EDC’s 2006 Emerging Business of the Year on Growth Track
On October 23, 2009 Governor Jim Doyle announced that Interfacial Solutions, LLC (IFS) of River Falls, Wisconsin, had received a tax credit allocation totaling $115,000 from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. Commerce Secretary Richard J. Leinenkugel made the announcement at a press conference held on October 23rd at the company’s facility in the Whitetail Ridge Corporate Park.
“I have worked hard as Governor to make Wisconsin a friendly place to do business,” Governor Doyle said. “Now, more than ever, it’s important we continue to invest in good companies like Interfacial Solutions, which is committed to providing jobs for hardworking Wisconsin families.”
“We very much appreciate these tax credits and firmly believe that they will translate into high paying jobs in St. Croix County,” said Dr. Jeffrey Cernohous, president and founder of Interfacial Solutions.
The tax credits are tied to a major addition to IFS’s facility and job creation projected by the company. Earlier this month contractors started work on a 22,000 square foot addition to IFS’s existing 15,000 square foot operations. The expansion will primarily add new office, laboratory, and warehouse space. The addition is expected to completed in early 2010. The project represents a $2.2 million investment. It will create 17 jobs at IFS and retain 20 jobs.
“We have made the decision to expand our facility to accommodate the rapid growth we have witnessed over the past two years,” said Cernohous,
Interfacial Solutions was formed in 2003 and is a privately held materials development and transfer company. The company is dedicated to helping organizations in the plastics industry successfully address technological challenges by providing timely and effective solutions utilizing Interfacial’s expertise in materials science. IFS has a growing reputation for providing differentiated technology and products to the plastics industry through specialty compounding, plastics additives, composite materials and processing, nano-technology, and interfacial modification.
Dr. Cernohous, a native of River Falls, has spent his entire career developing new polymeric materials for interfacial applications in polymer blends and composites. He has co-authored 23 scientific publications and 43 U.S. patents and patent applications in his career.
Earlier this year, IFS released its new deTerra(TM) product line of bio-based polymers. The first grade in the deTerra(TM) series is a non-halogenated, flame retardant (FR) modified PLA polymer. That grade is a bio-based alternative to many grades of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It offers IFS’s customers an intriguing set of properties, especially for those looking to expand their “green” product offerings using renewable resources. Translated, the term “terra” means earth. It can be considered for sheet and other extrusion applications as well as for injection molded components.
Derrick Commercial Contracting, LLC is the project’s general contractor and Security Financial Bank (River Falls office) is the primary lender. A supplemental loan was obtained from the Regional Business Fund, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides low-interest loans to new and existing businesses in the 7-county region of west central Wisconsin.
St. Croix EDC named Interfacial Solutions its 2006 Emerging Business of the Year, an award given to new, development-stage companies in St. Croix County that have been in business for five or fewer years.
For additional information on Interfacial Solutions, go to http://www.interfacialsolutions.com.
For additional information on economic development opportunities in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, contact William Rubin, St. Croix EDC at (715) 381-4383.
