The Gem City is shining brightly as it continues to live up to its rich history of innovation and collaborative idea sharing. Local startups, manufacturers, nonprofits and technology companies are leveraging millions of dollars in grants, government funds, venture capital and sweat equity to propel the region forward with new ideas.
To recognize the region’s fastest-growing, most innovative and impactful organizations, Dayton Inno introduces its second installment of the Fire Awards. It's a recognition for the companies and people setting the local innovation economy ablaze.
Honorees — 15 in total across four categories — were sourced by nominations within the startup Dayton ecosystem and selected by the Dayton Inno editorial team.
Today, there are rising stars in categories like aviation and defense, technology, food service, health care, finance and arts.
These are the honorees and the top Blazer winner in the category of Product Launches:
ADVet HoMME (Category Blazer Winner)
A new program developed out of the Dayton VA Medical Center is reaching more veterans facing musculoskeletal injuries.
In January 2023, an Active Duty and Veteran’s Holistic Musculoskeletal Management and Enhancement (ADVet HoMME) virtual program was launched. This program creates a futuristic continuous seamless care from active-duty service members to veteran status.
“The ADVet Homme is a new modernized flexible care delivery model designed to provide expert musculoskeletal (MSK) self-care management on demand in any global setting,” says Elizabeth Johnson of the Dayton VA.
MSK conditions represent the primary cause of separation of Admission of Active Duty Service Members (ADSM) from service as well as long-term disability after service.
“When active-duty members must prematurely separate from the armed forces this contributes to the erosion of the military’s workforce availability in an already recruitment challenged environment,” Johnson said.
The virtual platform integrates the latest available Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration programs to create a continuum of complementary and integrative holistic health strategies accessible globally 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Health coach coordinators, via telehealth, are available to guide progress in the program.
In the last 12 months, this program has been established in record breaking time to go from conception to full operations. The initial reach was to provide the program in one of the 18 Veterans Integrated Services Networks (VISNs) in the Midwest, VISN 10. The program has spread to the East Coast adding VISN 5 and positioning itself for replication to expansion across the VHA enterprise.
ADVet HoMME — supported by $2.9 million in federal funds — has hired seven personnel and created a financial tracking process for program sustainment, connecting technology, and establishing virtual clinics.
“This is our first year of operations and we have a projection of 300 referrals by the spring of 2024 based on our memorandum agreement with our pilot funding source,” Johnson said.
HPC Fire Inspired
A Miamisburg-based manufacturer of fire features is aptly on fire this year.
HPC Fire Inspired recently acquired two companies: Tru-Fab, Inc., a military and commercial fabricator in Kettering, and Galaxy Outdoor LLC, a manufacturer of custom and standard outdoor kitchen islands in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The company has acquired three new innovative product patents that will greatly impact the outdoor living market, says CEO Sean Steimle. The products will release later this year and include SmartArc, Home Automation, and the Universal Gas Orifice.
HPC Fire Inspired is a pioneer in the fire feature manufacturing industry, but also a stimulant to the local community.
HPC Fire Inspired acquired a secondary facility to bring out-of-state customers and clients to the Dayton area for training, education, and the all-around HPC Fire Inspired experience.
“All in all, HPC Fire Inspired's innovative spirit and relentless drive for success makes it stand out among the rest, and there is so much more to come,” Steimle said. “Their R&D team is hard at work bringing the latest and greatest technology to the consumer's hands.”
StrixDrones
An Israeli-based technology company with manufacturing operations in Dayton is witnessing its first rollout of an industry changing technology. The innovation sets a new global standard for drone fleet docking and charging by producing the only universal and fully autonomous drone docking station in the world.
A little over a year ago, Israeli-based StrixDrones announced the opening of its U.S. manufacturing facility in Dayton to produce the technology company’s ground-breaking drone docking station, DroneDock - the first-ever drone airport powered by a highly advanced patented smart system.
Now, the first units of the Strix2100 are rolling off the assembly line to fulfill an initial order from Spright, the drone solution division of Air Methods Corporation – responsible for building the only bi-directional, drone-based, healthcare-specific delivery network across the U.S. and beyond.
During its first year of operation, StrixDrones’ Washington Township manufacturing facility hired two highly skilled assembly line technicians and subcontracted with local material suppliers in Dayton, such as RAM Precision Industries and NCT Technologies Group.
The military-grade DroneDock, created by drone experts with civilian and military backgrounds, provides end-to-end solutions for drone operations. Along with commercial uses, DroneDock can be deployed along borders to assist with national security and implemented during military missions. Other applications and sectors include agriculture, oil and gas, mining, sensitive infrastructure, and emergency and first responses.
Moving forward, StrixDrones anticipates hiring an additional 10 employees.
ARMA
Two Daytonians looking to be the region’s next set of world-changing innovative brothers are creating second skin technology aimed at transforming various industry sectors – namely in food, medical, sports and space. Commercialization expectations for the next few years could result in a new manufacturing facility in the region by 2025.
Founders of startup ARMA, Xavior and Ilyaas Motley, grew up down the street from where the Wright Brothers grew up and the two hope to continue their legacy. The duo’s multi-decade dream is to create a sprayable second skin technology to protect skin, fabric and other objects from external environments.
ARMA’s first commercialized product will be pre-made athlete’s gloves. The product will begin marketing in July and anticipated to hit market in time for 2023’s football season.
For its spray-on gloves, ARMA will start in the food industry. Once it has an established presence, the startup will progress the product into more highly regulated industries like medical over time.
Spray on gloves for the food industry will launch in October 2024, followed by the medical product launch in 2025.
