ONEONTA — At the start of 2014, Ioxus, Inc. leased an additional 24,000 square feet of manufacturing space. The high-tech company, which is nearing production capacity, expects to open a second Oneonta facility in April for electrode and module assemblies of its ultracapacitors.

Ioxus was founded in 2007 and in headquartered in Oneonta in the former National Soccer Hall of Fame. Its two plants in Oneonta (40,000 and 24,000 square feet, respectively) are complemented by a research and development lab near Schenectady and another manufacturing plant in Japan (30,000 square feet), acquired in 2012 for its expertise in producing lightweight, high-power, and high-energy density cells using a prismatic pouch design. 

“Ioxus is the only fully integrated ultracapacitor design and manufacturing facility in North America,” says Mark E. McGough, the company’s president and CEO. “We produce a family of energy-storage products for transportation, renewable-energy, and industrial applications. Our proprietary ultracapacitors provide modules in a wide voltage range and in different configurations.”

Capacitors are electric-circuit elements designed to store an electric charge temporarily and have been used for more than 100 years to augment batteries by quickly absorbing and discharging energy. “Ultracapacitors are now 1,000 times more powerful than batteries and are capable of cycling (charging and recharging) a million times,” exclaims McGough. “They are both reliable and also operate in a wide temperature range.” 

Ioxus is owned by a group of venture-capital funds. In June 2008, the company raised $5 million in its series-A offer. The series-B offer 27 months later raised $25 million. The series-C offer, which opened in July 2013 and is still open, has raised $16 million to date. Ioxus is already considering a series-D offer. The investors include Braemar Energy Ventures; Northwater Capital Management Inc.; Aster Capital, comprised of Alstom SA, Schneider Electric SA, and Solvay SA; and Energy 

Technology Ventures, a joint venture of General Electric, ConocoPhillips, and NRG Energy, Inc. The series-C offer was led by The Westerly Group.

Growth story

The recent venture-capital investment has helped to propel the exponential growth at Ioxus. While Ioxus doesn’t release its revenue figures, Inc. magazine listed it at $5.4 million (2012 figures) with a 467 percent growth rate over the previous year. The magazine also labeled Ioxus as the 38th fastest-growing energy company. 

As of early February, Ioxus employed 140 people companywide. “We just hired another 11 employees this week,” notes McGough. “We anticipate hiring another 30 to 40 this year.” Current employment places 100 in Oneonta, 15 in Schenectady, and 25 in Japan. New hires in 2014 will support the expanded Oneonta operation.

Ioxus’s growth is also propelled by the growing demand for ultracapacitors. “In the short-term,” McGough points out, “Ioxus is focused on ‘winning’ applications. In the transportation industry, we are shipping our ‘ultracaps’ to hybrid-diesel bus manufacturers. Our iMOD modules improve the buses’ fuel economy by 55 percent. They are particularly effective in accelerating from a stop to 5 miles an hour, when the diesel is burning a lot of fuel and generating little torque. We also have a customer setting up a demonstration project for the Long Island Railroad, which serves commuters in the greater metro area.

“In the renewable-energy business, our products control blade pitch in the giant wind turbines that are dotting the land, and drive solar heliostats that are used in solar-panel systems for tracking the sun. The industrial applications for our modules include auto-guided vehicles, cranes, and lift trucks.”

While focused on current markets, Ioxus sees huge, longer-term growth, especially in the auto industry. “Hybrid cars represent a fraction of the 63 million cars built worldwide every year,” declares McGough. “In the U.S., which represents nearly a quarter of the world’s demand, the industry is driven by the new CAFÉ standards (corporate average fuel economy) established by the EPA. To meet these standards, car manufacturers need to make their vehicle fleets more efficient. Ioxus can offer hybrids, gas, and diesel cars a product that not only boosts fuel economy but also is priced economically in the $80 to $180 range.”

McGough estimates today’s world market for ultracapacitors at around $350 million, growing to $7 billion by 2020. Ioxus projects its market share to be in the 10 percent to 20 percent range by 2020. In the U.S., the company sells its products directly to its customers, in China it sells both directly and through distributors, and in Europe relies only on distributors. Ioxus’s customers are located throughout the U.S., China, Japan, and Europe.

