Jun 3 2009
EoPlex Technologies, the company that mass produces complex miniature devices in a breakthrough high-speed, low-cost, clean-tech process, has been honored for sustainable innovation by the prestigious Swedish Globe Forum. The company was notified that it is a winner of the Globe Sustainable Innovators 100 Award and has been invited to the June 3rd recognition ceremony hosted by Crown Princess Victoria at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm.
"We were delighted to be selected by this international body of world-class scientists, academicians, CEOs, government officials and policy experts," said EoPlex CEO, Arthur L. Chait. "Our technology is unique and we have won several awards for our innovative clean process, but this is the first time we've been recognized by a group outside of the United States and we are honored."
EoPlex has developed a low-cost mass production technology that allows the design and manufacture of new types of ceramic-metal-polymer components. Applications include: cell phone antennas, micro-lead frame packages, sensors, energy harvesters and fluidic devices. The company's technology is a clean additive process that uses proprietary printing techniques to mass produce small, complex devices. EoPlex has developed a catalog of proprietary printing "inks" or "pastes" that allow it to print large panels of parts and build up devices by combining hundreds of layers. The EoPlex process is unique in several ways, including the ability to build finished devices that contain several different materials in one package.
"You often hear about companies that have a 'secret sauce,' which typically refers to some unique advantage," continued Chait. "This is also true in our case. However, our secret sauces actually look like the famous sauces made by great chefs. Our 'sauces' are used in our proprietary print-forming technology to create three-dimensional devices. The 'sauces' are used to build up layers of the part in large sheets and then they decompose to form the different ceramics, metals and polymers required for the device. Parts come out of the process fully formed and finished. They may include built-in radiating surfaces, channels, chambers, conductors, dielectrics, sensors and even energy harvesters."
This year, hundreds of potential sustainable innovators were reviewed by Globe Forum. Criteria for winning included: a business based on a sustainable and innovative technology, a verified market demand and an evaluation of the entrepreneurial team. "We selected 100 of the best companies from 16 countries as winners of the Sustainable Innovators 100 Award," stated Gustav Gorecki, Business Development Manager of the Globe Forum. "These companies will participate throughout our June 3rd through 5th activities in Stockholm. We will also select winners of the Globe Award in four categories: Research, Innovation, Business Planning and City Planning. These awards will be presented by H.R.H. Swedish Crown Princess Victoria, at a ceremony in the Winter Garden of the Grand Hotel here in Stockholm."
"The diversity of our selections is reflected in the choice of two California companies who are actually neighbors in Silicon Valley," continued Gorecki. "One of this year's finalists for the Globe Award is Tesla Motors, manufacturer of electric vehicles with exceptional design, performance and efficiency. They are side-by-side with EoPlex Technologies, a Sustainable Innovators 100 winner. We are pleased to see such a well-rounded group."