Nov 25 2010
Solegear Bioplastics Inc., a developer of award-winning bioplastic technologies, has again been recognized for its innovative leadership with the 2010 CYBF (Canadian Youth Business Foundation) Best Green Business award.
This is Solegear's fifth major award since August 2010, and acknowledges the determination and entrepreneurial spirit of its founder, Toby Reid.
In 2006, Toby founded Solegear with a vision of producing the world's first 100% natural, high-performance biodegradable plastic to address exponentially growing pollution, increasing energy consumption and destabilizing oil supply. The CYBF, with assistance from Small Business BC, provided Toby with the initial funding to pursue this lofty goal.
Since those early days, Toby's drive has seen Solegear develop a suite of bioplastic technologies collaborating with an international team of scientists, raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in private funding, bring together an executive team with over a century of experience in the plastics industry and commercially launch two product lines now being sold to some of the largest plastic product manufacturers in the world.
"I am most grateful to have been supported by the CYBF and Small Business BC in Solegear's early days. Five years in, the increasing recognition from investors and major organizations alike has produced revenues and a sales pipeline that was only a possibility back in 2006." He continued, "That being said, we're only just getting started. We are currently raising the capital to meet higher-than-expected market demand, to fund the installation of our own manufacturing facility and to make key hires, all of which are critical to achieving our business milestones. My hope is that we continue to attract quality investment partners to Solegear as we transition the plastics industry towards cleaner, safer, more efficient and more sustainable materials."
Frost & Sullivan, a leading global market research firm, recently presented Solegear with the 2010 New Product Innovation of the Year Award in Bioplastics before Solegear won an unprecedented three awards at the BCIC New Ventures competition, one of North America's largest technology venture competitions.