Page 98 - Innovation Delaware 2019

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
THE BOTTOM LINE
There are several ways in which Delaware’s chemical companies are making impacts on daily lives. One is in nutrition. In the past, much of the work done in the state was to serve pharmaceutical companies. Now, firms are focusing on improving food quality — for humans and animals. White Dog Labs does that.
So do DowDuPont, BASF and Croda, which is headquartered in Edison,
New Jersey, but has a plant in New Castle. Their goal is to provide better ingredients, such as antimicrobials
and antioxidants, that improve taste, nutritional quality and shelf life.
Another area that is getting some attention is the consumer sector.
CHEMISTRY
by the Numbers
$300
Billion
Market capitalization of the chemical companies in Delaware
$986
Million
The chemicals industry’s share of Delaware’s total manufacturing- sector exports in 2016.
(The combined total came to $4.3 billion.)
No. 8
Rank of the University of Delaware’s Chemical Engineering program, on U.S. News & World Report’s list of Best Engineering Schools
SOURCES: CENTER FOR MANUFACTURING RESEARCH, DELAWARE SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY ALLIANCE, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
PREVAILS
Over the past 12 months, STRIDE (short for Science, Technology and Research Institute of Delaware) has grown from a good idea to a company that employs 26 people and has expanded its focus to Silicon Valley and globally. STRIDE works with startups, growing and established companies who need help with their R&D. For example, STRIDE can help clients
who work with recycled plastic detect contaminants that could come in contact with food products.
“We take building blocks created
by other companies and try to make products from them that can go
to market,” says Seetha Coleman- Kammula, STRIDE’s CEO.
“Our people have been successful commercializing building blocks.” Most of the companies STRIDE works with are populated by younger Ph.D.s who don’t have industrial experience. Although STRIDE was founded as recently as 2017, the majority of those who work there have decades
of seasoning in that area, so the company is well-suited to accelerating the process.
96 DelawareBusinessTimes.com
DORA CHEATHAM
A key to the growing collection
of smaller companies that is helping energize Delaware’s chemical marketplace is the infusion of talent from larger companies that have either merged or broken apart. And thanks to the continued growth of the industry, there are jobs available for those with skills but also the ability to direct their knowledge to specific end results and to feed the entrepreneurial instincts of founders. As smaller companies grow and try to gain traction and — most importantly — funding, their leaders should be looking up for guidance.
“We need more interaction between early-stage, smaller companies and the big boys, so they can get direction,” Tracy says.
At the same time, transformation
in Delaware’s chemical industry is driven by cutting-edge research at the University of Delaware. In February, researchers at UD’s Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation announced they had successfully synthesized renewable oils made from biomass, such as wood or switchgrass. These sustainable oils can potentially be used in lubricants to power anything from plane thrusters to refrigerator compressors.
MOONLOOP PHOTOGRAPHY