Toledo : Innovation + Job News

For a number of years, pilots have used virtual reality simulators to practice critical missions before taking to the skies. Thanks to a revolutionary new virtual reality training tool developed by Elyria’s Surgical Theater, LLC, surgeons now have a way to practice brain surgery before setting foot in the operating room.
 
The Surgery Rehearsal Platform (SRP) simulator consists of a desk top computer, a portable laptop system, software, controllers and 3D glasses.
 
“Using standard CT and MRI images from any patient, the SRP generates accurate models in 3D that show the interaction between life-like tissue and surgical instruments,” explains Moty Avisar, Surgical Theater president and CEO. “The tissue responds realistically to actions taken by the surgeon, enabling pre-surgery planning and rehearsal with complete accuracy.”

Beyond practicing on standard CT and MRI images, surgeons can also use unique images taken of the patient who will be undergoing surgery.
 
“Using the SRP prior to a procedure enables a surgeon to evaluate, experiment and do a ‘dry run’ on his or her approach beforehand, resulting in a better-prepared surgeon,” Avisar states. “Studies will be done to confirm this, but our belief is that SRP training will lead to improved patient outcomes and reduced risk.”
 
The Surgery Rehearsal Platform received full FDA approval in February. The SRP’s unique patient-specific capability is one of the key innovations that led to FDA approval, he notes. According to Avisar, it’s the only patented and FDA-cleared training platform for cerebral and spine pre-surgery rehearsal in the marketplace.
 
The SRP, which took approximately three years to develop, supports several cerebral procedures, including aneurysm repair and tumor resection. The team is working to add capabilities to support other brain-related procedures and spine surgeries.
 
According to Avisar, the first SRP was recently sold to University Hospital Case Medical Center, where it is being used on a regular basis.

The company, which started with one person in 2010, received funding from the Ohio Third Frontier, private investors and angel groups. It plans to expand to 15 employees by the end of the year.
 
Source:  Moty Avisar, Surgical Theater, LLC
Writer:  Lynne Meyer

uHeart StartUps, a University of Toledo digital media conference, will host a “Pitch & Pour” after party on May 10 at the Nitschke Technology Commercialization Complex  for aspiring entrepreneurs to pitch their business idea to a panel of judges. The winning idea will receive up to $5,000, but attendees stand to benefit regardless by connecting with local business leaders in attendance.
 
Scott McIntyre, Manager of Business Incubation at the University of Toledo, sees the event as an opportunity to energize the entrepreneurial spirit of Toledo, and convince area innovators to realize their dreams right in the Glass City, spurring job growth for the hard-hit region. To do this, McIntyre isn’t just counting on Toledoans.
 
“We’ve solicited participants from Indiana and Michigan,” McIntyre says, affectionately calling it the tri-state area. “We’re trying to spread the word that the University of Toledo is a place for digital media innovation.”
 
McIntyre is familiar with the opportunities presented in Toledo, because he’s lived through the journey of starting a new enterprise in town.
 
After living in California for 18 years, McIntyre returned to Toledo to help out his mother, who ended up starting a regional lifestyle and culture magazine, InToledo, with her husband, Dennis Hicks, Minority Health Coordinator at Toledo-Lucas County Health Department. “In the process of getting the magazine published, I learned a lot about the city,” he recalls. “Toledo has a lot of advantages for small businesses and large businesses,” namely low cost of living and logistical location to the “knowledge bases” of Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland. For these reasons and more, McIntyre believes entrepreneurs will leave Pitch & Pour with a new picture of Toledo.
 
“We really have the ingredients to inspire entrepreneurs,” he says. “We’re working to get people to stay here and create jobs.”
 
Interested attendees can RSVP to the event on Facebook. More information at uheartdigitalmedia.com/pitchandpour.
 
 
Source: Scott McIntyre
Writer: Joe Baur

Buyvite, a Toledo-based social payment company, has launched a private label group payment API for developers to allow for cost splitting and social payment functionality on any ecommerce website or application.
 
