New Hampshire
Innovation
Research Center
Helping New Hampshire
Companies Gain a
Competitive Edge in the Marketplace
2010 Report “The history of industrial persistence in New Hampshire demonstrates the importance of constant reinvention. Innovation is the key to maintaining an economic base in manufacturing, and innovation depends on research, and applying research to economic development.” Governor John Lynch The History . . .
The New Hampshire Innovation Research Center (NHIRC) was established in 1991 by the NH
legislature to provide a mechanism to increase collaboration between New Hampshire businesses
and university-based research. The purpose of the NHIRC is to promote applied and basic
scientific research, engineering, and associated marketing research and technology transfer to
support the New Hampshire industrial and business community with the goal of creating high
quality jobs through technology development and innovation.
Results . . .
Over $6 million has been awarded to 129 New Hampshire companies from 1991 to 2010.
Company match and match from NH EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive
Research) plus the grants awarded from the NHIRC makes the total investments in excess of $20
million.
Many NHIRC-funded projects have resulted in the successful discovery of a new product,
significant improvements of manufacturing processes, and improvements to existing products.
Subsequently companies can increase sales, create and/or retain jobs, increase market
competitiveness and improve profitability.
How It Works . . .
The director of the UNH Office for Research Partnerships and Commercialization serves as the
NHIRC executive director, and is responsible for matching appropriate NH university and college
faculty expertise with NH companies in need of technical support. Overall program direction is
determined by a statewide Oversight Committee representing large and small businesses,
private and public institutions of higher learning, and state government.
Funding . . .
The program operates on a grant to UNH from the state of NH, and offers matching funds to NH
companies for technical research by NH college and university faculty in support of economic
initiatives by NH companies. The NHIRC budget has traditionally been around $500,000 per year.
All grant awards must be matched 1:1 by the company. At present, the NHIRC has two RFP
solicitations per year.
The NHIRC works in cooperation with:
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NH DRED (Department of Resources and Economic Development)
NH PTAP (Procurement Technical Assistance Program)
NH MEP (Manufacturing Extension Program)
NH SBDC (Small Business Development Center)
SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Program /
STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) Program
(Federal programs)
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Warwick Mills, Inc.
New Ipswich, NH
Warwick Mills received the Export Achievement Certificate
from the U.S. Department of Commerce
in recognition of the company’s export success.
(July 2008)
Warwick Mills was founded in 1870. As one of the oldest companies in NH, Warwick Mills has
successfully transitioned from textiles to becoming a leader in materials science engineering,
using high-performance fibers, adhesives and other components to withstand the most demanding
chemical and mechanical requirements. Warwick has developed crash bags for NASA’s Mars
Exploration program, and is world-renowned for its TurtleSkin® protective gloves and safety
equipment. Warwick Mills' success includes supplying 15,000 U.S. Marines in Iraq with protective
gloves and exporting their products to Brazil, Mexico, Germany and South Korea.
Results
The latest innovation of Warwick Mills is the use of its fiber and weaving technology to develop
artificial graft scaffolds to temporarily perform the functions of human tissue and be absorbed as
the body grows its own tissue. Warwick needed the expertise and equipment of a medical school
and turned to the NHIRC for assistance. Warwick Mills worked with Dartmouth College on a three
year project funded by the NHIRC. Pending FDA approval, Warwick expects this new product will
add 5-10 jobs per year to its workforce of 130.
IVS 3D Inc.
Portsmouth, NH
Interactive Visualization Systems (IVS 3D), Inc. was founded in 1995 as the developer of the
Fledermaus 3D visualization and analysis software suite. IVS 3D is the market leader in the
provision of interactive 3D visualization and analysis software for marine information.
Government, commercial and academic clients in all areas of ocean mapping use the software
internationally. The Fledermaus software suite enables commercial, academic and military clients
to interact with massive geographical datasets of numerous data types while mapping the world’s
oceans.
Results
The goal of the NHIRC project with IVS 3D was to create a software tool data integration to
support a wide range of sonars with a unified format for the wide variety of mid-water sonar
types. The developments from this project resulted in tools to allow scientists in a variety of
oceanographic research to finally benefit from the evolution of the water column data available
from modern multibeam sonars. In 2009 IVS 3D software, mid-water visualization, helped
scientists to discover a 1400-meter plume off the northern California margin. Scientists returned
to the area in July, verified that the plume was still active, and detected a number of other plumes
ranging in height from 700 to 1400m in a 15 km area around the original discovery. Until now,
the users of these sonars had a limited view of the mid-water data in real-time, and limited
capacity to store it, replay it, or run further analysis. The data also needed to be integrated with
other sensor assets such as bathymetry, backscatter, sub-bottom, sea-floor characterizations and
other assets so that a 'complete' picture of the marine environment under analysis can be
realized. This discovery is just one example of the emerging uses of this type of data analysis.
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Itaconix LLC
Hampton Falls, NH
Itaconix LLC is a privately-held green technology company founded in 2008. The company
focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing environmentally friendly polymers derived
from renewable resources. Its primary product line is derived from polymers of itaconic acid.
