GLOBE-Net. November 18, 2010 - In September, Solegear Bioplastics Inc., a clean technology company founded and based in Vancouver, BC, was recognized by Frost & Sullivan with the 2010 North American Award for New Product Innovation of the Year for its Polysole^® Bioplastic.

Later that month, at the BC Innovation Council (BCIC)'s New Ventures 10th annual awards ceremony, Solegear was awarded prizes in three different categories, the first time ever that the awards jury has awarded three prizes to one company.

This is an impressive track record, particularly for company founded only four years ago.

Indeed, for most of that period Solegear was engaged in R&D with an international team of scientists to develop Polysole® - a 100% natural, non-toxic, high performance biodegradable plastic.

It was only in June 2010 that Solegear announced its commercialization of Polysole^® and its biocomposite complementary product Traverse^®, a high-performance biocomposite that uniquely blends natural fibres with recycled or traditional plastics.

Since then Solegear has attracted and delivered product to customers across North America. The company now has a pipeline of business worth over $4,000,000 in recurring business for 2011.

What's the secret of this fast rise to the top? "Perseverance, teamwork and technologies which are already making an economic and sustainable impact in the plastics industry have been recognized by an expert and well-respected jury", said Toby Reid, Founder, President and CMO of Solegear Bioplastics, on receipt of the BCIC awards.

"Solegear, with its dedicated focus on research and development for four continuous years, has been able to overcome the challenges of producing biopolymers with properties that are required for high-performance applications," said Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Deepan Kannan.

"Polysole^® is completely bio-based as the polymer utilizes proprietary additives that are entirely natural and organic. The company has, thus, ensured that there is no compromise on the renewable content of the material, which is an industry-leading development."

In todays booming bio-plastics market, many base biopolymers come from a natural feedstock, but compounding these biopolymers for additional performance is accomplished using synthetic additives. Many of the biopolymers used for engineering applications are blended with other oil-based polymers, which leads to a significant reduction in the renewable content.

Polysole® Bioplastic is 100 per cent biobased.

Besides being completely biobased, Solegear's polymer utilizes proprietary additives that are entirely natural and organic. The company thus can ensure that there is no compromise on the renewable content of the material due to its compounding.

This is an important factor in terms of the future market potential for the company's products.

Biodegradable plastics - i.e. plastics that will decompose in natural aerobic (composting) and anaerobic (landfill) environments, are the Holy Grail of the plastics world. Enabling microorganisms in the environment to metabolize plastic to produce an inert humus-like material that is less harmful to the environment represents a major step forward in terms of environmental protection.

Polysole^® is a totally biodegradable plastic material that can be used in film, sheet, blow molding and injection molding applications. Made using entirely natural materials and organic additives, Polysole^® is a 100% biodegradable and non-toxic thermoplastic. Its superior process capability and strength offers opportunities for manufacturers of all kinds to save money, increase product safety and to beat the competition.

Traverse^® Recycled is a combination of recycled conventional plastic (PP, PE, PET, Nylon) and a customized percentage of biobased fibre content. Using wood, hemp, bamboo, rice husks, or other natural fibres, Traverse^® Recycled can have between 20% and 60% natural content, offering Solegear customers the ability to customize the material to their given application.

One of the selection criteria for the prestigious Frost & Sullivan awards is that the company must have developed an innovative element in a product by leveraging leading-edge technologies. The awards committee takes into account the value added features and benefits of the product, and the increased ROI it offers customers, which in turn determines potential customer acquisition and overall market penetration potential.

Looking at the products that Solegear has developed, it is clear why this very young start up won the Frost & Sullivan recognition, and why it is definitely a company to watch.

Check out Solegear here.