Innovation + Job News

Advisory boards have long been used to help companies boost their strategies and growth potential, and thanks to a local initiative, the standard board structure now has a technological twist.
 
At BOUNCE (which stands for Business Owners Unite: Networking, Coaching & Education), small business owners can join a team of five to six other owners. The group meets virtually every week, using tools like email, Skype, Google Groups, Twitter, Facebook and even text messaging to discuss a company's priorities and goal attainment.
 
The idea is to create an advisory board that doesn't take much in-person time � although the groups meet twice in their year-long membership � but still foster a sense of discipline and accountability in its members.
 
Founders Pam Kearney and Karin Khuhro started BOUNCE in early 2011, and have just put together the first group. They expect that as the system gets more traction, they'll be running several advisory boards concurrently.
 
"What we've seen is that small business owners and entrepreneurs sometimes need a team approach to help them stay motivated," says Kearney. "They can draw on the creativity and inspirations of others to make sure they stay true to their vision."
 
The model is similar to a CEO roundtable, she adds, with the use of technology added to increase communication among group members. Each person acts as an advisor to the others, and Khuhro notes that the teams will be made up of professionals from different industries, with varying skill sets.
 
"We're looking to attract people who have been in business for a couple of years, who have gone past the point of getting their feet wet," says Khuhro. "These will be professionals who want to focus on vision building, strategic planning, determining measurables."
 
BOUNCE will use the Entrepreneurial Operating System, a business management system that includes specific targets and processes, in order to keep an advisory board on track.
 
"We can teach people to get traction and solve issues," says Kearney. "We think this should be pretty exciting."
 
Sources: Pam Kearney and Karin Khuhro, BOUNCE
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Minnesota companies account for one-fourth of the start-ups that will advance from the North-Central region and hope to compete on the national stage in this year's Cleantech Open.

The 20 semi-finalists from the 10-state North-Central region include five Minnesota companies in three of the six categories. A Cleantech Open news release describes the companies:

Green Building category
Supreme Energy Products of Lakeville--Seamless building envelope systems to enable 50-70 percent greater energy savings

Renewable Energy category
Atmosphere Recovery of Eden Prairie--Dramatic energy output increases from gas or liquid-based renewable energy processes
INVELOX of Chaska--Technology for safe, silent, low-cost and high-efficiency wind power generation

Transportation category
CleanTrack of Plymouth--Fleet fuel consumption and hydrocarbon emissions reduction system.
RoutePerfect of Minneapolis--A new fuel optimization technology for the transportation industry

In October, finalists will be chosen from the regions to compete nationally for up to $250,000 in investment and services and an opportunity to present in front of 2,000 attendees at The Cleantech Open's Global Forum in November.

Perhaps more important is the advice, education, and access to investors that each semifinalist company will receive in the coming months, including coaching from a network of business mentors, one-on-one consulting with specialists, an intensive "boot camp," and other local supporting events and training.

Win or lose, it's an opportunity to develop or perfect business plans and showcase ideas in search of capital to get a start-up off the ground

This year marks the second year of participation for the North-Central region in the competition, which began nationally in 2006. Illinois, new to the region this year, also sends five companies into the semi-final round.

In total, 163 start-ups made the semifinal round nationwide.

Source: Cleantech Open
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

After picking up speed over the last month, Minnesota's first tech accelerator is set to cruise with its first class of companies.

Following a weekend-long "bootcamp" June 10�12, Project Skyway chose eight "Skywalkers" from the field of 25 semi-finalist companies. Over the course of the weekend, the companies pitched their own and each other's ideas to fellow entrepreneurs, Project Skyway organizers, and the public. They attended roundtables with lawyers, investors, accomplished tech and software entrepreneurs, and others, and they met potential investors and customers.

"They certainly got a lot out of it," whether they moved on or not, said Project Skyway founder Cem Erdem of the 25 bootcampers. Project Skyway asked many of those not selected to apply for the next round after fine-tuning their ideas, adding a business partner, raising capital, or otherwise advancing their businesses.

After the bootcamp, the companies were rated by all involved, including each other and members of the public. In the end, eight were chosen:

COR² Technology--The company offers a cloud-based business-process and work-flow automation service to help organizations with 5 to 500 co-workers eliminate piles of paper by integrating simple applications with unlimited user licenses that power the whole organization.

