What is the project?
Bio Seed Fund Capitalizes Prototype, Trial for Clean Plus
Matthew Coy and George Coy of Clean Plus Inc. know the realities of new product development. George founded Clean Plus in 1982 to develop and sell chemical hand cleaners. Since then, Clean Plus has grown to five divisions, selling products as diverse as hand cleaners, car parts, tools, and publishing services. The theme: cars. Clean Plus products are directed to commercial markets, and to consumers through auto specialty retailers in the U.S., Canada, and beyond.
The father/son duo makes a habit of listening to customers and is quick to see opportunity. When asked for an effective, eco-friendly oil sorbent some years ago, they capitalized on materials close to their rural West Concord, Minn. location and developed a drip mat made of corn stover. Commercial customers in Canada, the product's primary market, were enthusiastic about it and requested a granular version.
Enter Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and the University of Minnesota. Unbeknownst to the Coys, a granular corn stover sorbent had been conceived at Natural Resources Research Institute (NRR) University of Minnesota Duluth. A Foundation contact, knowing Clean Plus and recognizing their experience in the auto market, connected the two. Eventually, Clean Plus was asked to take the product to market.
On May 21, 2008, at the Growing Bio Conference in Austin, Minn., Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation announced that the Clean Plus project - Stover Crumbles - is one of the first to be funded by its new Bio Seed Fund. A $25,000 loan is accelerating production of a working prototype, the development of a pilot plant and production methods, and movement to a large-scale trial.