Wednesday, May 14, 2008

SBANE hands out 2008 Innovation Awards

LED-maker Luminus Devices Inc. is among the winners of the Smaller Business Association of New England's 2008 Innovation Awards.

Luminus, based in Billerica, was recognized for its PhlatLight LED technology, which maximizes light emission from LEDs.

This year's winners are: Agiltron Inc. of Woburn; Boston Foundation for Sight of Needham; Cambrooke Foods LLC of Framingham; InnerCity Entrepreneurs of Cambridge; Luminus Devices; Market Forge Industries of Everett; X Café of Princeton; and Year Up of Boston.

SBANE, a Waltham-based nonprofit, chooses companies that it feels succeed through innovation, according to the organization.

The 2008 runners-up are: Global Relief Technologies Inc. of Portsmouth, N.H.; cMarket of Cambridge; Kiva Systems Inc. of Woburn; Revolabs Inc. of Maynard; and Texterity Inc. of Southborough.

Previous winners of the award include Genzyme Corp., Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., Staples Inc. and iRobot Corp.

SBANE also awarded the Chairman's Patriot Award to Brittany Bergquist and Robbie Bergquist of Cell Phones For Soldiers of Norwell. The award recognizes support for the U.S. Armed Forces, defense or security initiatives or U.S. humanitarian aid programs

SBANE also presented the Daniel L. Smith Innovation Award to Kevin Wheeler, deputy director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, for contributions to the Small Business Innovation Research program.