HOLLAND ? Five Michigan-based technology companies have been named the winners of this year’s “Scale Up Michigan!” competition, sponsored by Lakeshore Advantage and the Michigan State University Bioeconomy Institute, to help commercialize their products.
The award recipients are:
BoroPharm ? provides expertise in boron chemistry with custom synthesis solutions
GFT, LLC ? manufactures polyimide insulating foams and composites
Microcide Inc. ? produces antimicrobial products, including Silky-Soft sanitizing soap
Pleotint, LLC ? develops and manufactures Sunlight Responsive Tinting film
Vestaron Corporation ? develops bio-based insecticide products
A wide range of chemical pilot plant scale-up and support services is available to help accelerate the commercialization of the awardees? technologies. These services are combined with business start-up assistance available through the Lakeshore Advantage BioBusiness Accelerator. According to Randy Olinger, director of the BioBusiness Accelerator, the Scale Up Michigan! program was launched earlier this spring with a goal of advancing Michigan?s emerging bio-based high tech industry.
BoroPharm is a Novi, Michigan, supplier of both standard and customized boron-containing chemical intermediates used in a variety of products. According to Todd Zahn, CEO, ?(Scale Up Michigan!) is critical to companies such as ours that are seeking to conduct proof-of-development initiatives. In our case, the program will enable us to prove the scalability of a product line that will help continue the expansion of our operations in Michigan.?
GFT, LLC, is a developer and manufacturer of high performance polyimide insulating foams and composites for use in aerospace, marine, and a variety of commercial industries. A Michigan company with manufacturing facilities located in Indiana, GFT CEO Phil Griffith states, ?This Scale-Up Michigan! collaborative effort brings together technical expertise, know-how, and scalable assets to improve efficiencies, lower costs, and successfully capture this market opportunity and bring it to the shores of western Michigan.?
John Lopes, president of the Troy, Michigan, Microcide Corporation, says, ?This award will enable Microcide to go into the next phase of operations and capture potential market share. It will help Microcide to consolidate its product line and enter into larger markets.? The company has developed patented technology, assisted by Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the National Institutes of Health and NASA to produce non-toxic and environmentally friendly, broad-spectrum, microbiocidal products. Nominated for the Presidential award for GREEN technology in 2005, seven of the company?s offerings have met the USDA standards to qualify as ?bio-based? products.
Pleotint Corporation in West Olive and Jenison, Michigan, is a developer and manufacturer of Sunlight Responsive Tinting (SRT) Film, a material used in insulated glass windows that saves energy costs by continuously adapting its degree of tinting to the amount of direct sunlight on the window. Derick Winkle, Pleotint senior research scientist states, ?The facilities at the MSU Bioeconomy Institute are perfectly suited to help support the materials needs of our early commercialization efforts. The combination of quality equipment and manufacturing expertise at the MSU Bioeconomy Institute make this a very attractive partnership.?
Vestaron Corporation is a privately-held company operating from the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The company is developing a new generation of insecticides based on the natural peptides found in spider venom; good examples of ?cleantech,? knowledge-based products that serve to reduce negative environmental impacts. Robert Kennedy, vice president of research at Vestaron, says that ?working with Scale Up Michigan!, which locates pilot production on a Michigan footprint, we have the opportunity to control risk, lower costs and accelerate product development cycles of early production work.?
The pilot plant at the MSU Bioeconomy Institute occupies approximately 30,000 square feet over two floors, with reactor capacity and chemical processing capabilities to support a wide range of scale-up needs. Olinger noted that the facility has a number of ?science ready? wet lab spaces still available for lease that include privileged access to common resources such as conferencing areas, a 105-seat auditorium, and scientific equipment. Start-up companies may also chose to become members of the BioBusiness Accelerator program, which offers additional benefits of business development and technology resources to support their company growth.
a>>
