Posted April 16, 2008

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee -- The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated business innovation on April 16 with awards to creative area companies and high school students, remarks by Gov. Phil Bredesen and a keynote speech by Roger Staubach.

The Chamber honored TR Automation with the Kruesi Award for Innovation during the annual Spirit of Innovation Awards Luncheon.

The celebration included announcement of Cushion by Design as the Early Innovator Award recipient. Also recognized were three teenagers who placed first, second and third in the Great Ideas Competition.

Chamber President and CEO Tom Edd Wilson presented the Kruesi Award to Jerry Tyman Jr., TR Automation general manager, for developing a revolutionary approach to robotic work station manufacturing.

Called SuperCell, the innovation boosts productivity because the robot or robot group is working 95 percent of the time.  The advance—particularly applicable to the automotive and aerospace industries—reduces floor space, improves the quality of parts manufactured and achieves a 30 percent reduction in production costs.

TR Automation was selected from seven finalists, including Accurate Automation Corporation, Andersen Flaps, Inc., Astec Industries, Inc., Cleveland Tubing, Inc., EnWaste Recovery Systems and Transcard. All of these companies exhibited their innovations at the Convention Center event.

The Kruesi Award recognizes companies for innovative products, services and business practices that have been created and implemented by businesses in the Chattanooga area.

The Kruesi Award honors a Chattanooga family whose Swiss ancestor, John Kruesi, immigrated to America and worked with inventor Thomas A. Edison. Kruesi made the first phonograph in 1877 and was the principal mechanic on countless other patented innovations, including the incandescent light bulb. His son Paul Kruesi settled in Chattanooga, founded the American Lava Company in 1902, and served as president of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce.

The Chattanooga Technology Council’s (CTC) Early Innovator Award spotlights an emerging knowledge-based organization with a proprietary product, technology or process and the demonstrated potential for a significant competitive advantage. The companies in competition for this award are in the early stages of development and may be at the pre-commercial or pre-revenues level.

Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey and CTC President Lulu Copeland made the award to Charlie and Zach Hubbs of Cushion by Design. Charlie Hubbs is president/owner of the company; Zach Hubbs is vice president. Reynolds, Coffman, and Park of UBS Financial Services, Inc., was the presenting sponsor of the award.

Cushion by Design is the market leader in developing and manufacturing custom gel foam and filter materials.  Its patented process and products create a breathable foam with performance characteristics superior to traditional foams, such as antimicrobial protection and UV resistance. The innovative process infuses silicone and other additives into foam to create advantages in multiple applications. Market examples include healthcare to reduce bed sores, flame resistance and filtration for aerospace.

Other Early Innovator Award finalists for 2008 were the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA), NanoChromatic and UtiliFlex.

Also recognized were three teenagers who placed first, second and third in Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield's Great Ideas Competition that encourages creative entrepreneurship among high school students. The students received a total of $7,500 in college scholarships for their innovative business ideas.

First place winner was 18-year-old Kelsey Bailey, a senior at Soddy-Daisy High School, for her Clothes in Code company. She describes it as a “business that provides  Chattanooga area students with dress code appropriate, yet very fashionable clothing at a reasonable cost.”

Second place winner Brian Ball, a senior at the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, was recognized for his Choo Choo Charlie’s Restaurant. “It’s a train-themed restaurant that serves the customers’ food on a model train,” Ball says. “Its purpose is to celebrate the history of the train in Chattanooga, in addition to the impact it has on our society today.”

Emily Blevins of Girls Preparatory School placed third for Intron Research Cooperation. IRC is a research facility specializing in non-coding regions of the DNA or introns, which have been classified as "junk" until recently when findings began to show introns very likely influence genetic traits.  “The study of this area in the DNA could provide causes and cures to genetic diseases previously mysterious to the scientific world,” says Blevins, a GPS junior.

Gov. Phil Bredesen made remarks about the importance of business innovation and introduced Vicky Gregg, president and CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.  Gregg introduced keynote speaker Roger Staubach, executive chairman of the Staubach Company and former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.  The Staubach Company is managing construction of the new BCBST headquarters on Cameron Hill.

The Kruesi Finalists
Accurate Automation Corporation designed and implemented Sentinel, an unmanned ocean racer equipped with artificial intelligence that protects water-based assets such as ships and oil-drilling platforms. Sentinel is the first and only artificially intelligent boat that can perform in a variety of high-demand, real life situations -- such as during storms and at night -- without human risk or intervention.

Andersen Flaps designed the Eco-Flap, a patented mud flap for trucks with a 75 percent open surface area which allows water and air to flow through the flap.  The flaps reduce the spray from trucks’ tires in the rain to make roads safer and also reduce the drag effect, resulting in a fuel savings to the trucking industry of up to three percent, depending on conditions.

Astec Industries, Inc. has developed the Double Barrel Green System which allows the production of “warm-mix” asphalt cement without the use of expensive or caustic additives or systems.  Double Barrel Green provides a 14 percent reduction in fuel usage for producing asphalt cement, as well as a 14 percent reduction in emissions and costs.

Cleveland Tubing was a Kruesi finalist for inventing Flex-Drain®, a patent-pending flexible, expandable plastic pipe, usable in most drainage applications.  The product offers an alternative to bulky, traditional plastic draining pipe. It collapses to six feet and expands to 25 feet, making it easy to transport and to store.

EnWaste Recovery Systems has created a patented filtration system to address the healthcare industry’s need to recover silver and other heavy metals from the photo-chemical process in radiology departments.  The system not only allows the silver to be captured and recycled but also neutralizes and captures other heavy metals, preventing contamination of the water system.

Transcard was recognized for integrating financial processing settlement technology with legacy software platforms for companies and industries. Transcard is a financial stored value processor, taking cash and converting it into electronic cards for everything from payroll to tax benefits and tax payments, gift cards and other transactions.

Early Innovator Award Finalists
CARTA has deployed an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to improve safety, efficiency and effectiveness through enhanced information for local transit riders. System features and service innovations include new ticket vending machines, automatic vehicle location and computer-aided dispatch, digital information displays, and free Wi-Fi Internet connectivity on every bus in the fleet -- a documented national "first." NanoChromatic has invented a proprietary fabric product and two new processes to impart dynamic coloration to textiles without using dyes or chemicals.  The colored patterns and images change color, shape and perspective depending on the viewing angle and light direction. Potential applications of this new green technology range from lingerie and logos to security and military markets.

UtiliFlex helps customers realize the value of electric utility smart-grid investments by providing utilities a range of software and solutions, from its JUICE CARDTM prepayment technology to direct load control. JUICE software allows customers to purchase specified dollar amounts of electric power via scratch-card, web interface, automated phone or text messaging. JUICE then places the purchased energy directly into the customer’s meter thus eliminating the need for deposits and monthly bills.

The Spirit of Innovation Awards Luncheon was sponsored BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee; EPB; Tandus; Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel; Miller & Martin, PLLC; Northwest Georgia Bank; SRC Technology Solutions; TVA; Tennessee River Gorge Trust; Unum; Chattem, Inc.; Chattanooga Technology Council; EDI, LTD; Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough, PLLC; Kennedy, Coulter, Rushing and Watson; McKee Foods Corp.; Regions; Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union; and Merrill Lynch.