Posted April 2007
Steelcase CEO Delivers Keynote Address
Chattanooga, Tennessee -- The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated business creativity Wednesday with awards to two area companies, a keynote address by the president of a global leader in office furnishings and an exhibit of innovative products and services offered by Chattanooga area companies.
Chamber President and CEO Tom Edd Wilson presented the Kruesi Award for Innovation to Dr. Jayesh Doshi, founder and president of eSpin Technologies, Inc., the first company in the world to develop a process and machinery for the mass production of nanofibers.
Nanofibers, which are 1,000 times smaller in diameter than a human hair, have applications in a wide range of industries from apparel to medicine.
eSpin was housed at the Chamber-managed Business Development Center for three years. In 2002 eSpin moved to Enterprise South as the first tenant of the industrial park.
eSpin was selected from the three Kruesi finalists, which included Accurate Automation Corporation and Brake Tech Tools.
The Kruesi Award recognizes companies for innovative products, services and business practices that have been created and implemented by businesses in the Chattanooga area.
Ceremonies at the Spirit of Innovation Awards Luncheon included the presentation of the Chattanooga Technology Council's Early Innovator Award to Floodbloc, Inc.
Barron Tasker, founder of the company, accepted the award for two products: Floodbloc Bags that allow for the building of flood control embankments with less product and labor than traditionally required; and for SAP750, a petroleum clean-up product.
Paul Weidlich, president of the Chattanooga Technology Council, made the presentation. The Early Innovator Award honors emerging technology-based companies that have produced a groundbreaking prototype product or beta-stage software application that represents the potential for a significant competitive advantage.
The luncheon also recognized three teen-agers who were winners in Mayor Ron Littlefield's Great Ideas Competition for junior and senior high school students. Girls Preparatory School senior Priya Boyington won first-place for her business plan for PerFusion, a company that would infuse scents into clothing using nanofibers.
Chetna Chandrasekaran of the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences won second place for her idea for a business that establishes a web site to help students obtain business internships.
Third place honors went to Colton Griffin, a Baylor School senior from Englewood, TN. Griffin came up with the idea for a company which would take waste vegetable oil (WVO) from deep fryers in schools, hospitals and other institutions and turn the WVO into diesel fuel for the institutions' use in diesel engines.
Dan Johnson, Mayor Littlefield's chief of staff, presented the Great Ideas awards, which provide scholarships amounting to $7,500 to the winners.
Following the awards presentations, Steelcase Inc. president and CEO Jim Hackett delivered the keynote address on "Is There a Difference Between Thinking and Doing in Business Today?" to the Convention Center audience of over 700.
Hackett said the innovation is a form of fitness and talking to the smartest people on a subject or reading the books by the world's best minds helps innovators stay in shape.
He recalled that after Steelcase built a 20,000-volume library for Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, he was surprised to discover that the collection wasn’t devoted to the topic of computing. Instead Gates' library includes the works of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and other leading thinkers of their day. He said Gates explained that he sought out the great books of the past to help him figure out how to solve the devastating problems of today.
Hackett said businesses have to balance the time they invest in thinking and in doing, and he encouraged the luncheon attendees to gain more patience with the abstract act of thinking by equating it with something concrete like chopping wood.
The speaker said the U.S. needs to celebrate academic achievement and to embrace immigrants to promote innovation and stay globally competitive.
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.
Kruesi Finalists
Accurate Automation Corporation was recognized for designing and implementing Sentinel, an unmanned ocean racer boat 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.
Brake Tech Tools was honored for inventing a line of brake measuring gauges. These tools provide a better, more efficient way of measuring brake wear, saving trucking fleets time and money, while improving safety. The Technician Gauge, which allows an in-depth evaluation of the brake linings without having to remove the backing plates or drums, reduces the time it takes to make a sound assessment of brake wear from nearly an hour to just a few seconds.
Early Innovator Finalists
Other Early Innovator finalists were Fire Eye Productions, Inc., MiniTennisCourt.com and Triton Technologies.
Fire Eye was a finalist for LocalWebcastNetwork.com, a new website for high-quality streaming videos that provide comprehensive coverage of important events in
business, technology, government, education, healthcare, sports and the arts.
MiniTennisCourt.com is a scaled-down practice game kit, with the same geometries as a full tennis court but with portability and easy assembly. With maximum dimensions of 16 feet by 54 feet, the Mini Tennis Court duplicates the feel of an actual tennis game and, at $150 a kit, makes tennis more accessible.
Triton Technologies has patented Smart Textile, which is made from a new elastic fiber form that elongates to over 600 times its initial length but does not spring back. Smart Textile can be used in safety harnesses for OSHA fall protection compliance, rescue applications, seat belts, cargo safety systems and in other applications.
The Spirit of Innovation Awards Luncheon was sponsored by EPB, Steelcase, Tandus, AirNet Group, Chambliss Bahner & Stophel, Chattanooga Technology Council, Chattem, Inc., Electric Motor Sales, Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough, PLLC, Miller Martin PLLC, Northwest Georgia Bank, TVA, Unum Group, WAWL at Chattanooga State, WSMC and WTCI 45.