Naiku--Naiku creates an affordable Software-as-a-Service that K-12 teachers use to easily individualize learning with a dashboard created by its proprietary analytics model.

Nitch--Nitch is an online platform for B2B collaboration and commerce.

Paypongo--Paypongo's service is a secure mobile payment solution that allows consumer-to-merchant transactions; consumer-to-consumer transactions; and merchant-to-merchant transactions, all through mobile devices. Transactions can originate from banking accounts or credit cards.

Qualtrx--Qualtrx is a new healthcare sales channel--an online solutions marketplace where healthcare providers publish patient-care needs, goals, and priorities, and where pharma and device vendors purchase these needs as "keywords" to make targeted needs-based proposals via the Qualtrx platform.

Telementry Web--TelemetryWeb helps makers of Internet-connected sensors and industrial devices build a new class of innovative, data-centric solutions by leveraging a ready-to-use, scalable Software-as-a-Service platform to secure, store, process, and integrate sensor data in novel ways.

Vanquish AP--VanquishAP is developing a real estate management platform that connects property managers, building owners, and tenants by creating local social communities while automating redundant tasks and centralizing logistics.

UHungry--UHungry is developing a social networking site to help college students save money and time by making it easy for them to place orders online at quick-serve restaurants with a group of friends while earning points to spend on future orders by completing tasks. This company, hailing from Long Island, was the only one not from Minnesota.

Erdem notes that the Skywalker companies are all early-stage companies, beyond the more basic start-up level.

Erdem and Casey Allen's video run-down of the eight Skywalkers gives an inside look not only at each of the companies, but at the Project Skyway decision process and model.

Cem and Casey Play-by-Play Skywalker Commentary from Casey Allen on Vimeo.

Although the accelerator class was intended to begin Aug. 1, Erdem sent an email this week informing the finalists that they would move forward now with the momentum of the bootcamp.
 
The class, and Project Skyway in general, will be based out of the tech accelerator's new shared space (with the co-working organization CoCo) in the Grain Exchange building in Downtown Minneapolis. Project Skyway plans a 'big party' at the end of July after the move in mid-July.

Erdem's personal email to each of the eight finalists reflects the tenor of his passion, and it sets the bar high for the participants:

"I bought into your vision," he writes, "but more importantly I bought into your purpose, your character, who you are. Our entire community will be watching you every step of the way. They are thirsty to see you succeed and bring the long lost entrepreneurial fame back to our region."

Source: Cem Erdem
Writer: Jeremy Stratton
 

A total of 51 companies have moved into the semi-final round of the 2011 Minnesota Cup, which is now in its seventh year.

The list of companies includes two, Naiku and Qualtrx, that were also selected for Project Skyway's inaugural tech accelerator.

The Minnesota Cup is also similar to the national Cleantech Open, which also announced semifinalists last week-- companies compete for divisional and grand prize money (a total of $185,000) but also receive invaluable mentoring and exposure to investors, entrepreneurs, and other business experts.

Companies fall into six divisions: Clean Technology and Renewable Energy, BioSciences, High Tech, Social Entrepreneur, General, and Student.

Matt Hilker, director of the Minnesota Cup, who is in his second full cycle of the competition, says this is where the value starts for the semi-finalists--with "the validation and the exposure they get for their idea, whether it's potential advisors or even customers, that's huge," says Hilker.

"Just the process itself is good, because they're given deadlines of when they have to turn in a business plan," says Hiler. "It's motivation."

Over the next month-and-a-half, each company will be paired with at least one mentor while they write their business plans. In mid-August, three finalists will be chosen from each division, with the winners of each collecting $25,000 and moving on to the final round in September.

The Minnesota Cup's program background and details page gives a good explanation and a timeline of the competition.

Source: Matt Hilker, Minnesota Cup
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

Free Geek Twin Cities (FGTC) has a new home.

The Minneapolis-based non-profit, succeeding at its mission to "keep computers off the streets," outgrew its home in Powderhorn Park after about a year, according to a blog post.

Free Geek found a new spot at 2310 Snelling Ave. with the help of Seward Redesign, a community development corporation in the area.

The larger space should work better for FGTC's growing work. With the help of volunteers, the group collects old computers and other electronics, and either builds new computers with the parts or recycles them. (They do suggest a monetary donation along with your old junk�)

Free Geek either gives the computers to volunteers or sells them in their thrift store.