The new chemicals are designed to replace the petroleum-based chemicals used in such products
as detergents and diapers.
Results
The successful R&D efforts of Itaconix led the company to apply for and receive a $1.8M grant in
October 2009 through the Joint Biomass Research and Development Initiative of the U.S.
Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture. The award will fund efforts by
Itaconix, in partnership with the University of Maine, to produce Itaconix’s green polymers from
itaconic acid fermented with sugars extracted from hardwood biomass. Itaconix was one of only
nine companies to receive the government grant from among more than 900 applicants.
During the NHIRC funding period, 2 interns and 6 UNH grad/undergrad students worked on the
project, and 2 UNH students were hired by the company. This provided student experience in
green chemistry and engineering exposure in addition to industrial process engineering.
A National Science Foundation-GOALI (Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry)
proposal was submitted in 2009. A Department of Energy proposal is planned for 2010. The
company has demonstrated remarkable growth in its first 15 months. Six new employees were
hired in 2009, and in October 2009, Itaconix announced the commercial launch of its first two
products.
"The more we can do to help small and medium-sized businesses,
the better, because that's where most of the job growth is going to come from."
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
WMUR January 22, 2010
Suflex/Regal Sleeving and Tubing, LLC
Newmarket, NH
Suflex was founded in 1946 as a manufacturer of standard or custom sleeving and tubing
products for electrical insulation. The 65-year-old company in downtown Newmarket was saved
from bankruptcy in 2003 after it was purchased by the plant’s two managers. Prior to the
purchase, Suflex had been losing money, but the two managers acquired the company and turned
it around.
Results
The plant housed an outdated and cost-prohibitive process for drying one of its key products —
acrylic fiberglass sleeving. The NHIRC-funded project focused on developing a new, more efficient
and less costly chemical formulation and drying process. As a result of the first project with the
NHIRC, the company experienced a 50-100 percent increase in the production process and added
nine new employees. A second grant continued process enhancements from the first project.
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Graphicast, Inc.
Jaffrey, NH
Graphicast has been in business for 31 years and is a manufacturer of precision machined zinc
alloy castings. Graphicast provides its customer with a complete casting design and
manufacturing capability.
One of NH’s Best Small Companies to Work For
(Business NH Magazine, December 2009)
One of the 100 Most Progressive Manufacturers of the Year
(Awarded by Managing Automation Media, March 2009)
Results
Graphicast had a recurring quality issue in its casting process that represented 65% of its quality
costs. Portions of the casting cavities were unfilled and occurred in a random fashion. These
problems are called drops. Through NHIRC funds and working with the Thayer School of
Engineering at Dartmouth, Graphicast was able to support experiments to isolate the most
important factors for reducing drops.
As a result of the NHIRC project, Graphicast reduced its overall casting quality costs by 21% and
reduced its drop costs by 32%. Of more financial impact than quality improvement was an
increase in productivity and reduced unit costs applied to most castings. For example, by using a
casting optimization plan based on the Dartmouth findings, the company was able to
significantly reduce the production time on a troublesome part from 40 hours to 25 hours.
Pleasant View Gardens
Loudon, NH
Pleasant View Gardens is a family-owned wholesale nursery founded in 1976 and the largest
wholesale nursery in New Hampshire. Pleasant View Gardens is a founding partner in Proven
Winners, the #1 nationally recognized consumer brand of gardening plants. Pleasant View
Gardens ships plants to wholesale growers across the country as well as sells plants for retail
nurseries and garden centers throughout the Northeast, selling approximately 40 million plants
annually.
2004 Grower of the Year
Selected by the Greenhouse Grower trade magazine
Results
Many new varieties were developed through the NHIRC project in
collaboration with UNH’s ornamental breeding program. Nine of the
developed varieties have been patented, including two very colorful
flowers named “Wildcat Pink” and “Wildcat Mandarin.” The flower
varieties developed are vigorous, compact, colorful, and have
distinguished blooming features. Increased sales of these breeding
lines have yielded higher profits for the company. During the NHIRC
funding period, one technician and two undergraduate students
worked on the project. In addition, a high school student from the
Seacoast School of Technology in Exeter completed an internship in
ornamental breeding during the project period.
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Applied GeoSolutions, LLC
Durham, NH
Applied GeoSolutions, LLC was formed in 2000 to provide consulting services and training for
environmental applications of geospatial technologies. Their mission is to promote scientifically
sound cutting-edge geospatial technologies and provide integrated spatial information services for
enhanced environmental stewardship. A central focus of their work is the development of
greenhouse gas decision support systems that integrate remote sensing, GIS and biogeochemical
modeling.
Results
The NHIRC-funded projects have been quite successful, although it is too early in the
development cycle to assess the commercial impact. The company reported it was able to retain
1.5 full time employees as a result of the project. Through the joint research with UNH, funded by
the NHIRC, the company has been able to stay at the forefront of this important research and the
company reports that the NHIRC program has been extremely useful in building incremental
components of the business. The company was awarded one USDA SBIR Phase I grant to
develop a web-based tillage practice monitoring system. This system will focus on using remote
sensing for mapping and monitoring agricultural tillage practices.