“We built it because we heard from a lot of customers saying they liked they idea,” says founder Brandy Alexander-Wimberly on her way to the company’s sister headquarters in Chicago for another round of funding. “What we have developed is the ability for a company to go to our website and launch a crowdfunding transaction with a custom API.” This makes for easier, secure transactions between the end-user and company.
 
Supported in part by Rocket Ventures and a group of private investors, Wimberley says Buyvite’s latest development is a stepping-stone to allowing social payment transactions between anyone who visits their website. “The hosted payment page is what we’re coming out with in the next couple of weeks,” she explains.
 
For example, this will allow anyone to seek reimbursement for events or presents where the costs were split amongst a group of people. In fact, that’s how Wimberly originally came up with the idea. After spending money to pay for her friends’ concert tickets, Wimberly thought there must be a better, organized way to get paid back.
 
“We feel like people are going to expect this functionality,” she says. “They may not yet, but we really feel this functionality will need to be done, and we do it the right way.”
 
 
Source: Brandy Alexander-Wimberly
Writer: Joe Baur

This week, Detroit-based Digerati launched its Intern in Ohio program to the public, which is sponsored by the University of Toledo. Like eHarmony, the program uses an advanced matching algorithm to match students with internship opportunities.
 
Intern in Ohio is free to both students who are looking for internships and businesses who want to post internships. To register, students and employers visit Intern in Ohio’s website to sign up and create a profile or post internship opportunities. Students fill out a short questionnaire about their preferences, and employers share information about the position. The system then identifies the top seven matches for each student, as well as for each position. When the match is made, both the student and employer are notified, and they must show interest before any contact information is shared.
 
“We encourage diverse companies—large and small, for-profit and nonprofit, government and corporate,” says Wendy Pittman, director of Digerati’s Classroom to Career. “It’s a great chance for employers to broadcast their company and internship program across the state and reach a larger pool of applicants.”
 
Only companies in Ohio can post opportunities to the Intern in Ohio website, but all types of internships are welcome. There are posts for marketing, engineering and social media, among others, says Pittman.
 
The program is open to all students who live in Ohio, whether they’re in-state or out-of-state students. Research shows that not only do internships often lead employment offers after graduation, but that students are more likely to remain in an area where they held and internship.
 
“This is the first replication of the Classroom to Career technology from Michigan to Ohio,” says Pittman. “Experiential learning is a game-changer; and we’re looking forward to working with smaller communities to make a difference.”
 
In 2011, Digerati launched its Intern in Michigan program, which has resulted in more than 127,000 matches and introductions between students and employers. Over 1,000 Michigan businesses have posted 4,824 internship opportunities, and 1,049 colleges and universities in the state use the site.
 
Full disclosure: hiVelocity's parent company, IMG, supplies content to Intern in Ohio on a contractual basis.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
Follow Caitlin on Twitter

Jonathan Buchanan, 11-year old son of Perrysburg-based lawyer Matthew Buchanan, may be the youngest developer to have an app in the Apple App Store coded entirely on his own. The $.99 education app ChipTrading is a fun, innovative take on math created when Buchanan was 10.
 
Although already young on the developer stage at 11, Buchanan was first introduced to coding five years ago. “When I was six, my dad introduced me to basic web pages,” he recalls. “After a while, I got interested in doing iOS apps.”
 
The idea for ChipTrading came from a mathematically themed game Buchanan and his classmates played at Maumee Valley Country Day School. “It’s a physical game,” he explains, adding that he and his fellow students wanted to be able to play the game outside of the school. “I had the idea to make it in app format, so we didn’t need these special pieces.”
 
Eschewing help from his father, Buchanan developed the app entirely on his own. “This was a completely self-made venture,” his father adds. But Buchanan gives his father some credit. “He made the app icon and filled out the paperwork.”
 