Parallel to this volunteer recycle/rebuild mission is another, related one: to bridge the digital divide and provide access, skills and knowledge about computers to those who don't have it.

Free Geek has expanded its hours since the move, as well:

Wednesday, noon�5 p.m.
Saturday noon�5 p.m.
Sunday, 2pm�7 p.m.

The move will not be a permanent one, writes FGTC on its blog; Seward Redesign has plans to redevelop the building in the next six months�two years, but the CDC will help FGTC find another new home.

Read more about FGTC's move and mission on their blog,

For a good sense of the Free Geek model, take a look at the below video about Free Geek Portland, where the movement began, and which served as a model for the Twin Cities version:



Source: Free Geek Twin CIties
Writer: Jeremy Stratton


 

Ximedica (pronounced "Zye-medica") is already established near one medical device hotspot (Boston) and is now expanding to another: the Twin Cities.

"Minneapolis is the hub of so many medical device companies and the hub of so many of our customers," says Sandra Weiss, director of marketing for the Providence, Rhode Island-based firm.

Ximedica provides up-front research, design, strategy, product development and introduction, and many other services to medical device and consumer healthcare companies.

The new office will be located in the University Enterprise Laboratories (UEL) Center, near University Avenue and Highway 280.

The company will be hiring locally, says Weiss--a key part of maintaining the presence and trust with local partners that the company has established on the East Coast for nearly 25 years.

"We're [hiring locally] so we can continue to maintain that service, we can continue to earn that trust locally, just like we've done in Providence," says Weiss, who notes that the Twin Cities is also a hub of academia and research related to the industry.

Ximedica does not have a solid target for the number of employees there, but it is "actively recruiting" and "aggressively hiring," says Stephanie Chamberlain, human resources manager for Ximedica.

As of mid-June, the staff count was one: Director of Human Factors Industrial Design David Copeland. His team will eventually include a director of engineering; senior level mechanical, software and electrical engineers; and program managers.

The Minnesota facility is expected to be at full capacity this fall, according to a press release, and Ximedica is also expanding its Providence location to 100,000 square feet of "integrated product development space."

Source: Sandra Weiss, Ximedica
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

Two University of Minnesota researchers have developed technology that solves one problem--the proliferation of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2)--to work improving another: how to more efficiently tap the heat inside the earth for geothermal energy systems.

Earth sciences faculty member Martin Saar and graduate student Jimmy Randolph have applied for a patent and plan to form a startup company to commercialize the technology, according to a press release.

The CO2-plume geothermal system (CPG) uses high-pressure CO2, rather than the conventional water, to carry the heat from deep in the earth. CO2 travels more easily through porous rock and can extract heat more readily, according to the researchers. The research was published in the most recent issue of Geophysical Research Letters.

The technology was "born in a flash of insight on a northern Minnesota road trip," according to the release, as the two conducted separate research on geothermal energy capture and geologic CO2 sequestration.

"We connected the dots and said, 'Wait a minute--what are the consequences if you use geothermally heated CO2?'" states Saar through the press release.

The consequences, according to Randolph, include being able to capture heat "in areas you couldn't even think about doing regular geothermal for electricity production," Randolph says in the release, stating that the technology could double efficiency in some areas.

The research was jump-started with a $600,00 grant in 2008 from the university's Institute on the Environment's Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE).

The grant came from an annual pool of $5 million from Xcel Energy's Renewable Development Fund. IREE disburses a number of grants each year through a competition, says Rod Larkins, IREE's associate director.

That funding leveraged another $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, and the researchers are hoping to receive an even larger grant, says Larkins, which would require a 20 percent match, of which IREE would cover half (10 percent of the grant amount). That funding would help move the technology into the pilot phase, according to the release.

Saar called the IREE grant "really critical" in the release. "I think it's fair to say that there's a good chance that it wouldn't have gone anywhere without IREE support in the early days," he says.

Larkins says IREE's interest in funding the research stems from the fact that the technology reduces a waste stream in achieving its main objective of capturing heat for geothermal energy.

Source: Rod Larkins, Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

Minneapolis-based children's book publisher Lerner Publishing Group has released its first iPad app, a visually rich and interactive digital version of the book Journey Into the Deep, which Lerner published in 2010.

