Innovation Awards Ceremony Celebrates Vitality of Region’s Technology Sector

The year 2009 was a banner year for technology in the Central Ohio business community as evidenced by the companies, projects and innovators who were honored at last evening’s TechColumbus Innovation Awards presented by Battelle.  This year, from a record number of nominations, the selection committee honored 254 semi-finalists – 40 percent more than in the history of the event. 

“More entrants, more finalists and more attendees indicate the continued advancement of Central Ohio as a center of innovation and an emerging technology hub,” said Ted Ford president and CEO of TechColumbus.  “This growth and the increased participation are true reflections of the momentum and heightened activity of Central Ohio’s technology community.”

Thirteen award winners and two students were honored for their achievements in technology and innovation.  These winners represented a number of the region’s leading and largest employers including OhioHealth, OSU and Mettler-Toledo.  But there were just as many startup companies on the list – a segment of companies that researchers report have been the primary source of immediate jobs creation over the last 30 years. 

In fact, nearly 25 percent of the semi-finalists represented startups who received some sort of support from the Ohio Third Frontier through a variety of resources including the Entrepreneurial Signature Program, the TechColumbus technology incubator, Ohio TechAngels, the Innovation Ohio Loan Fund and other programs. 

“The Third Frontier has been a real game-changer for Ohio as a whole and Central Ohio in particular.  It has accelerated the transformation of the Ohio economy by turning our research and technology strengths into new companies, products, and high wage jobs,” said Ford.

As further testament to the impact technology has on the region’s economy, the recently released Blue Chip Economic Forecast for Central Ohio predicts the strongest, and possibly only, labor growth in 2010 will be within the business and professional services – due in large part to the IT sector.  

When asked how large the Innovation Awards event could become, Ford responded “How large is the Convention Center?”

The tech sector, research and business communities came together last night to celebrate the strengths and achievements of their peers. For a complete list of winners, click here

For information on all the semi-finalists, download the Awards Program (PDF)