Semiconductors and other high-tech innovations shared the stage Tuesday in Boise with nontech creations at the second annual Stoel Rives Innovation Awards.
Six companies topped a field of 16 finalists to be named as the top innovators in six categories.
"I didn't know you opened up toys as a category," joked Vernal Forbes, president of 2Moto Snowbikes in Nampa.
Forbes's product converts off-road motorcycles into snow bikes by installing a rubber track in the place of the rear tire and a ski in place of the front tire. It was recognized as the top innovation in the "other" category.
Forbes, who started the company in 1996 after a 28-year career at Hewlett Packard, said it's overwhelming to be recognized after his company's long journey to bring the product to production. The company is now starting its second year of production and is banking on snow biking becoming a popular outdoor sport.
Ed Meyer, president of Meyer Industries in Midvale, was honored in agriculture for the Rodenator, which rids property of nuisance pests like gophers by injecting a fuel mix into burrows and igniting it to create a shock wave that instantly kills the animals. Meyer said it's a safer and more humane way than the use of pesticides and chemicals to rid a property of pests.
Meyer, who is also the mayor of Midvale, a tiny town north of Weiser in Washington County, said the success of his product has put Midvale "on the map."
The six winners were judged by 40 leaders from industry, education and government. The four other winners are:
• Comtech AHA. The Moscow-based company won in the computer hardware/electrical devices category for its World product, a circuit that accelerates data transfer by compacting the data before transmission.
• Idaho National Laboratory. The federally funded lab based in Idaho Falls won in the energy category for its Syntrolis product, a synthetic gas that can be burned directly or converted into synthetic hyrdocarbon fuels.
• AMI Semiconductor. The Pocatello company won in the semiconductor category for its Ezairo 5910T processing chip for the hearing-aid industry that uses less power than other chips but delivers high-precision sound.
• Idaho National Laboratory. The lab won again in the enterprise business-to-business software category for the Critical Infrastructure Modeling Suite (CIM Suite). The 3D modeling software is using for modeling infrastructure systems to help plan how future events could affect the system.
"This year's finalists and winners are a great representation of the variety of innovation taking place throughout the state among companies of all sizes, from small start-ups to well-established, large corporations," said Kris Ormseth, managing partner in the Stoel Rives Boise office.
The event was presented by the Idaho Department of Commerce's Office of Science and Technology, Hewlett-Packard Co. and the Idaho Business Review.
Ken Dey: 672-6757
