by John Dayberry, Hickory Record business editor

After an uncertain year, a start-up business in Caldwell County has gained forward momentum courtesy of the US government.

The Department of Homeland Security's Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded Granite Falls-based Mariner Container Corporation a $100,000 grant for the development of a "smart" container system. The Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant is funding a feasibility study of Mariner's proposal to build high-tech, largely recyclable shipping containers that could be used for military and commercial purposes. A Phase II grant, if awarded, will provide Mariner with up to $750,000 for the development of a prototype. Phase III is commercial application of the research and development, and in Mariner's case would likely include contracts with the Department of Defense and/or the Department of Homeland Security, said Mariner founder Rick Lampe. If Mariner gets to the third phase, it could also mean hundreds of new manufacturing jobs for the area.

"After a year of two steps back for every step forward, this program has kicked us about five steps ahead," Lampe said.

Early last year, Lampe introduced Mariner and its container-manufacturing process to the area, hoping to attract private investors. The process involves melting, mixing, and molding recycled plastics into high-volume forms.

To get the company started and to generate operating revenue, Lampe equipped an 8,000-square-foot industrial facility on US Hwy. 321-A with a huge rotational mold. Starting with a small staff, Mariner used the mold to create 1,000-gallon, plastic septic tanks. The company is now awaiting state approval to sell the tanks.

Mariner's original business plan called for the company to reach its initial venture-capital and public-funding goals, then begin producing 40-foot-long, collapsible plastic containers for the merchant-shipping trade. Lampe planned to build a new production facility in increments, with the first coming as soon as funding was in place and Mariner was ready to produce the shipping containers. Employees were to be added as the operation expanded, with at least 1,000 jobs being created within ten years.

Lampe courted venture-capital funding for the project for nearly a year, assisted by the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission. He spoke to more than a dozen investment groups, but all of them wanted to see a 40-foot, completed shipping container before committing. "The government understand that it takes a lot of money to produce such a prototype," Lampe said. "And that's partially what this program does."

Lampe was steered toward the Small Business Innovattion Research program by Steve Bumgarner, manufacturing and technology counselor with The University of North Carolina's Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC).

All federal agencies with an annual, outside research and development budget exceeding $100 million are required to participate in the SBIR program. Those participating include the departments of agriculture, commerce, defense, education, energy, health and human services, homeland security and transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and National Science Foundation. In 2004, North Carolina small businesses received more than $23 million in grant money from the program. On average, one in six companies that apply for the grants receive them, Bumgarner said.

Acceptance by SBIR lends much credibility to a proposed project, and should help Mariner attract funding sources, Bumgarner added. "Qualifying - even for Phase I - shows a great deal of merit."

Mariner's container system would have plenty of commercial applications, but should hold special interest for the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, Lampe said. The steel-framed containers, up to 53 feet long, will be manufactured of recyclable plastic embedded with electronic sensors that can detect gamma radiation, temperature changes, or the presence of human cargo. They will also be quipped with global positioning systems and could be easily X-rayed. Such containers will save shippers money not only by preventing cargo from being lost, but by facilitating one-way shipping, Lampe said.

"The frames can be dismantled and the plastic recycled," he said. "In a world of trade imbalances, that could greatly help US companies and the environment."

Lampe has spent the last three years designing and building the prototype system, but he said it has really been in the works for three decades. A graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy with a degree in mechanical engineering, he also has a master's degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is a retired commander with the US Naval Reserve. Before founding Mariner, Lampe started, developed, and sold two other businesses. One of his ideas started what is now Pactiv Corp., a worldwide leader in the plastics industry.

Lampe hopes to know by late fall if Mariner's application for Phase II funding will be approved. The Small Business and Technology Development Center, a business development service of The University of North Carolina, is providing continued assistance. "I was really discouraged, but I have renewed hope," Lampe said. "As one door closes, another opens."

· Contact an SBIR counselor ·