Farmed Materials Inc is developing a domestic source of natural rubber from Taraxacum kok-saghyz, the Kazakh dandelion, while building the supply chain needed to cultivate and process the specialty crop. Led by veterans of the agriculture and polymer industries, the Cincinnati company is also advancing bio-derived materials and specialty polymers as alternatives to the increasingly threatened traditional rubber supply chain.
UnspentBorn from coffee-chemistry research at The Ohio State University in 2016, Unspent turns spent coffee grounds into COPOXEE™, a renewable plasticizer for the materials industry. Cofounders Kathryn Williamson and Emmanuel Hatzakis developed the material to give coffee waste a second use while helping replace petroleum-based plastics in functional packaging. The company also develops other sustainable materials from food-industry byproducts.
PolyC Plastics and CompositesPolyC Plastics and Composites grew from inventor Gregory A. Sotzing’s work on a polycannabinoid composition of matter into a company focused on cleaner polymer technology. Its renewably sourced biopolymers are developed as functional alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, with custom development available for applications such as medical sensors.CHAGRIN FALLS, OH
Boomerang Rubber, IncSince 1954, Boomerang Rubber has turned scrap and waste tire rubber into American-made products such as custom mud flaps, truck bed mats, and heavy-duty agricultural mats. Rebranded in 2009 and based in Botkins, Ohio, the company operates an ISO 14001-certified manufacturing facility and also produces rubber materials for structural and industrial applications. Its work centers on giving tire waste a durable second life through recycled, tire cord-reinforced rubber products.BOTKINS, OH
VIGEO GARDENSVIGEO GARDENS grew from a basement operation serving cancer patients into Rubber City Farm, a nearly 30,000-square-foot indoor farm in Akron’s historic BF Goodrich factories producing leafy greens and microgreens year-round. Its hydroponic, climate-controlled operation supplies locally grown produce harvested and delivered within 24 hours, while using less water and composting farm waste for community farms in Akron.AKRON, OH