Reluctant to rest, Buchanan is eager to discuss his upcoming projects, including updates to ChipTrading, a networking platform with his father, and another app that allows the user to write their own music. “I play the violin, and I wanted to make an app for the iPad that will let you write music on the iPad and have it sent to the iCloud,” he explains.
 
His long-term plans are characteristically ambitious, as well. “I ultimately plan on starting a computer company that integrates hardware and software. Like Apple.”
 
 
Sources: Jonathan Buchanan, Matthew Buchanan
Writer: Joe Baur

TiE Ohio will recognize international entrepreneurs at its awards ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 20. Two Cleveland business executives, Jose Feliciano and Wayne Duigan, will be honored.
 
TiE Ohio is a resource for entrepreneurs to network and find mentors for their businesses. This event recognizes immigrant and American-born entrepreneurs who have taken their businesses to an international level.

“Entrepreneurs have the passion, the dream and they are willing to put themselves all in,” says Joe Cole, executive director of TiE Ohio. “We want to reward the entrepreneurs who are going global.”
 
Jose Feliciano, a trial lawyer with BakerHostetler, will receive the Community Catalyst Award. The award recognizes people who have supported immigrant entrepreneurs. “He’s really been in the forefront of advocacy of the immigrant entrepreneur,” adds Cole. “He has a predisposition to being an entrepreneur.”
 
Feliciano is the founder and chair of the Hispanic Roundtable, is former chairman of the Hispanic Leadership Development Program, founder of the Hispanic Community Forum and was a founder of the Ohio Hispanic Bar Association. He also hosts the monthly talk show, El Sol de Cleveland. “He’s really been out in the forefront,” says Cole.
 
Wayne Duigan, director international sales for Horizons, Inc. is nominated for the Global Entrepreneur award. “He has significantly grown Horizons’ global presence,” Cole notes. “They’ve really done a great job in establishing an international presence.”
 
The event will be held at the Ariel International Center at 5:30 p.m. Mark Kvamme, president and CIO of JobsOhio, will be the keynote speaker. 

 
Source: Joe Cole
Writer: Karin Connelly

The Ohio Department of Development wants to help companies and organizations buy and sell their products locally across the state. 

Check Ohio First is a free and easy-to-use online program to promote contracting with and between Ohio businesses. “Both suppliers and buyers enter brief profiles into the Check Ohio First directory, which can then be searched by Check Ohio First members,” explains Wendy Boortz, Program Manager. “The program automatically matches buyers and suppliers by industry codes.”

“Check Ohio First celebrates the strength of Ohio businesses,” said Christine Schmenk, Director of ODOD, in a news release. “Ohio buyers like to do business with local companies, and this partnership is perfect for job creation.”

Check Ohio First was launched in October 2011 as a virtual, year-round extension of the Ohio Department of Development’s annual Ohio Business Matchmaker program, an annual procurement event now going into its eighth year.

According to Boortz, Check Ohio First recently added free webinars to the mix. “Buyers educate suppliers on how to do business with their organization, and procurement counselors provide webinars that help businesses get ready for contracting opportunities,” she says.  Most of the webinars are recorded and stored in the resource library located on the Check Ohio First website.

“The website also contains a list of upcoming events, and visitors can browse our resource library and link to procurement training and opportunities,” she states.

Boortz notes that Check Ohio First is building a database to reflect private and public users. “We currently have about 350 profiles, including 100 companies that have registered as both buyers and suppliers and 20 as buyers only.”


Source:  Wendy Boortz
Writer: Lynne Meyer

The inaugural Great Lakes Venture Fair will take place at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown October 17-18, on the heels of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds annual conference. The fair is a collaborative effort  between  JumpStart, Ohio Capital Fund, Ohio Venture Association, TiE Ohio, CincyTech and TechColumbus and will bring together investors and startups from across the Midwest.
 
