Electronic Polymers Inc. • Round Rock

Electronic Polymers Inc. • Round Rock

Written by Jessica Sinn Tuesday, 18 March 2008

For BlackBerry users, nothing is more aggravating than a dropped call in the middle of a conversation — or worse, a locked up keypad when trying to type an important e-mail.

The root of these common system failures is an act of nature: static electricity, also known as Electro-Static Discharge. With the help of a new electronic polymer device, which is like a surge protector for static electricity, cell phones and computers will become lighter, smaller, less expensive and more reliable.

Karen Shrier, president and CEO of Electronic Polymers Inc. and Josh Horvath, vice president of strategic operations, co-founded Electronic Polymers Inc. The company has developed a new manufacturing technology to increase reliability in the performance of cell phones and computers by pioneering cutting edge surge protection devices.

Electronic Polymers recently released its latest product, the EPI-FLO, which has gained attention from three leading cell phone companies. Shrier said this polymer suppressor device is capable of shunting static discharge in a matter of picoseconds, which is one trillionth of a second. She said this device is especially necessary for high frequency phones like Treos, BlackBerrys and iPhones.

In February 2000, Shrier mortgaged her 16-acre Silicon Valley ranch to expand Electronic Polymers. She said one of the reasons she chose to relocate to Round Rock is because Texas has no state income taxes. Because she was able to hire qualified engineers and purchase more land at affordable prices in Texas, the move proved to be a smart business decision, she said.

With minimal equipment, which included a fish tank and credit card laminating machine, Shrier, Horvath and a small crew of engineers began creating ultra-thin, microscopic polymerized materials. Horvath said the company’s frugal manufacturing methods help them maintain minimal production costs.

“We’ve run a really tight ship,” Horvath said. “We developed the entire product and manufacturing capabilities, and we acquired technology for our factories for 10 cents on the dollar. We got a $600,000 laser, but paid a heck of a lot less. We’ve come a long way on very little money.”

Horvath said Electronic Polymers has 15 engineers, and in less than a year, they expect to hire 15 more employees. He said they are committed to keeping their engineering and manufacturing operations on-shore in the United States.

“Here [at Electronic Polymers] people love what they do, they’re passionate,” Horvath said. “Every person in this company is an owner.”

Electronic Polymers will soon hire as many as 40 employees for a new manufacturing facility that will be built near Toll 130, slated for completion in 2010.

Fresh out of college, Shrier began her nanotechnology career by working as a chemist and lab technician. She said she was able to gain a wealth of experience by changing roles.

“My first job out of school, I started at a company that grew from $60 million [in revenue] to $1 billion,” Shrier said. “We were encouraged to move around to different jobs in the company every 18 months to two years. If you can start at a company early on, you become very valued. You can take on new challenges, and wind up being very valued and extremely well paid.”

To succeed as a business leader, she said one must have a true entrepreneurial spirit, strong work ethic and most importantly, a strong passion for innovation.

“I love what I do because I’m very passionate and I don’t mind working overtime to gain stock and ownership,” Shrier said. “It’s much more fun than working for a corporation.”

How does it work?

PC and cell phone manufacturers can insert EPI-FLO devices into their products during the manufacturing process for protection against electro-static discharge.

Benefits to the consumer include:

• Cell phones can be designed smaller, lighter and can be less expensive
• PCs and cell phones will work well for longer and be more reliable

Static Electricity

Static electricity is everywhere, which is why all electronic devices can use ESD protection. Smaller, more accessorized cell phones, or smart phones, are more susceptible to ESD damage.

Electronic Polymers Inc., 525 Round Rock West Drive, Ste. 200, Round Rock, TX, 583-8300, www.electricpolymers.com