specializing in scientific solutions for critical laboratory
applications, will host J. Keith Crisco, the North Carolina Secretary
of Commerce, at the company's world headquarters in Stallings on
December 18, 2009 at 10:00 am.
Crisco will speak to local officials, community and business leaders
about the state and local economies and the proposed development of
the Legacy Business Park in Union County. His visit to the county is
being coordinated by the Union County Partnership for Progress, Union
County's economic development agency, which is also coordinating plans
for Legacy Business Park.
Crisco will also recognize CEM Corporation for winning the 2009
Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in the Greener Reaction
Conditions category for its Sprint™ Rapid Protein Analyzer. The media
are welcome and may ask questions.
"We are looking forward to Mr. Crisco's visit, which will in part
highlight some of the scientific innovation that exists right here in
North Carolina," said Michael J. Collins, president and CEO of CEM
Corporation. "It is essential that government, community, and business
leaders work together to create a climate that will attract more high-
tech companies to the state, and it is our hope that this visit by Mr.
Crisco will help promote a dialogue conducive to that goal."
"We also appreciate the recognition of the Sprint System as an
environmentally-friendly technology that can help eliminate millions
of pounds of chemical waste worldwide, including hundreds of thousands
of pounds currently produced in North Carolina by the performance of
conventional protein tests," said Collins.
A demonstration of the Sprint System and a tour of CEM's facility will
follow Mr. Crisco's presentation.
About the Sprint
The Sprint Rapid Protein Analyzer is a revolutionary technology that
will replace Kjeldahl as the primary method for protein determination.
Developed in 1883, Kjeldahl is a method for determining total nitrogen
content that utilizes large volumes of hazardous chemicals heated to
high temperatures for hours at a time, with the protein content
calculated from the nitrogen results. Sprint eliminates the need for
all of that by utilizing CEM's proprietary iTAG™ Technology to
directly "tag" the protein with a non-toxic, environmentally-benign
solution, yielding more accurate results in minutes. The adaptation of
the Sprint System for protein determination in foods will eliminate
the estimated 2.5 million kilograms of hazardous waste used in
Kjeldahl tests every year in the United States. The Sprint System uses
a method approved by AOAC International and the American Association
of Cereal Chemists (AACC).
About the Award
The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award is presented by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency annually in five
categories. The award recognizes outstanding technological and
chemical design innovations that incorporate green chemistry
principles and can be effectively utilized in industry for pollution
prevention. CEM is the first instrumentation company to win the award.
Previous winners include Pfizer, DuPont, Merck, Battelle, Argonne
National Laboratory, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, and BASF among others.
CEM Corporation is a private company based in Matthews, North Carolina
and the leading provider of microwave laboratory instrumentation
worldwide. The Company designs and manufactures laboratory systems for
bioscience, chemical synthesis, analytical, and compositional testing
applications, and in many instances, has helped reduce or eliminate
the amount of chemicals utilized in these applications. CEM's products
are used in the pharmaceutical, biotech, chemical, environmental, and
food processing industries, as well as in academic research. The
Company has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and
France, as well as a global network of distributors.