“It’s a chance for the venture capital community to come together and see some of the most promising startups,” explains Carolyn Pione Micheli, director of communications for CincyTech. “According to a study by the Kauffman Foundation, in 2007 all net news job growth came from companies that are less than five years old.” The event is the successor to the Ohio Capital Fund’s Early Stage Summit, which was held in Columbus for seven years.
 
The GLVF will only accept 18 startup companies in bioscience and IT to pitch their companies to investors. Other activities at the event include presentations on regional investment activity, and conversations about building future growth in startups and investing.
 
“In terms of growing fresh new jobs, small companies are the key, “ says Micheli. “The startup community is really important to our economic future.”
 
Keynote speaker will be Jeff Weedman, vice president of global business development for Proctor & Gamble. The application deadline for companies looking for funding is Aug. 12. Registration to attend is $200 before Sep. 15, $250 after that.

 
Source: Carolyn Pione Micheli
Writer: Karin Connelly

After three years of research and development, Ed Shaffer, CEO of Advanced Battery Concepts, is ready to unveil his new GreenSeal technology for improving battery performance in industrial applications.

“We’re licensing our technology to Crown Battery of Fremont, Ohio, and they will manufacture our first product under the Crown Battery name,” he says. “The product is a battery the size of a golf cart that can be used in variety of industrial applications, including fork lift trucks, tow motors, pallet movers and floor scrubbers.”

Ed Shaffer started Advanced Battery Concepts in 2008 in his Midland, Michigan, garage. In 2009, he established a partnership with Crown Battery in Fremont, Ohio.

“Crown was seeking new technologies to improve battery performance and they were interested in what we were doing,” he explains. “In 2010, they invited us to use space at their Crown Battery Renewable Energy Center (CBREC) in Port Clinton to help us accelerate our technology development.”

The partnership with Crown Battery and their space at CBREC enabled Advanced Batter Concepts to apply for and receive Ohio Third Frontier funding, he notes.

For two years, Advanced Battery Concepts refined and conducted internal tests on its GreenSeal technology at CBREC in Port Clinton and at a facility in Clare, Michigan. 
 
“GreenSeal technology improves lead-acid batteries,” Shaffer explains. “It reduces their weight and size, increases their cycle life and their power and energy. It also decreases the amount of lead in each battery, reducing their environmental impact while keeping them 100 percent recyclable.”

The technology will also speed up adoption of much-needed energy solutions, such as renewable energy, smart grid and electric vehicles, he says.

“Manufacturing this product will put us in a much stronger position in the changing environment of energy storage,” notes Patrick O’Brien, manager of business development at Crown Battery. Crown Battery has grown from 400 to 600 employees during the past three years. “With production of Advanced Battery Concept’s new product, we anticipate hiring more employees.”

Plans call for early production samples to be in customers’ hands by the fourth quarter of this year.

Advanced Battery Concepts is one of the portfolio companies of Rocket Ventures of Toledo, one of the six nonprofits that form the core of Ohio’s Entrepreneurial Signature Program.


Source:  Ed Shaffer, Patrick O'Brien
Writer: Lynne Meyer

After more than five years of research and development, Toledo’s AquaBlok has finally released its signature product, which has the same name as the company. The product has several purposes, including isolating contaminated sediments, acting as a nutrient management tool and water clarifier and serving as a seed delivery alternative for wetland plant restoration.

“AquaBlok provides a low-permeability ‘seal’ under water without any mechanical compaction or special equipment,” explains John Collins, general manager and chief operating officer. “You simply pour it through the water, and it creates an isolation layer that will minimize water flow or the spread of contaminants.”

According to Collins, AquaBlok is a patented composite particle technology that uses a central core, typically stone aggregate, to deliver various fine-grained coating materials for a broad range of environmental applications. The particles act as a delivery system, placing active ingredients through a water column or targeting locations apt to come into contact with water.

“It was successfully tested by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in a 2005 project under the Superfund Innovation Technology Evaluation program,” Collins says.