Rebecca L. Johnson, who wrote the award-winning book, also developed the app for the Apple iPad, says Terri Reden, vice president of marketing and digital products for Lerner Publishing Group.

The book and app highlights the work and newly discovered aquatic life of the Census of Marine Life, an international effort conducted between 2000 and 2010. The app includes content not found in the book, says Reden, as well as photo slideshows, videos of sea creatures, links to websites, a discussion guide, and a video introduction with author Rebecca L. Johnson.

The inaugural app is a new aspect of Lerner's emerging digital catalog, which includes e-versions of its books, as well as more than 120 "interactive books" aimed at K�5 students who struggle with reading.

While those other offerings are aimed at Lerner's primary audience--schools and libraries--the iPad app is targeted more towards families, says Reden, specifically for 9�14-year-olds (although younger and older individuals may appreciate the app's colorful images and/or breadth of information).

Reden described the creation of the app as a sort of act of discovery, spurred by Johnson's own interest in creating the application. Lerner is not actively developing a next app, but the company is looking back at its catalog to see what other titles might work in the format.

The company continues to expand its other digital offerings, says Reden.

Source: Terri Reden, Lerner Publishing Group
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

The Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority (RCRRA) wants to know what kinds of businesses should fill the Union Depot building in Lowertown St. Paul. Once restored, the historic building will be the eastern terminus of the future Central Corridor Light Rail line.

A short, anonymous survey is available online until June 26.

The information will be used for planning purposes, "to understand what kinds of businesses have an interest in opening a shop or selling their goods in Union Depot, and how Union Depot can become a vibrant part of the fabric of Downtown Saint Paul, in addition to serving as the premier multimodal transit hub of the region," says Daniel Fuchs, senior analyst for HR&A Advisors, which is assisting with the survey effort "to explore the best means for developing a vibrant mix of mutually-supportive local businesses and entrepreneurs in the building," according to a Ramsey County Regional Rail News statement.

The purpose of the survey and HR&A work is "to maximize the economic development and job-generation value of The Union Depot project," including to:

� help inform a vision for what kind of marketplace The Union Depot should become, and over what period of time;
� demonstrate your interest in seeing The Union Depot succeed as an economic development driver and jobs-generator for the city and region;
� help identify what kinds of tenant spaces might be made available in the building, along with corresponding infrastructure needs; and
� put businesses on a list to attend an open house for potential tenants of the building.

A six-page pamphlet gives more information about the $150 million project, which is set to be completed in early 2013 and is expected to draw 1 million transit riders by 2014. The pamphlet includes a floor plan showing the 56,000 square feet of tenant space and 38,000 square feet of "civic halls" for retail kiosks.

The pamphlet also offers a market overview for Lowertown and Downtown St. Paul.

Sources: Daniel Fuchs, HR&A Advisors; Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

If you're keeping track of the changes at Code 42, make sure to backup the files, because the updates are coming quickly.

Advancements in the past three months alone include the release of the company's third major product, the acquisition of mobile-app developer Recursive Awesome, and a 10,000-square-foot expansion of its headquarters in near-Northeast Minneapolis.

With the growth and increasing popularity of its backup software Crashplan, the firm is adding employees weekly, says co-founder and CEO Matthew Dornquast.

The addition of Recursive Awesome brings that company's 15 engineers into the fold, and Code 42 has a North American core team of around 75 people. The company has been doubling in size, says Dornquast; it ended last year at around 50 or 60 and should end the year at 100, he says.

With the employee growth and acquisition, Code 42 has also doubled its physical space as well at its headquarters at 1 Main Street along the Mississippi River opposite Downtown Minneapolis. Code 42 moved to the 10,000- square-foot space about a year and a half ago, and added another 10,000 square feet earlier this year, with room to grow again, if necessary.

Like Code 42 itself, Recursive Awesome has moved from Downtown proper to the new offices. Dornquast said the two companies have "familial business DNA" in a press release last week about the acquisition.

Code 42 followed that news this week with the release this week of its third major product, a small-business focused backup solution in between the tiers of its original home/consumer and large-enterprise products. "Several years in the making," according to Dornquast, the mid-tier product will take the Crashplan PRO name of the existing larger-company product, which will be repositioned with the more-apt name of Crashplan-PRO-E.

