Update on 2009 Grand Prize Winner, Innovative Composite Solutions

The following is provided by Dr. Uday Vaidya, CEO of Innovative Composite Solutions and Professor of Materials Engineering at UAB.

Innovative Composite Solutions (ICS) won the third season of the Alabama Launchpad business plan competition in April 2009.  The company’s core competency and technology focuses on the design and manufacture of thermoplastic composite materials.  Applications for the technology include mass transit, automotive, transportation, defense, infrastructure, energy and sporting good sectors.

One of the initial targets for the technology was the design and production of thermoplastic composite components to retrofit a large number of rockets in the US Army arsenal.  The aeroshell and baseplate pieces are part of a trajectory correction kit (TCK).  ICS negotiated and executed an exclusive license with the UAB Research Foundation (UABRF) to produce the TCK aeroshell and baseplate.  The prototypes have been tested by the US Army Aviation & Missile Research, Development & Engineering Center (AMRDEC) at Redstone Arsenal and the technical validations have been completed.  The company is currently waiting for final approval from the military.

From April to December 2009, ICS developed a new product: a polymer eye patch for Eyenovations Inc., a Birmingham company that caters to patients post eye-surgery.  The ICS developed patches provide optimized translucent characteristics, allowing a controlled amount of light to pass through the patch and helping in the patient’s recovery.  To date, ICS has produced approximately 100,000 proprietary eye patches for Eyenovations.

Since the end of the competition in 2009, ICS has exhibited at several trade shows across the region.  These include the Space and Missile Defense conference in Huntsville (August 2009), the Defense Manufacturer’s Conference in Orlando (December 2009), the American Composites Manufacturer’s Association trade show (February 2010), and the Alabama Composites Conference at UAB (August 2010).  Several key contacts have been made at these shows to further the company’s presence in the composites industry space.

Members of the ICS leadership were part of the Governor’ trade mission to India organized by the Alabama Development Office (ADO) in April 2010.  ICS had very fruitful meetings with potential customers and collaborators in the Indian automotive, mass transit, heavy truck, rail, aerospace, energy and military sectors.  ICS is currently in advanced stages of business negotiations with one of the leading suppliers of automotive parts in India.  The use of composite materials in vehicles is gaining increasing attention due to the potential to reduce weight and fuel costs.

In August 2010, ICS added a new member to its management teams: Mr. Madan Moudgal, Director of Marketing and Business Development.  Mr. Moudgal holds a MS and MBA and has extensive experience in Business Development both in the US and overseas markets.

In the last 16 months since the competition, ICS has signed several non-disclosure agreements with companies interested in working with the company and its core technologies.  ICS is currently working with companies involved with aviation electronics and polymer compounding.  Parts include circuit boards, cylinders, blocks, bars and other stock shapes.

ICS is presently operating under a lease agreement with the UAB Materials Processing and Applications Development (MPAD) facility for use of the extrusion-compression molding equipment.  ICS will eventually expand into its own facility and setup the extrusion-compression molding operation.

For more information, please visit the ICS website: http://www.innovativecompositesolutions.com/