While there are competing approaches to AquaBlok, it’s a patented product and there are no directly competing products, he notes. “Primarily we offer ease of handling and simplicity. Other approaches can easily fail if materials are not handled or installed properly. Our products provide a consistent result without use of specialized equipment or materials.”

In 2007, AquaBlok introduced PONDSEAL.  “PondSeal was introduced as a companion product to AquaBlok,” Collins states. “Our objective was to have a product targeted more to pond and erosion related applications that would be sold more to individuals and general contractors rather than for larger environmental remediation projects.”

AquaBlok has 10 full- and part-time employees. The company received investments from two venture capital funds – Rocket Ventures in Toledo and the Ohio Tech Angels in Columbus – that are affiliated with the Third Frontier program.
 
Source:  John Collins, AquaBlok
Writer:  Lynne Meyer

The Center for Innovative Food Technology (CIFT) is on a mission to enhance Ohio’s agricultural future and has been for nearly two decades.
 
CIFT planted roots in Toledo in 1995, acknowledging Northwest Ohio’s “rich history of food manufacturing and agricultural production, which provides a framework for many of the initiatives,” explains Vice President and Director of Agricultural Programs, Rebecca Singer. Since then, CIFT has continually expanded its services as a member of the Ohio Edison Centers.
 
“The Center for Innovative Food Technology has provided technical innovations and solutions to the food processing, agribusiness and agricultural sectors,” says Singer. “These services are designed to enhance the economic performance of the food processing and agricultural sectors and create new jobs within the industry.”

Examples of CIFT’s success in the industry include Sandridge foods in Medina and Jones-Hamilton in Walbridge. CIFT went to Sandridge and provided technical assistance, which led to their decision to purchase a High-Pressure Processing system, enhancing their products, increasing shelf life and adding new flavor components. Elsewhere, CIFT transformed Jones-Hamilton to the dairy, meat and poultry, and beverage industries. This has led to relationships with industry leaders, including Gatorade, Hershey’s and Ohio’s own grocery giant, Kroger.
 
In order to continue creating jobs within the industry, networking and strategic partnerships with industry organizations is a must. “For example, the Center for Innovative Food Technology has an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service,” Singer details. “The agreement provides Ohio’s agricultural sector with direct access to the expertise, capabilities, and intellectual property of the agency and its 2,100 agricultural scientists throughout the nation, which in turn can greatly enhance economic development and global competitiveness for the agricultural economy.”
 
But CIFT’s future isn’t without obstacles. Like any non-profit, the organization continually faces the challenge of maintaining operational stability. Singer insists the answer to maintaining said stability lies in their strategy to enhance economic development – identify and solicit strategic partnerships.
 
“Continued diversification in services, identification of new opportunities for engagement and continued awareness of industry needs facilitates valuable programs and support,” says Singer.

Polymers are big business in Ohio. According to Wayne Earley, CEO of PolymerOhio,  “Ohio is definitely a leader in the production and use of polymers.” According to its website, PolymerOhio is an Ohio Edison Technology Center focused on “enhancing the Ohio polymer industry company's global competitiveness and growth.”

Earley’s comments came on the eve of the two-day Ohio Polymer Summit, which was held June 6-7 in Columbus and attended by more than 150 people from throughout Ohio. This was the Ninth Annual Biennial Ohio Polymer Summit.

A presentation on innovation engineering leadership was one of the summit highlights, according to Earley. There was also a segment on shale gas and its impact on Ohio’s polymer industry. “Shale gas is very significant to our industry here in Ohio by lowering energy costs and also lowering the cost of basic polymer materials,” he explains.

Another important session was the introduction of the new computational methods program. “Small- and medium-size companies can’t afford to acquire the software needed for such things as mold design and extruder simulation,” Earley says. “With the assistance of a federal grant, Polymer Ohio is now making these tools available to smaller companies.” 