The new product will support companies with up to 200 computers, and it will make use of Code 42's existing cloud backup capabilities.

Dornquast notes that Code 42's backup capabilities are multi-destination. "Even in the � 0�200 product, you'll be able to do direct to attached storage, onsite to other computers, and then direct to our cloud."

The cloud option works well for small businesses with fewer computers, he notes. "The user's story is being able to rapidly deploy your computers to the cloud; you can turn on backup through your whole company in less than 15 minutes," he says.

That user-friendly experience--"easy on-ramps, easy-to-understand"--belies the reach and power of the company's product. "The same engine that's powering this 0�200 product is running our cloud, for everybody," he says. "In real time, we're monitoring, managing, maintaining these data streams for everyone around the world."

"Everyone" refers to the millions of desktops and laptops Code 42 backs up globally, and the addition of Recursive Awesome will open Code 42 to the mobile market--devices that are emerging as endpoint data destinations--as well, says Dornquast.

"The ability to create mission-critical information on mobile devices is a relatively new thing," Dornquast says. He expects to release products in that vein late this year or in the first quarter of next year.

Source: Matthew Dornquast, Code 42
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

The Minneapolis City Council in April approved the Homegrown Business Development Center, aimed at supporting small and start-up food-based businesses in the city.

The center is a loan program and technical assistance center, through which Minneapolis-based businesses associated with the processing, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of local food products can apply for loans of up to $10,000 at 2 percent interest. Businesses will need to match the loan amount.

The April approval by the City Council set in motion a year-long pilot with $100,000 in total loan funds available.

The center is part of the larger, ongoing "Homegrown Minneapolis" effort, "one small piece of the homegrown pie," says Kris Maritz, loan and technical assistance specialist for the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD), which administers the loans for the city. It's "another tool in the toolbox of loans that the city provides for small businesses."

Eligible businesses exist in the middle of the continuum of grower-to-consumer local foods, says Maritz. While other resources exist for local growers and retailers, the program might benefit a small producer that has been selling at farmers' markets, for instance, but wants to take the step to packaging and selling in greater volumes.

Maritz says the newly approved center has yet to receive its first application, but she has spoken to about a dozen interested companies. Maritz expects the first round of loans to go to existing companies that already have  products and/or sales under their belts. That said, the loans are intended to support start-ups as well.

The center will also refer companies to other resources such as experts in food packaging or nutrition labels, says Maritz.

Such resources could be just a part of a company's preparation to apply for the loan, notes Maritz. "Just because you send in an application doesn't mean you're going to get the cash," she says. "There's a lot of legwork that has to be done before a business is even ready to apply for a loan."

Once off the ground, Maritz says she thinks the program can be very successful. "I think it can really help a lot of the food manufacturers in the city � not just the loan capital, but sending this message to food businesses in the metro. Even if you don't come to us for a loan, you can still get a lot of informational help."

 More information is available in the city's Guide to Starting a Local Food Business in Minneapolis. (pdf)

Source: Kris Maritz, Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

Roseville-based AbleNet last week announced the acquisition of TeleConcepts, a local company that provides telemarketing services, largely for the hard-of-hearing market.
 
AbleNet designs, develops and manufactures more than 800 products for people with all kinds of disabilities, "from a switch that enables a person to use a computer, to classroom curriculum for special-education students, to environmental controls for Afghan war veterans," says Jason Voiovich, vice president of marketing for AbleNet.
 
"Our products are really designed to improve quality of life," he says.
 
The acquisition of TeleConcepts will improve AbleNet's ability to follow that mission and market its products, and it allows AbleNet access to the hard-of-hearing market, says Voiovich.
 
TeleConcepts will continue its work with its existing customer base, as well as take on new work for AbleNet.
 
Both companies have been in business for 25 years. AbleNet will operate TeleConcepts as a wholly-owned subsidiary at its new corporate headquarters, just west of AbleNet's previous offices in Roseville.
 
AbleNet has been growing in terms of revenue at about 20 percent per year for about five years, says Voiovich. AbleNet, now with 50 employees, has been growing in terms of employees as well, adding six in the past three months, says Voiovich. The new space is "quite a bit larger" and allows the company to as much as double in size in the future.

