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Helping algae grow has become a growth industry for MSU spinoff
Crain's Detroit Business
Tom Henderson
9/28/2014
Excerpt:
With distributors now in place to cover major world markets, revenue should start spiking later this year for Phenometrics Inc., a Michigan State University spinoff that makes bioreactors for growing algae.
"We've loaded the cannons and now we're closing deals," CEO Michael Chaperian said. "The plan a year ago was to take our reactors to global markets, and that's what we've been up to."
Chaperian said the company, which was founded in 2010 and began operations in 2011, now has independent distributors for China, India, Australia, Europe and Canada.
"We didn't want to do direct sales. As a small company, that is very challenging," he said. "We'll still sell direct to the U.S. market, but that's about it."
Phenometrics, which employs four, sells its reactors, which are about the size of a coffee maker, for $10,000 in the U.S. and for $14,950 in other countries. Chaperian said Phenometrics has no U.S. competitors, with its main competition a company in the Czech Republic named Photo Systems Instruments, whose reactors sell for $30,000 to $40,000.
Phenometrics generated revenue of about $1 million last year and will exceed that a bit this year, with a sharp increase expected next year, Chaperian said. In February, the company hired Timothy Alavosus, a 17-year veteran of the biotech industry, as vice president of sales and marketing.
Phenometrics' photo bioreactors allow academic researchers and for-profit companies to test algae growth in the lab under the same conditions algae will face in large outdoor ponds.
The reactors mimic such environmental or production conditions as temperature, light intensity, turbidity (clarity) and carbon dioxide through algae's various growth phases to know what helps or hinders growth.
Algae is used to make nutraceuticals -- products deemed a cross between food and medicine -- fish food and animal feed, cosmetics and biofuels. Algae is also used in waste removal and is an area of growing research and support through federal grants.
"Asia and India, in particular, are huge markets for algae byproducts," Chaperian said.
He said nondisclosure agreements prohibit him from identifying some of his clients, but they include biofuel and aqua-farming companies in Europe and petrochemical and biofuel companies in Australia, India, Japan, Argentina, Israel, Singapore, China and Abu Dhabi.
Another Israeli customer is using Phenometrics' bioreactors to improve its processes for making fish food, Chaperian said.
Phenometrics was licensed by MSU Technologies to commercialize the work of David Kramer, the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in photosynthesis and bioenergetics in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology. Work was performed under a grant from the National Alliance for the Advancement of Biofuel and Biomass Consortium, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Kramer's work at MSU was conducted in the DOE Plant Research Laboratory. His work has also been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In 2012, Phenometrics got $50,000 through the Michigan Economic Development Corp.'s Michigan Microloan Fund Program, which is administered by Ann Arbor Spark.
Since then, Phenometrics has been able to fund growth through sales -- an enviable position for a tech startup. The company is profitable and hasn't had to take on any equity capital, either in the form of angel or venture capital investments, Chaperian said.
............................................
U]View the complete article, including photo, at[/U]:
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...r-msu-spinoff#
Crain's Detroit Business
Tom Henderson
9/28/2014
Excerpt:
With distributors now in place to cover major world markets, revenue should start spiking later this year for Phenometrics Inc., a Michigan State University spinoff that makes bioreactors for growing algae.
"We've loaded the cannons and now we're closing deals," CEO Michael Chaperian said. "The plan a year ago was to take our reactors to global markets, and that's what we've been up to."
Chaperian said the company, which was founded in 2010 and began operations in 2011, now has independent distributors for China, India, Australia, Europe and Canada.
"We didn't want to do direct sales. As a small company, that is very challenging," he said. "We'll still sell direct to the U.S. market, but that's about it."
Phenometrics, which employs four, sells its reactors, which are about the size of a coffee maker, for $10,000 in the U.S. and for $14,950 in other countries. Chaperian said Phenometrics has no U.S. competitors, with its main competition a company in the Czech Republic named Photo Systems Instruments, whose reactors sell for $30,000 to $40,000.
Phenometrics generated revenue of about $1 million last year and will exceed that a bit this year, with a sharp increase expected next year, Chaperian said. In February, the company hired Timothy Alavosus, a 17-year veteran of the biotech industry, as vice president of sales and marketing.
Phenometrics' photo bioreactors allow academic researchers and for-profit companies to test algae growth in the lab under the same conditions algae will face in large outdoor ponds.
The reactors mimic such environmental or production conditions as temperature, light intensity, turbidity (clarity) and carbon dioxide through algae's various growth phases to know what helps or hinders growth.
Algae is used to make nutraceuticals -- products deemed a cross between food and medicine -- fish food and animal feed, cosmetics and biofuels. Algae is also used in waste removal and is an area of growing research and support through federal grants.
"Asia and India, in particular, are huge markets for algae byproducts," Chaperian said.
He said nondisclosure agreements prohibit him from identifying some of his clients, but they include biofuel and aqua-farming companies in Europe and petrochemical and biofuel companies in Australia, India, Japan, Argentina, Israel, Singapore, China and Abu Dhabi.
Another Israeli customer is using Phenometrics' bioreactors to improve its processes for making fish food, Chaperian said.
Phenometrics was licensed by MSU Technologies to commercialize the work of David Kramer, the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in photosynthesis and bioenergetics in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology. Work was performed under a grant from the National Alliance for the Advancement of Biofuel and Biomass Consortium, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Kramer's work at MSU was conducted in the DOE Plant Research Laboratory. His work has also been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In 2012, Phenometrics got $50,000 through the Michigan Economic Development Corp.'s Michigan Microloan Fund Program, which is administered by Ann Arbor Spark.
Since then, Phenometrics has been able to fund growth through sales -- an enviable position for a tech startup. The company is profitable and hasn't had to take on any equity capital, either in the form of angel or venture capital investments, Chaperian said.
............................................
U]View the complete article, including photo, at[/U]:
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...r-msu-spinoff#