Sorbent Technologies, Inc. (Sorbtech), located in Norcross, Georgia, manufactures and distributes chromatography products and equipment. Chromatography is the science of separating, or identifying and quantifying different chemical compounds used frequently in product development and quality control by a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical, materials science, food and beverage, bio fuel, and more.
In 2015, Sorbtech reached out to the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) at Georgia Tech for help to introduce an innovative new chromatography instrument to market. Project manager Ed Murphy, worked with Sorbtech co-owners Marc Perla and David Schurer to research and analyze potential markets and viability of the instrument. Murphy helped the company navigate the marketing discovery process and provided research that enabled Sorbtech to make difficult global decisions.
As the company was ready to begin the product development phase in 2016, a GaMEP project engineer, Bob Wray, began to work with Sorbtech to boost its efforts with creating the prototype and design for the new device. Once completed, this device will be considered a first of its kind, delivering numerous advantages compared to competing devices. One example, is the instrument’s low solvent consumption. It is one tenth of what competing instruments consume, which results in huge cost savings and favorable environmental impact.
After going through several iterations of prototype revisions, Perla and Schurer predict they will be ready to go to market with their first model within the year. Perla said, “We have a limited engineering staff, so Bob has created mechanical drawings and even connected us to vendors. His background and knowledge gave us a more streamlined path to success. We highly value the feedback and expertise provided by both Bob and Ed.”