IXXAT, Inc.
Bedford, NH
IXXAT, Inc. is a leading supplier of products and services for data communication in
industrial and mobile systems. Using IXXAT’s CANopen, a network technology optimized for
industrial control environments, allows development of network protocols to set the
communication behavior of multiple devices and facilitate automated interaction and responses.
Results
The NHIRC funded research focused on developing a
plug-and-play medical device system that interfaces a
hospital bed with a blood pressure monitor. The need for
such a system has been identified by physicians and
anesthesiologists due to inaccuracies in invasive blood
pressure measurements associated with changing
positions of a patient in a hospital bed.
The proposed solution by IXXAT was to transmit the
blood pressure readings to the hospital bed and let the
hospital bed adjust itself based on a quasi-controller.
The NHIRC grant provided a medical device
interoperability application that was demonstrated at a
medical conference. This application then directly
influenced major medical device manufacturers to begin
a standardization process. The process introduced the
company to engineers at medical device manufacturers
and has led to increased sales for IXXAT. One UNH
graduate student worked on the project and was hired
by the company upon his graduation.
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Operating room of the future, with more
space for medical personnel
and automated device communication.
(Massachusetts General Hospital)
Benefits of NHIRC Grants . . .
For the Company:
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Improved efficiencies in production allow
companies to introduce products to new markets
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Increase in production process improves
profitability for companies
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NH companies gain access to cutting-edge
research at partner NH academic institutions,
including UNH and Dartmouth
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Companies are able to use high tech equipment
at partner NH academic institutions,
including UNH and Dartmouth, that they would
not be able to purchase
In 2006,
there were 32,103
small employers in NH.
This accounts for 96.6% of NH’s
employers and 54.9% of its
private-sector employment.
U.S. Dept of Commerce,
Bureau of the Census
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Overhead is waived by the partner academic
institutions, making it affordable for company
R&D projects
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Medical technology research sponsored by the NHIRC allows companies to go forward with
clinical trials and to pursue FDA approval
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Technology developed during company-academic institution collaborations may become
commercialized by the company
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NHIRC funds can be used for proof of concept – before a company invests a substantial
amount of money in a product or process, they can use academic resources and equipment
to test their theory. Some successful NHIRC projects have shown a company that an idea
is not feasible, which saves them time and money
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To continue NH’s competitiveness as a high tech state, NH needs to invest in its
companies: state NHIRC dollars are matched with federal dollars, which are matched with
company dollars; the company then partners with academic institutions for research
expertise and access to state-of-the-art equipment and laboratories
For the Academic Institution:
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Lab funding
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Solving actual technological issues at companies
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Potential outcome for universities: sponsored
research agreements and license agreements
following completion of NHIRC grants
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Universities have opportunity to showcase their
excellence, professionalism and capabilities to
collaborate with industry, and to develop
reputation and rapport among the business
community
Students:
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In 2008,
NH ranked 9th in the nation for
high technology
and
manufacturing employment
as a percent of population.
Undergraduate and graduate students interface
with companies
Experience with actual technological issues at
companies
Possibility of employment following graduation
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The Milken Institute,
State Technology and Science Institute
U.S. Dept of Commerce,
Bureau of the Census
New Hampshire
Innovation Research Center
Oversight Committee Members
“Watching the NHIRC grow and mature
since its inception in 1991 has been a
tremendous experience,” said Alla Kan, director
of Dartmouth College’s Technology Transfer
Office and a member of the NHIRC Oversight
Committee.
“The program evolved into an invaluable
vehicle, connecting industry and academia in
the state, fostering local economic development
and competitiveness, providing hands-on
experience for university students, and helping
New Hampshire companies get access to cutting
-edge research.”
Richard Powers, Chair
Director, Advanced ISR Solutions
BAE Systems, Inc.
Jenny Houston, Vice Chair
Vice President of Business Development
Warwick Mills
Mark Coen
President and CEO
Page Belting Company
Robert Gyurik
Pharmaceutical Consultant
Wendell Jesseman
President
New England Wire Technologies
Representative Naida Kaen
NH House of Representatives
Alla Kan
Director, Technology Transfer Office
Dartmouth College
Joseph Klewicki
Dean, College of Engineering & Physical Sciences
University of New Hampshire
Senator Amanda Merrill
NH Senate
New Hampshire
Innovation Research Center
Robert Dalton
Executive Director
Jan Nisbet
Senior Vice Provost for Research
University of New Hampshire
Paula Pelletier
Program Coordinator
John Orcutt
Professor of Law
Franklin Pierce Law Center
University of New Hampshire
35 Colovos Road
Durham, NH 03824
603-862-4125
www.nhirc.unh.edu
Christopher Way
Business Services Manager
Division of Economic Development
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MARCH 2010