Hiring talent

Ioxus has assembled an impressive management team. McGough has been the president since September 2010. Chad Hall, a co-founder of the company, is the vice president for marketing and product management; Ken Rudisuela is chief technology officer; Henry Barber serves as the CFO; Philip Meek is COO; Nick Cataldo is senior vice president for sales and marketing; and Hiroyoshi Okutani is general manager of the company’s Ioxus Power Systems division in Japan.

McGough is equally concerned about creating a dynamic production staff. “I interview every candidate before hiring,” stresses McGough. “I can’t afford any deadwood … Everyone has to come to work every day and do an ‘A’ job. We draw our production workers [primarily] from Delaware and Otsego counties … They need to be educated, reliable, capable of cross-training, and willing to grow [in the job]. Ioxus is building world-class products that need to be consistent. That means constant training … Since last year, we have put a priority on learning.

“To find Ph.D.s, we need to draw from a wider area. This is a research company at heart where 25 to 30 members of our staff are currently employed in research. We search out candidates in New York and Boston and overseas. We’re the most advanced R&D company in the market and it’s our cutting-edge technology that keeps us ahead of the competition.” The lobby wall at headquarters is filled with the company’s patents, attesting to the emphasis on research.

McGough formerly served as the president and CEO of Pentadyne Power Corp., Envinta Corp., and Energetics, PLC. He also was a division president at Maxwell Technologies, where he launched a new business unit focused on ultracapacitors. Maxwell is a major competitor of Ioxus. 

McGough has been instrumental in raising most of the venture capital for Ioxus, and he spearheaded the acquisition of Power Systems Co., Ltd. in Japan.

He is often asked why Ioxus chose Oneonta for its headquarters. “First, it’s inexpensive to manufacture here,” posits McGough. “Second, the workforce is dependable. There is a solid work ethic among the area residents. Third, New York state has bent over backwards to help us get started. We have received grants for our research and worker training, loans from the county, and grants from NYSEG to fit out the plant. Both U.S. Senators and our state senator were proactive in reaching out to us to see what we needed. I think we should be the poster child for ‘Start-up New York.’ And fourth, when we spun off from Custom Electronics, my goal was to build a world-class company right here in Oneonta.” Ioxus also received $1.4 million in federal funds through the office of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D–NY).

McGough says his goal in the short-term is to quickly build a company with a few hundred million dollars in sales and solid margins. If his projections for a 10 percent to 20 percent share of a $7 billion market in 2020 are accurate, Ioxus could well be a $1 billion company, helping to spearhead the economic revival of the Oneonta community.

Contact Poltenson at 

npoltenson@cnybj.com

WATERTOWN — Skewed Brewing Co., a brewpub and restaurant located near the entrance of the Regal Cinema at Salmon Run Mall, opened its doors last October and generated $360,000 in revenue in its first three months.

  Ryan Chaif, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife Cheryl Chaif, and business partner Mark Crandall, said the start exceeded his expectations.

  The owners are projecting Skewed Brewing will generate $1.5 million in revenue in 2014. Chaif says the brewpub will achieve this goal by “paying attention to the marketing, adjusting accordingly, and giving customers what they want.”

  Skewed Brewing’s eclectic menu items include its signature microbrews, self-build cocktails, house-made skewed beer mustard used on sandwiches, and burger bacon jam. The eatery recently unveiled its winter menu, adding dishes such as Korean Pork Pops and Haddock Toscana. And now, the business has begun brewing craft beers on-premise, starting with a Pale Ale and a Baltic Porter, Chaif says.

The 2,400-square foot eatery, which seats about 90 patrons and currently has 48 beers on tap, always welcomes hungry diners after they finish a long movie at Regal Salmon Run. Chaif says big movie releases increase traffic to Skewed Brewing. Chaif hopes to further capitalize on movies by naming his brews after movie titles.

What’s in a name? Chaif says the inspiration for “Skewed Brewing” came from the idea that doing something out of the norm is skewed and “It also comes from the math term for when a graph shows skewed distribution, or when something is not the norm,” he notes. Crandall designed the interior of the 40-foot long stainless steel bar inside the restaurant.

