What possible connection could there be between all-natural dairy products packaged in corn-based plastic and computer programs made to decipher millions of lines of code?

Besides being cutting-edge products that Iowa companies are developing with help from a technology assistance program at Iowa State University, they’re also products that will soon be targeted to the Greater Des Moines market.

ISU’s Technology Commercialization Assistance Program, devised to help start-up technology companies make the leap from the drawing board to their first commercial products, began operating in early 2002 through a four-year, $500,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Economic Development to the ISU Research Park.

Since then, about 35 companies have received assistance from the program, and another 10 to 15 projects are currently in various stages of development, said Carey Novak, a technology transfer associate with ISU’s Institute for Physical Research and Technology, which provides a wide range of technical assistance to Iowa businesses.

One such business, Clarinda-based Naturally Iowa LLC, is currently using the program to test the compatiblity of its natural dairy products with corn-based clear plastic packaging. If the tests prove successful, the company’s owners say it would be the first time an all-natural dairy product would be marketed in an all-natural container.

Another start-up company, Ames-based EnSoft Corp., has received assistance from the ISU program in testing its new software product, which will automate the process of debugging complex, multimillion-line computer codes used by financial services companies.

By working with ISU researchers on a cost-sharing basis, cash-strapped start-up companies can focus on spending only what’s needed to get a prototype out the door.

“The overall approach that we try to take with these start-ups is a phase-gate approach,” Novak said. “We try to see what the next phase is they need to get to.”

For EnSoft, the assistance enabled it to connect with Greater Des Moines-based insurers and financial services companies that might buy their product.

“That’s been extremely helpful and put us further ahead than we would have been,” said Jeremias Sauceda, EnSoft’s chief technology officer.”Some products can find bugs in just a few lines of code. We’ve developed a technology that allows us to look at the code as a whole and find those very-hard-to-find bugs.”

In preparing to roll out the product, the company is now testing the software with one Des Moines-based financial services company. Though he declined to name the company, Sauceda said the 17-million-line code they’re working with is “large by anyone’s standards.

The product fills a growing need as software ages and the original programmers are no longer around to maintain it, Sauceda said. It also gives companies a cost-effective alternative to outsourcing programming support, because it will reduce the time required to debug code. EnSoft is currently developing a second product that will automatically debug programs written in more modern languages, including C++ and Java.

Meanwhile, in the southwest corner of the state, Naturally Iowa has used ISU’s commercialization assistance to test whether its dairy products can be packaged using a revolutionary cornstarch-based plastic made by Cargill Dow LLC. The Clarinda-based consortium of farmers is currently relocating its operations to that town’s former Pamida building, with plans to begin operations by the end of the year.

The technology commercialization program has been “extremely imprortant to us,” said Bill Horner, a Red Oak farmer and Naturally Iowa’s CEO.

“Frankly, as a new start-up business, I really don’t know what our other alternative would have been,” he said. “We truly needed this support; it gives us and others a degree of viability having the people at Iowa State University double-check and certify the validity of this product (to determine that the products will stay fresh in the packaging). … We can’t go to the stores and vendors and say, ‘Well, we think this is going to work for you.’ That’s why we went this route, and it proved to be an excellent route for us.”

The company, whose sole brand currently is Faltz ice cream, plans to deliver its milk, yogurt and ice cream products within a 200-mile radius, with its major markets to include the Des Moines-Ames area, Kansas City and Omaha. The first phase of testing showed that the milk bottle is viable; Naturally Iowa now plans further testing with ISU for its yogurt and ice cream packaging, Horner said.

“As far as we know, this is the first time in the world this kind of product is going to be marketed in this kind of container,” Horner said. “So you must be extra careful and sure that you’ve got a product that is every bit as good as it appears.”   

WORLD-CLASS CENTER

The Institute for Physical Research and Technology is a network of scientific research centers at Iowa State University. Its first and largest center is the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory. Staffed by world-class faculty and scientists and backed by unique facilities and equipment, the IPRT helps develop Iowa’s economy through research, company assistance and educational programs.

The institute’s technology transfer associates match Iowa entrepreneurs with university resources for cost-shared research and development projects. The associates help companies find research collaborators, develop research programs, and manage projects to completion. Contracts are negotiated to cover work plans, time lines, publication, intellectual property and budgets. The cost to companies to use the program have ranged from as little as $2,000 to approximately $25,000.

For more information on how the IPRT can assist your company, contact Debra Amenson, program coordinator for IPRT company assistance, at (515) 294-8849 or (877) 251-6520, or by e-mail at iprtinfo@iastate.edu.