Story provided by Meridian Technology Center
MITO Material Solutions, a tenant of the Meridian Technology Center for Business Development, has recently secured more than $1 million in funding.
This funding follows nearly $1.1 million that MITO received last year from the Oklahoma Center for Advanced Technology and the National Science Foundation.
MITO’s product, a hybrid additive called “E-GO” can be mixed with an epoxy or resin to toughen composite or thermoplastic parts.
“We’re essentially a special ingredient for composites. For companies using our product, the result is a product that is lighter, tougher and more durable,” said Haley Marie Keith, CEO.
The additive is primarily used to strengthen fiberglass composites that is used in many industries, including aerospace, recreation vehicles and watercraft; however, the new funding will allow MITO to expand into new sectors. The company is also working on 3 other variations in development that have further potential in plastics and adhesives.
Regarding the company’s expanding footprint Keith noted, “We offer what these industries are missing, a product that empowers them to use new materials. Our additives increase performance and can decrease the amount of raw material needed, allowing manufacturers to lightweight.”
Haley Marie and her husband Kevin founded MITO Material Solutions after working on a business plan for commercializing technology developed at Oklahoma State University. Their plan placed in several business plan competitions across the nation, and in 2016, the couple decided to turn their assignment into a business. Two years later, MITO Material Solutions moved into the Center for Business Development.
Since that time, space in the Center has allowed the Keiths to maintain a manufacturing lab that is close to OSU while successfully growing their company. This new funding will allow MITO to scale their operations and add a composites testing lab at the Center for Business Development. To learn more about MITO Material Solutions and how the company is solving the industry’s biggest problems with graphene solutions, visit mitomaterials.com.
From Research to Industry: Stillwater’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Meridian’s Center for Business Development is dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs through networking, education, consulting and business incubation services. The Center provides office and manufacturing space for early-stage startups to help them accelerate through the most challenging phase of building a company. The Center is one of 29 certified business incubators in the state. The Center was just named the top Business Incubator in Oklahoma by The Journal Record.
The Center offers programs and classes for entrepreneurs, ranging from classroom training to monthly programs to one-on-one consulting. As a crucial part of Stillwater’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, the Center’s built-in support services allow entrepreneurs to focus their efforts on growing their business by providing a full suite of amenities and consultation that entrepreneurs need to launch their company.
For more information, contact the Center for Business Development at (405) 377-2220 or toll-free at (888) 607-2509 or visit meridiantech.edu/entrepreneurs.
Meridian Technology Center has been a driver of economic development since 1975. With a mission to educate, enrich lives and secure economic futures, Meridian offers full-time career training programs, short courses, Business and Industry services and entrepreneurial support to residents from the Agra, Carney, Glencoe, Guthrie, Morrison, Mulhall-Orlando, Pawnee, Perkins-Tryon, Perry and Stillwater school districts. Meridian is one of 29 schools within Oklahoma’s CareerTech system.