History

Materials Innovation Technologies was established in December 2004 as an innovator of emerging composite technologies, and has since become a leading advanced materials company and solution provider for a broad range of markets.  The company was formed by Jim Stike, former President of Porvair Fuel Cell Technologies, who identified a need for low cost carbon fiber composites for lightweight vehicle parts.  He noticed automakers were searching for ways to increase fuel efficiency.  So, he and his partner Bill Austin,  CFO of Selee Corporation (formerly Porvair Advanced Materials), set out to undertake this entrepreneurial venture.  They assembled a team, began development work, and submitted a proposal to the Department of Energy for proof of concept. 

In August 2005, Materials Innovation Technologies was awarded a Department of Energy SBIR Phase I grant for proof of concept in the amount of $100,000.   Materials Innovation Technologies achieved the targeted objectives by molding a B-pillar post out of chopped, carbon fiber for an automobile.  Trials were successful and the company went on to receive additional grant funding for further development. 

By 2007 Materials Innovation Technologies had already gained significant recognition for its expertise in advanced composite manufacturing and its 3-DEP™ technology, and as a result attracted the interest of Boeing.  Materials Innovation Technologies reclaimed materials from an F-18 aircraft provided by Boeing and used the 3-DEP™ process to create preforms that were then molded into a part for the Corvette.  Additional trials were conducted and in November of 2009 Boeing announced at the Carbon Fiber Recycling and Reuse conference in Hamburg, Germany, that Materials Innovation Technologies was the only company that had successfully molded a part from chopped, carbon fiber that had been reclaimed from manufacturing scrap and end-of-life parts.  With the ever increasing concern for our environment, these developments proved to be that much more significant and led Materials Innovation Technologies to the creation of MIT-RCF and the opening of a reclamation and manufacturing facility in Lake City, South Carolina in April 2010. 

Today, Materials Innovation Technologies is working with leading manufacturers in the Aerospace, Automotive, Defense, Mass Transit, and Recreational Sporting Goods industries.  Research and development efforts continue to expand in scope and include areas like discrete parts manufacturing, natural fiber reinforced bio-based thermoset resin composites, and long fiber thermoplastic deposits from recycled fiber, all of which have resulted in grant funding from the Department of Defense-Defense Logistics Agency and the National Science Foundation.

With innovation at the heart, Materials Innovation Technologies moves into the future committed to innovate the realm of technology and improve the world in which we live in.