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Timber Lake Company Wins Federal Research Project

Octa-Flex Environmental Systems, a research and development company located in Timber Lake, recently was awarded a $250,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II award and production contract from the United States Department of Defense. The company is developing a portable washdown/decontamination system for the United States Marine Corps. If the research is successful Octa-Flex Environmental Systems, will begin manufacturing the washdown/decontamination systems for the Marine Corps. "The Department of Defense SBIR project will allow us to develop some new technologies and move into another large market sector," said Terry Gross president of Octa-Flex Environmental Systems.

The portable washdown/decontamination system will be used by the Department of Defense to clean equipment used in overseas operations prior to transporting it back to the Unites States. The equipment must also be cleaned prior to transporting it out of the United States or between foreign countries. Any chemical or biological residue on the equipment must be removed to prevent transporting these potentially dangerous materials to the United States and other countries. The primary focus of the research is to produce a system that is light enough for personnel to transport yet strong enough to hold the large equipment that will be cleaned. Because of the limited water supply available in some locations a filtration system that will allow most of the water to be recycled in the system is required. All equipment ranging from small jeeps to M1 tanks will be cleaned using the washdown system.

Octa-Flex Environmental System's primary area of research is in composite materials and expects to employ approximately 15 people in manufacturing environmental containment systems developed under a previous US Department of Agriculture SBIR project. The company projects more than $1 million in sales of the environmental containment systems and other products during the next twelve months.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a federal research and development program, which provides funding for small businesses to conduct research and development activities on innovative new technologies. Ten different federal agencies award more than $1.2 billion to small businesses through the program. For more information on the SBIR program contact the South Dakota SBIR Center at Dakota State University at 605-256-5555.

"Octa-Flex Environmental Systems is an example of how an individual in rural South Dakota can develop a rapidly growing technology based small business using the SBIR program" said Dr. Mel Ustad, Director of the South Dakota SBIR Center.