JumpStart Investment Grant Helps ABS Materials Take Flight

$250,000 in venture capital will advance production of ground-breaking environmental cleanup product

WOOSTER, Ohio - ABS Materials, a Wooster-based company created to produce a potentially ground-breaking environmental purification product developed by Paul Edmiston (associate professor of chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology at The College of Wooster), has received a $250,000 venture grant from Cleveland-based JumpStart, Inc.

The investment will enable ABS to build a system that will quadruple production of a substance known as Osorb, a glass-like material that can eradicate pollutants from water by surrounding them and literally "swallowing them up." The toxins can then be safely disposed of, and the Osorb can be used again and again." "It is exciting to have research results translate into real-world technologies for water treatment," says Edmiston.  "The process has brought significant recognition to The College of Wooster."

Stephen Spoonamore, who has facilitated the growth of more than a dozen new companies in his career, is serving as chief executive officer for ABS. He estimates that the substance could serve as the catalyst for a billion-dollar industry. Initial tests have demonstrated the product's effectiveness in removing volatile organic compounds, such as fuel oils and chlorinated solvents from water in addition to explosives and pesticides.

Funding will also be used to hire two production chemist researchers who will be contracted by clients to evaluate contaminated sites and determine what types of absorbent glass would be most effective in eliminating the pollutant. The company currently employs six people, but hopes to double its workforce this spring.

ABS Materials is located in the former Regal Ware building on Spruce Street just south of downtown Wooster and operates a lab at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.