Ecovation, Inc.

About Ecovation: Food processing waste to energy technology.

Rank on Top 100: 58

Top Executive: Ms. Diane C. Creel

Employees: 72

Website: www.ecovation.com

We asked Diane Creel, CEO, to talk about her business.

Question: Tell me briefly about Ecovation.
Creel: Ecovation is a leading provider of industrial wastewater treatment and renewable energy solutions. Simply put, we take food and beverage waste and turn it into energy using our patented technology. The waste is treated by an anaerobic process, using biological microorganisms to produce methane that can be converted to steam, natural gas or electricity for use by our customers.

Ecovation was originally founded as an Aerobics, Inc. in 1995. Our patented technology was developed at Cornell University over 20 years by the company co-founder, Robert Cummings. The first installation of our Mobilized Film Technology (MFTSM) was for Constellation Brands at their winery in Canandaigua.

In 2003, the company attracted the attention of major investors and brought in Diane C. Creel as chairman, CEO & president. The company subsequently changed its name to Ecovation, and moved its office from Canandaigua to Victor.

In 2005, Ecovation acquired Krofta Technologies of Dalton, MA – an acquisition that brought additional treatment technologies in house to complement the MFT. We also signed exclusive licensing agreements to further expand our technology portfolio.

Question: What differentiates Ecovation from its competitors?
Creel: Our treatment technology involves a patented process that offers advantages over the older technologies offered by our competitors. Ecovation's MFT is a high-rate anaerobic process that converts high-strength wastes to renewable energy within a very small footprint, reducing the need for large amounts of valuable real estate. The system also allows for wastewater to be effectively treated within a short period of time (hours versus days or weeks), which can have a significant impact on the production capacity of our customers. For the dairy processing industry, in particular, the MFT is able to effectively treat high-strength byproducts, such as whey and lactose, which are problematic for other anaerobic systems due to the characteristics of these materials.

We have differentiated ourselves from our competitors by providing our customers with a total solution that addresses their near and long term waste treatment needs – we don't just sell equipment, nor do we act simply as consultants. We can also offer to finance our projects, allowing our customers to install our systems with no capital outlay.

Question: What does it mean to your business to be recognized by the Rochester Business Alliance as one of Rochester's Top 100 Companies?
Creel: Being recognized by the Rochester Business Alliance is an honor, particularly at this point in the company's history when we are experiencing exponential growth. Although many of our clients are outside the region, our base of expertise is here in Rochester servicing our many customers in New York. The exposure from this recognition has been tremendous in helping us to attract some top local talent to our organization, and it has brought a sense of pride to our entire staff.

Question: What additional services can the Rochester Business Alliance provide to help your business?
Creel: We have been pleased with the amount of support and resources that the Rochester Business Alliance provides to local companies, particularly the small business community. At this time, there is nothing additional that we would require.

Question: What signs of optimism do you see in the local economy?
Creel: There are several positive indications that the local economy is on an upswing. These include continued growth of various tech sectors, the increase of venture capital money being invested in Rochester, and lower unemployment rates. In addition, government and industry are working together at the city, county and state levels. The traditional industrial economy in Rochester is birthing many new service and technology companies.

Question: What are the biggest opportunities you see ahead, as well as the biggest challenges?
Creel: We see opportunities to expand into industries beyond our core food and beverage market. We know our technology works for other industries – ethanol, pulp and paper, pharmaceutical, municipal. Also, we have only focused our marketing efforts on the U.S. thus far. There is tremendous opportunity for the technology abroad in Europe, Asia, and India.

The biggest challenge is managing our growth. We are six times larger in 2006 than in 2005, and will be three to four times larger in 2007 than 2006. This is major growth management. More access to cash and financing is always an issue for high growth companies, as well as ensuring proper staffing.