), was recommended for $350,000 in funding for the commercialization of the Gabriel Magnetically Guided Feeding Tube. The tube uses magnets strategically placed at the distal tip that can be guided into position within the patient's body using an external magnet placed on the patient's abdomen. The company anticipates that the technology will eventually eliminate the need for x-rays to position all feeding tubes, and that the project will create 20 jobs and bring in $50 million in annual revenues by 2013. The funding will be used to build inventory of the feeding tube, conduct additional clinical studies at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, and hire a clinical educator, staff engineer, and marketing director.
UES, Inc., located in Dayton (Montgomery County) was recommended for $339,588 in funding for the commercialization of TitanCoat for automobile manufacturers, a surface treatment coating currently being commercially applied to die core pins. The coating is deposited by environmentally friendly, plasma-based physical vapor deposition processes, and the coatings have been shown to triple the life of die core pins, resulting in reduced downtown on the manufacturing floor. The company projects that this business will grow to $2 million with seven new jobs within two years, and after five years, revenues are expected to reach $5 million with a total of 12 jobs. The funding will be used to hire a business development person and increase its commercialization effort.
FOPAT, LLC., located in Dayton (Montgomery County) was recommended for $349,992 in funding for the rapid commercialization of advanced foam pattern material, a polymer mold to replace traditional wax molds used in the investment casting process. The new polymer mold "evaporates" when molten metal is poured into the casting. The technology offers dimensional accuracy, temperature stability, lower cost, and it reduces tooling time from 12 – 14 weeks to 1 – 2 weeks. The company projects annual revenues of $3 million with 22 new jobs at the completion of the project, and $15 million with 75 new jobs after five years. The funding will be used to hire production and sales manager for production scale-up and generation of sales leads.
The Ohio Research Commercialization Grant Program was created to improve the commercial viability of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) and Advanced Technology Program (ATP) research and development projects. The intent is to improve the ability of small technology companies to assess and realize the commercial potential of research projects and to promote the competitiveness of these companies through the augmentation of federal research and development funding.
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Media contacts: Kelly Schlissberg at (614) 466-4133 or Kimber Perfect at (614) 466-2609