The owners helped finance their venture though New York Business Development Corporation (NYBDC) funding, and personal savings, Chaif says. But he declined to disclose dollar amounts.

Part of the personal savings comes from the first venture of the Chaifs and Crandall — The Hops Spot, which opened in June 2011 in Sackets Harbor. Chaif and Crandall had tried “a lot of different beers” to select the most suitable products for the Hops Spot. Then the two partners decided to make their own home-style micro-brews.

The house-made beer was at first only served on Sunday. Its popularity, however, made it a daily offer at the bar and finally drove the Chaifs and Crandall to open Skewed Brewing.

According to Chaif, Skewed Brewing’s target audience is generally 25 to 50 years old. And Chaif doesn’t think his two restaurants are competing with each other since “They are similar, but different,” he says, noting that the smaller Hops Spot generally draws a younger crowd.

Before starting the Hops Spot, Chaif had spent two years in South Korea teaching English and travelled all over Asia. Prior to his trip to the Far East, he worked in business sales.

Chaif’s plan for the future is to start an off-site brewery in five years to support his two eateries and other local restaurants.

Bette & Cring Construction Group, which is headquartered in Latham and has an office in Watertown, handled the construction of the Skewed Brewing as general contractor.

Skewed Brewing currently employs 43 people — a mix of 8 full time and 35 part time, Chaif says.

Contact The Business Journal at news@cnybj.com

American consumers have boosted their expectations for earnings this year, according to new survey results the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released on Feb. 10.

The New York Fed’s Survey of Consumer Expectations’ results for January show that earnings-growth expectations over the next 12 months rose from 1.8 percent in December to 2.4 percent last month, with income and spending growth expectations also increasing slightly. Meanwhile, consumer expectations for inflation fell slightly, the results show.

The survey provides insight into Americans’ views on inflation, prices, the labor market, and household finance, the New York Fed says.

Other results from the January survey findings include:

Inflation

·      Consumer inflation expectations fell slightly in January to 3 percent for both one year ahead and three years into the future.

·      Consumer expectations for most commodity price changes stayed stable in January, with health-care cost expectations reversing the increase observed in the last two months, according to the New York Fed.

Labor market

·      Earnings-growth expectations rose from 1.8 percent (annual rate) in December to 2.4 percent in January. One fourth of respondents now expect earnings growth of at least 4.4 percent over the next year, the survey found.

·      Respondents’ average expected probability of leaving their current job (both voluntarily and involuntarily) remained essentially unchanged in January, the New York Fed said.

·      Survey respondents have become more confident about finding another job, with 49 percent expecting to find a job in three months if they were to lose one today, up from 46 percent in December.

Household finance 

·      Household income and spending-growth expectations increased slightly by 0.2 percentage points from December to 2.2 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively, the survey found

·       Perceptions of current credit access relative to one year ago and future credit access relative to today remained flat in January, with a slight decline in the share of consumers expecting easier financing conditions.

Each month, the Survey of Consumer Expectations interviews about 1,200 people who are part of a rolling panel, on which each respondent participates in the survey for up to one year, according to the New York Fed.

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com

“It’s not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin

UTICA — Darwin’s theory applies equally to organisms and enterprises. Just ask any business person today wrestling with the rapid pace of change. To some it’s a threat; to others it’s an opportunity.

Gerard T. Capraro sees opportunity as he adapts Capraro Technologies, Inc. (CTI) to the new economy. “In 2011, CTI generated half its sales from government, the other half from commercial [sources],” says the company president and senior scientist. “With the Department of Defense cutbacks beginning in 2011, it’s now 90/10 [in favor of commercial].”

Capraro, majority stockholder in the operating company, just completed 20 years in business. CTI, located in a 5,000-square-foot, former SBU branch bank and GVH building at 401 Herkimer Road, is an engineering, information-technology (IT) firm that employs 10 and generates $1.5 million in revenue annually.