The polymer industry is Ohio’s largest manufacturing industry, he states. “More than 130,000 people are employed in Ohio’s polymer industry. It’s a growing industry here.

There’s high growth in several specific segments, including conductive and electronic polymer materials, polymer nanocomposites, biomaterials and feed stocks and recyclable polymers.”

Earley points out that polymers aren’t just plastic. “They’re also in adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings and composites of other materials.”

He says that Ohio is the world leader in compounding of polymers – combining different materials to achieve a set of specifications. PolyOne in Avon Lake is the state’s largest compounder, according to Earley. “They’re successful because they have the technology and the capabilities to develop materials and compounds that are specific to certain important applications. They’re also very innovative,” he adds.

Source:  Wayne Earley, PolymerOhio, Inc.
Writer:  Lynne Meyer

More than 50 Ohio companies have received export assistance from the Ohio Department of Development’s International Market Access Grant for Exporters (IMAGE) program.
 
“The Office of Business Assistance leads the initiative to strengthen Ohio’s exporting economy and advance its leadership position in the global marketplace,” says Assistant Deputy Chief of Export Assistance, Wesley Aubihl. “Specifically, export assistance strives to increase international sales of Ohio-made goods and services, creating more and better jobs for Ohioans.”
 
Designed to increase exports and create jobs, IMAGE helps companies promote their products and services in new international markets. Best of all, IMAGE will reimburse companies a maximum of $6,000 or 50 percent on qualifying expenditures up to $12,000 for activities associated with new international marketing initiatives, such as trade shows and foreign marketing material translation.
 
Airstream Inc., developers of lightweight travel trailers in Jackson Center, is just one example of a company that has taken off (no pun intended) thanks to assistance from IMAGE grant funds. Explains Aubihl, “[The funds] offset the costs of participating in a State of Ohio-Council of Great Lakes Governors trade mission to Brazil. The trade mission enabled Airstream to meet potential key customers in the Brazilian market.”

Justin Humphreys, Vice President of Sales at Airstream, has credited the Ohio Department of Development with playing a special role in their ability to meet with key players in Brazil to assess the potential of doing business abroad.
 
Aubihl is hopeful a slew of Ohio businesses will follow in Airstream’s footsteps and experience similar international success. “Since the program began in January, the Ohio Department of Development has awarded 15 trade mission stipends, supported 37 international trade shows, 10 U.S. Commercial Service projects, 20 translations of websites or printed materials, and three export education activities,” he explains. “The participating companies have reported more than $5 million in actual export sales, with additional sales expected over the next 12 months."


Source: Wesley Aubihl
Writer: Joe Baur

Pat Valente, executive director of  the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition, is convinced that fuel cells are the future of energy. The OFCC is a group of industry, academic and government leaders who seek to propel Ohio into a global leadership position in fuel cell technology.
 
Ohio has a competitive advantage in fuel cell technology, says Valente. “We have the supply chain (components), a skilled workforce, and ongoing research on college campuses and in business. We like to say that every fuel cell manufactured in the U.S. has an Ohio component.”
 
Valente touts the clean energy of hydrogen fuel cells. “The only emission that comes out of the tailpipe is water vapor,” he says, referring to the use of fuel cells in vehicles.
 
But fuel cells aren’t just for cars, trucks and buses anymore. Honda is working on an advanced fuel cell that could power a conventional household for six days. Stationary fuel cells are in the works that can power a shopping center or a small community, completely off the grid.
 
In late April, Valente was preparing for the Ohio Fuel Cell Symposium, which took place from May 1st-2nd at Lorain County Community College. “We’re expecting Honda, GM, Daimler, Hundaii, and Toyota,” among others. He thinks government needs to step up with stricter emission requirements, which would further encourage the fuel cell technology.
 
With a rising middle class in China and India, Valente believes it’s just a matter of time before the oil runs out to power all those cars. “We need wind, solar, fuel cells, a little bit of everything. “


Source: Pat Valente
Writer: Catherine Podojil