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<br /> A total of $45 SEEKING RECYCLING INVESTORS
<br /> million in capital INETEEN start-up and early stage vestment forum in New York City in May,
<br /> was SOLlC"ht at the �businesses, including Cellutech and 1997. Businesses interested in participat-
<br /> a Recycled Glass Products, attended ing can call(802)254-3636.
<br /> Northeast an investment forum for recycling en- Other regions.of the country are also
<br /> trepreneurs hosted by the Northeast Recy- holding similar events. For example, the
<br /> investment forum, cling Council(NERC)in May, 1996.Also at- Southeastern Recycling Investment Fo-
<br /> tending were investors, representatives of rum will be held in Charleston, South Car-
<br /> and some economic development agencies, consul- olina on February 10, 1997. The first
<br /> companies reported tarts and others.A total of$45 million in in- Southeastern Forum held last year attract-
<br /> vestment capital was sought at the forum, ed more than.100 entrepreneurs, in-
<br /> that they met with and some companies reported that they vestors, and economic development offi-
<br /> met with success. Cellutech president Ge- ciais. Of the attendees, 78 percent found
<br /> success, off Perry adds that the forum helped lend the Forum "very valuable." Three compa-
<br /> his company credibility, facilitating a nies met investors or financial resources.
<br /> $250,000 equity deal. The forum indirectly One of these companies_secured a loan
<br /> led to investors from the United Arab Emi- while two others continue to negotiate with
<br /> rates financing a feasibility study on the investors. For details, contact Ted Camp
<br /> technology developed by Recycling Glass bell, South Carolina Dept. of Commerce,=
<br /> Products. NERC is planning a second in- (803)737-0400.
<br /> to the original investors." To gear up and building material, formed a partnership
<br /> market the product, Perry received a loan with Timothy Newell.They launched Recy-
<br /> from Jefferson County (where both facili- cled Glass Products (RGP) of Boston, Nlas-
<br /> ties are located),$r 0,000 in grants from the sachusetts. Their product, ReFormedGlas
<br /> New York State Office of Recycling Market insulation,is a rigid d cellular foam glass in-
<br /> Development, and also capital from a pri- sulation and building material. It is de-
<br /> vate investor. signed to be manufactured from mixed col-
<br /> Industrial absorbents have been on the or cullet, which is a residual material
<br /> market for a long time. They are generally generated by almost every curbside recy-
<br /> manufactured from clay and polypropylene. cling program and has no market value.
<br /> They are used in soaking up oil and other RGP is Iooking for investors to build the
<br /> chemicals from machinery,from the floors of manufacturing capacity for the product.
<br /> machine and automotive shops, and from The strongest interest, so far, has come
<br /> spills: For spills over water, Cellutech has from a firm in Dubai, United Arab Emi-
<br /> developed a hydrophobic Liquick product rates, which is conducting a feasibility on
<br /> that is designed to soak up oil, but not wa- the RGP product as a potential commercial
<br /> ter."We have introduced a lighter weight al- use for mixed cullet.
<br /> ternative to clay and polypropylene that is RGP is a "bootstraps" firm that has sur-
<br /> more effective,"says Perry. vived by keeping expenditures down and
<br /> USING MIXED GLASS pursuing alternative sources of income
<br /> while the primary product is under develop-
<br /> David Solomon's recycled product venture meat.The first step,in 1992,was to find out
<br /> had its roots in the early 1990s, when the whether Solomon's product ideas were fea-
<br /> former home building contractor planned to sible from an engineering standpoint.He be-
<br /> relocate his business from New England to lieved that by adding certain gases to the
<br /> Sweden. The only problem was that production process,or by conducting certain
<br /> Solomon used a foam and plywood construe- manufacturing steps in a vacuum, the R-
<br /> tion technique. and Sweden had banned value (insulation) could be improved. Also,
<br /> chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in accordance the use of recycled materials needed to be
<br /> with the Montreal Protocol (Sweden was a tested (there is a rigid cellular foam glass
<br /> few years ahead of the U.S. in taking this product on the market,made by Pittsburgh-
<br /> step). CFCs are used in making foam, but Corning, %yith virgin materials).
<br /> also are damaging to the Earth's ozone lay- For S.;0.000, they hired Arthur D. Litt'le,
<br /> er. "I started thinking about another prod- the engineering firm. to test the vacuum
<br /> uct to put into a wall instead of plastic and;as concepts and look at such issues as
<br /> foam," says Solomon. "Through contacts, I optimal cell structure for the ;lass foam.
<br /> Iearned of a product developed in Germany While -snufacturing in a vacuum W
<br /> from recycled glass." ruled our., ADL determined that R-value
<br /> He met with the inventor to negotiate a could be increased—by as much as 25 per-
<br /> manufacturing agreement, but could not cent—if a specific gas is added to the pro-
<br /> come to terms.`I came back to the U.S.,and cess to fill the bubbles in the glass foam.
<br /> instead of throwing up my hands in frus- This concept has been dubbed "sweet.-as."
<br /> tration,I decided to develop a product of my Solomon also believes that by processing re-
<br /> own." Solomon. who had some ideas about cycled mixed color cullet, RGP will be able
<br /> how to make an improved recycled Mass to save :honey o%:er its competitor. "We fig-
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