“We have expanded our commercial business by focusing on IT infrastructure and on software development,” notes Capraro. “Our technology experts act as our client’s IT department or as an extension … [of the client’s department]. CTI’s state-of-the-art data center benefits companies of any size with their hosting, cloud computing, disaster-recovery, or surveillance systems and offers a range of support for the medical community, including HIPAA compliance and meaningful-use EMR solutions, for example, OpenEMR.”

Capraro Technologies also helps its clients develop and improve their web offerings. “On the development side, our engineers can maximize your search-engine-optimization capabilities, transform your website, and develop custom apps (applications) using open-source tools to reach the … [public because] everyone wants to be mobile. Our ‘intelligent mobile proxy’ can transform a website and customize it for virtually any mobile device. We also developed a product called ‘PocoDoc,’ which reduces the size of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files while maintaining their original format. This lets our clients shrink their documents, store, and transmit the files without the need for standard compression.” Capraro also cites security as a growing market for the company’s expertise.

Capraro next turns to CTI’s government work. “We have performed R&D for the military for many years,” the company president avers. “Our strengths lie in data and information management and in signal processing.”

Capraro’s government research dates back to 1966 when, as a civil servant, he joined the Rome Air Development Center (RADC), where he spent 18 years as a project engineer and then as a task manager for the U.S. Air Force. He garnered his signal-processing experience working on the Space Defense Initiative and worked in other areas such as artificial-intelligence, electromagnetic compatibility, and high-power microwaves. Capraro has a B.A. in mathematics from Utica College of Syracuse University, and M.S. and PhD. degrees in engineering from Syracuse University.

In 1984, Capraro left RADC and joined Kaman Sciences, headquartered in Colorado Springs. Capraro and John Spina jointly set up a Utica office, which served as a think-tank for the company in upstate New York. The office, located at 258 Genesee St., grew to 55 people over the next nine years. After Capraro left in 1993 to start his own company, Kaman sold the Kaman Sciences subsidiary to ITT for a reported $135 million. The ITT office is currently located at Griffiss Business & Technology Park and employs 150.

To take advantage of the rapidly changing business environment, Capraro is assisted by another principal, James D. (Jim) DeLude, the company COO and a minority stockholder. DeLude met Capraro at Kaman Sciences, where he worked with him from 1991-1993. He joined CTI 10 years ago.

“We have been able to adapt quickly, because we focus on our strengths,” says the COO. “Unlike our competitors, CTI is a consulting business, not a VAR (value-added reseller). We’re not pushing hardware or bound by quotas from manufacturers … Second, we have unusual depth in our engineering talent … Third, we leverage our government research, looking for applications in the commercial field. We know that one size doesn’t fit all solutions, so we’re good at listening to our clients and responding to their needs.” CTI competes regularly with Annese [and Associates, Inc.] and M. A. Polce on the commercial side and M. A. Polce [Consulting, Inc.] and Total Solutions for hosting and cloud services.

DeLude also notes that all of the intellectual property (IP) of CTI is owned by CTI. “We have the potential of scaling software that we have developed and applying it to other situations,” he says. “CTI is currently working with a marketing company to convert its inventory of IP for use in alternative areas. While our marketing efforts are focused primarily on Upstate, we have clients in New York City, Tennessee, and Boston. CTI is not limited [geographically] in supporting new clients or current clients who want to expand.”

CTI, like many area companies, finds it difficult to recruit new employees. “We reach out to universities like Drexel, RPI, SUNYIT, and Utica College to identify candidates to join the company,” says DeLude. “It’s getting harder to find them. Our best options … [lie] with those who grew up in the Mohawk Valley and have family here. We have tried using a variety of techniques for attracting candidates, including online and social media, but we have met with limited success.”

Capraro Technologies relies on local professionals to help steer the company’s success. “Our banking is [done] through NBT, our legal work is handled by Levitt & Gordon of New Hartford, and Vincent J. Gilroy, CPA is our accounting firm,” says Capraro.

Part of adapting is ensuring the business succession. “Jim [DeLude] will step in and run the company. We don’t have a formal plan or date yet, but the direction of the company is … [assured],” says Capraro, who is age 70.

Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@tmvbj.com