Three SC Launch Companies Named InnoVision Award Finalists, Two Are Winners
November 23, 2010
GREENVILLE, SC – November 22, 2010 -SCRA, on behalf of its SC Launch program, announced that three of its client companies were finalists for this year’s InnoVision Technology Awards and two were announced as winners. Hoowaki and KIYATEC were nominated in the Technology Development category, and NitroStrikeT was nominated in the Sustainability category. KIYATEC and NitroStrike were both announced as winners in their respective categories. The awards were presented at the InnoVision Technology Awards program.
The InnoVision Technology Awards program, founded in 1999 and presented by McNair Law Firm, P.A., recognizes and honors Upstate businesses, individuals and organizations that have demonstrated significant advancements in the areas of innovation and technological progress. The InnoVision Technology Awards have become the mark of distinction for outstanding leadership, innovation and technological excellence in the Upstate community.
We congratulate all three of these nominated companies for this recognition of the great advancements that they continue to make, said SC Launch Executive Director Dave McNamara. The SC Launch program was established to move technology commercialization and development of high-tech job creation forward as part of South Carolina’s Knowledge Economy. These companies are prime examples of the type of commercialization and industry development that we support through our program.
Hoowaki
Hoowaki focuses on improving energy efficiency through reduction in friction, increase in heat transfer coefficients, and reduction of fluid drag. Using a low cost, proprietary route Hoowaki sells tooling to create micron-sized features on the surfaces of metals, ceramics and polymers. Hoowaki serves customers in a wide range of industries, including medical, transportation, HVAC and materials companies. The company is located in Pendleton, SC and is a Portfolio Company of SC Launch that received a $200,000 big check investment in May 2010.
KIYATEC
KIYATEC has created a unique technology that enables three dimensional cell culture with compelling advantages for use in laboratory research, drug discovery and personalized medicine. KIYATEC serves the pharmaceutical, biomedical and life science industries with efforts that will ultimately provide researchers and clinicians with advanced in vitro diagnostics for improved understanding in cell and systems biology, drug development, and clinical diagnosis. The company’s core intellectual property was licensed from Clemson University. KIYATEC is located in Pendleton, SC and is a Portfolio Company of SC Launch that received a $200,000 big check investment in February 2009.
NitroStrikeT
NitroStrikeT has a mission to protect people, pets, property and the environment from fire. The company has a patented, nitrogen-based Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) that extinguish fires quickly and safely. NitroStrikeT foam is a green technology and safe to breathe. The foam dissipates, leaving no chemicals to affect runoff water or harm the environment in any way. NitroStrikeT foam expands up to 40 times its volume to negate the fuel, heat and oxygen sources of the fire and cool surfaces from 1200 to a touchable 127 degrees in one second, leaving no room for the fire to reignite. The company is based in Williamston, SC and is an SC Launch Client Company that has received support services from the program.
This honor reinforces the quality of companies that are coming through the Innovation Pipeline in South Carolina, said SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney. The companies in the SC Launch program continue to gain awards and recognition not only for their technological contributions, but also for the economic impact that these companies are making to the state. We are proud to support our SC Launch clients as they continue to reach successful milestones and gain much-deserved accolades.
SCRA has provided funding and support, through its SC Launch program, for 188 qualified entities since its inception in 2006. The SC Launch program has attracted more than $104 million in add-on, private equity investment funding in South Carolina knowledge-based start-up companies.
About SCRA
http://www.scra.org
SCRA is a global leader in applied research and commercialization services with its headquarters in South Carolina. SCRA collaborates to advance technology, providing knowledge-based solutions with assured outcomes to industry and government, with the help of research universities in SC, the US and around the world.
About SC Launch
http://www.sclaunch.org
SC Launch, an SCRA collaboration, assists entrepreneurial start-up companies with up-front counseling, seed-funding, and access to a powerful resource network. The SC Launch mission is to help generate knowledge economy jobs in South Carolina, enhance the state’s quality of life and provide opportunity for all South Carolinians in the new economy.
