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May 2021

May is National Inventors Month, and no other state can compare to Ohio’s contribution to the American drive to innovate and create. Ohio’s heritage is invention, but that heritage goes far beyond the famous inventors we learned about in school. Today, here in the Buckeye State, Ohioans are pushing the limits of innovation and making their mark.
From advanced medical technology to simple patented designs that make everyday life easier, Ohioans are coming up with new products and ways to improve our lives while creating jobs that employ our fellow Ohioans. Startup incubators all over Ohio have helped small businesses launch and grow, pairing hard working Ohioans with investors and other resources.
If you have an idea or skill that you want to turn into a business, visit the Secretary of State’s Business Services page. On our site you can file your new business and connect with valuable resources so that your business can contribute to Ohio’s burgeoning economy.
While in high school, company owner Kevin Nelson was tasked to invent or innovate a product for the project fair. After hearing that a relative was struggling with reactions to current wound care products, Kevin had the idea of creating a hypoallergenic bandage. NelDerm makes wound dressings that are gentle and easy-to-use, especially for those with fragile or allergically reactive skin. Manufacturing their product in the US, the company continues to grow and expand the team on a daily basis.
Fifteen-year-old Carson Grill just started his freshman year of high school, but unlike most of his classmates, he is already running his own company. With his father, Carson is co-founder and CEO of Touch Up Cup, a company selling paint storage containers.
With patented technology featured on ABC’s Shark Tank, Touch Up Cup is a simple grab-n-go solution to paint storage that “has an airtight silicon seal to keep paint fresh for over 10 years.”
By modernizing a two-century old technology patent, Stirling Ultracold is designing low maintenance high efficiency deep freezers used by hospitals and science labs.
Established in 1995, Global Cooling Inc. identified the significant cooling performance and energy advantages of the free-piston, zero lubrication Stirling technology over compressor-based refrigeration systems for use in life science, pharmaceutical, and clinical hospital research industries.
In April 2011, the company moved into a 50,000 sq. ft. facility in Athens where they are continuing the legacy of quality ultra-low freezer manufacturing in Southeastern Ohio. In May 2013, Stirling Ultracold received the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories’ Outstanding New Product of the Year Award for its Model SU780U ultra-low temperature freezer.
Their freezers are now helping with COVID-19 vaccine distribution and preservation.
Commercializing radars since 2016, founder and CEO Dean Zody has been perfecting the science of aircraft and radar technology. GhostWave Inc., based in Hilliard, focuses on programming radars that are immune from jamming and interference. The radars and optical sensors are fused for Perimeter Monitoring and Aerial Detect and Avoid.
Featured in various news networks such as TechOhio, Columbus CEO, and VentureBeat and listed in the Los Angeles Business journal as a top 3 company for the 2017 Top Ten Automotive Startups Competition, GhostWave Inc. has made great strides to become internationally recognized as one of the most progressive and innovative businesses to lead the radar industry. During the next few years, GhostWave Inc. plans to advance its technology to become a commercial product and a Department of Defense product.
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