Source: Jason Voiovich, AbleNet
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

St. Paul co-working group Co-Co and tech accelerator Project Skyway have joined forces to establish Co-Co's second location, this one on the old trading floor of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange building in Downtown Minneapolis.

The16,000-square-foot trading floor of the 1903 building will offer alternative office space for Co-Co's clients: freelance professionals, small businesses, and corporate workgroups; and it will provide working and meeting space for Project Skyway's twice-yearly classes of tech entrepreneurs, according to a press release. The space will also hold educational and social events hosted by CoCo.

The space is set to open July 5.

Project Skyway, billed as "Minnesota's first tech accelerator program for motivated entrepreneurs," is currently in its first round of assisting early-stage tech companies. Project Skyway will hold a weekend�long bootcamp, June 10�12, for 25 select companies at CoCo's flagship St. Paul location, which opened in 2010. Ten of those companies will be the finalists to go through the inaugural three-month program in the new Minneapolis space, starting in August.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, whose office encouraged the move, said in the release that "entrepreneurs built our region in the 19th century, and their partnership will help a new generation of startups do the same in the 21st century."

Cem Erdem, founder of Project Skyway,and founder and CEO of the educational software company Augusoft, dubbed it "the Brain Exchange."

The organizations promise to post detailed space designs, images and videos in the coming weeks. In the meantime, they invite folks to visit the evolving space, every Wednesday through June 29, between 1 p.m and 5 p.m. (Email first.)

Source: CoCo, Project Skyway
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

Everspring Health: Bike Twin Cities
June 1-August 31
Twin Cities Metro
Registration required

The holistic healthcare cooperative Everspring Health is partnering with One on One Bicycle Studio to give away prizes in a summer-long scavenger hunt on bikes. During the hunt, bikers will stop at stations around the Twin Cities to receive clues. The clues will lead them to local landmarks, where riders will snap photographs and post them online. The scavenger hunt is designed to connect the community, both on and off the bike trails.

RAW: Interactive
June 9, 8 p.m.
Fine Line Music Caf�
318 1st Ave. N., Minneapolis
$10 presale tickets for the 21+ event

RAW showcases emerging artists through monthly film screenings, musical performances, fashion shows and art galleries. Guests in cocktail attire can visit a cash bar and meet the local, hand-picked talent.

GR8 in the US
June 27-28
Holiday Inn Bloomington
1201 W. 94th St., Bloomington
Registration is $500 for the two-day conference

The conference is dedicated to Groovy, Grails, and Griffon technologies. Participants are asked to simply bring their laptops and prepare to dig into code. Separate conference tracks are geared for both novices and experts.

Girls in Tech: Summer Happy Hour
June 29, 5-9 p.m.
Moscow on the Hill
371 Selby Ave., St. Paul

This networking event celebrates Twin Cities women who are changing the world through technology and innovation.

The appliance retailer Warners' Stellian has started compacting leftover Styrofoam packaging and sending it out by the semi-trailer load to be recycled.

The effort has earned the company a "Sustainable Saint Paul" award, a city award that promotes environmental stewardship.

The initiative was a huge undertaking for the company, requiring it to make a large investment and train all of its drivers to separate packaging materials as part of every delivery.

"It was quite a learning curve to get used to the process," said Bob Warner, director of operations. "It took a little over a year."

The new Styrofoam compactor is one of just two in the state, but Warner said the investment makes good business sense. It saves on refuse costs and taxes, and the company is paid for the recycled material. At least three other partners provide Warners' Stellian with additional Styrofoam to compact and recycle.

Warner said his company sells appliances that are more efficient than the industry standard, so going green was a natural choice.

"We already have a consumer that's very conscious about being green and being efficient," Warner said. "We're seeing that philosophy through our entire corporation."

He said the company has added other touches to make it more efficient. Delivery trucks automatically power down after five minutes of idling. A natural air ventilation system in the warehouse circulates cooler air in the northern stretch back through the warmer, southern portion of the building. Warehouse lighting is motion-sensitive, so lights only blink on in the particular aisle a forklift is using. After five minutes of inactivity, the lights power down again.

Warners' Stellian also donates plastic wrap to be recycled and put back into manufacturing.

"Foam was the last big component of our waste stream," Warner said. "We were generating a tremendous amount of waste. Now, very little is going to the landfill."

Source: Bob Warner, director of operations, Warners' Stellian
Writer: Michelle Bruch