BUSINESS
R
ehovot, Israel —
nestled between
countless rows
of citrus groves
and palm trees is
a small lab, where a team of
scientists spent the past eight
years developing a
breathable, lightweight and
water-resistant material that
can filter out bacteria.
The scientists work for
Gelman Sciences Inc. of Ann
Arbor, the only Michigan cor-
poration with an Israeli sub-
sidiary, Gelman Sciences
Technology, Ltd. In fact,
results of the venture have
been so successful that
Gelman Sciences this week
created a new Israeli unit,
MicrorIbchnologies Inc., which
in July will begin manufac-
turing the product — a
microporous membrane filter.
Former Senior Vice Presi-
dent James Marshall will
serve as president of the new
business operation. And Dr.
Gerald Tanny, the inventor of
the material who started the
Israel unit, was named vice
president of MicroTechnolo-
gies Inc. The Israeli group
now employs 35 people.
Now Gelman Sciences is
test marketing the material
— a thin film made up of
thousands of evenly sized
microscopic holes. Company
officials are looking for a part-
ner to commercialize the pro-
cess in whiCh filters are used
to remove impurities from
solutions, to sterilize phar-
maceuticals by taking out
bacteria and as vents to filter
gases from materials.
Industry analysts say
Gelman's Sunbeam process is
simpler, cleaner, more energy
efficient and 80 times faster
than conventional filtration
methods. This makes product
costs less expensive, which
can directly t.,,nslate to con-
sumer prices.
Charles Gelman, president
and chairman of the board,
calls Sunbeam a scientific
breakthrough that could
significantly boost profits of
the company. In 1988, Gel-
man Sciences generated $62
million in sales. This year,
company officials expect
revenues to climb to at least
$70 million.
Gelman Sciences produces
filters for laboratory and
manufacturing-process
customers in such industries
as health-care, pharmaceuti-
cals and food and beverage.
Kimberly Lifton spent a
week in Israel with
members of the
American/Israel Cha'.iber of
Commerce. This is the
second in a series" on Israel's
business climate.
ti" y3 71`11)1
Ovima,
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Chairman Charles Gelman.
Gelman Marketing Director Ian Taylor and Research and Development Vice President Dr. Menahem Kraus in
Rehovot.
The
rain Trust
The Israeli arm of an Ann Arbor company prepares
to unveil a scientific breakthrough.
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Staff Writer
As the Sunbeam process un-
veils, the company will for the
first time move into the
clothing business. Eventual-
ly, company officials say, the
process may be used for other
filters produced by Gelman
Sciences.
First on the drawing board
are plans to enter the athletic
wear market with a product
line similar to GORE-TEX,
which makes lightweight,
water-resistant gloves, run-
ning suits and other gar-
ments. GORE-TEX uses a
high-tech fiber, which like
the Sunbeam material, is
breathable.
Edward Gregor, Gelman
Sciences vice president, sug-
gests the Sunbeam process
gives the company potential
to grow at least as fast as
GORE-TEX, a private com-
pany which Gregor says
skyrocketed from $5 million
to $500 million in sales in five
years.
"We are interested in sell-
ing an everyman's GORE-
TEX," says Ian Taylor,
Gelman's Israel marketing
director. "We will sell generic
film, and companies can give
it their own names."
Gregor says Gelman
Sciences also is talking with
GORE-TEX officials about
selling the material from the
Sunbeam process.
"Sunbeam is a gem that
has yet to be discovered,"
Gregor says. "The product
will access the mass market-
place,"
Another goal is to make the
product available to hospital
personnel who work with pa-
tients afflicted with con-
tagious diseases like AIDS. A
water-resistant material with
viral barriers, company of-
ficials say, would keep con-
taminated body fluids from
spreading through clothing.
In addition, Taylor says,
Sunbeam filters will create
the first bacteria-free product
that can be used to make
surgical wear lighter and
more comfortable.
Gelman Sciences, the third
largest corporation of its
kind, makes over 3,000 filtra-
tion products. Among them
are pharmaceutical items
used for sterilizing injectable
substances, intravenous flu-
ids and drugs. The filters are
used to produce cough syrup,
aspirins, ointments, eye drops
and saline solution for con-
tact lenses.
Eight hundred employees
work in Ann Arbor, and at
subsidiaries in Australia,
Canada, Ireland, England,
Japan and Israel, which has
offices in Jerusalem and
Rehovot.
In addition to the Israel ex-
pansions, the company this
year plans to open a research
facility in Pensacola, Fla.
Sunbeam's developer Dr. Gerald
Tanny.
C
harles Gelman
first toyed with
the idea of doing
business in Is-
rael in 1977. Dr.
Tanny, who was on sabbatical
as a guest researcher at
Gelman from the Weizmann
Institute of Science, came up
with the Sunbeam idea, and
wanted to return to Israel.
New President James Marshall.
With $500,000 million loan
from the BIRD Foundation,
which offers low interest
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
69