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SHINE founder says Janesville was first choice all along |
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Written by Dan Plutchak
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Tuesday, 07 February 2012 21:37 |
Richard Casper, left, of Janesville, talks to SHINE founder and CEO Greg Piefer during an open house Feb. 7, 2012 at the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville. Dan Plutchak/photo.
JANESVILLE -- You don't get a second chance to make a first impression, as the saying goes, and Greg Piefer, founder and CEO of SHINE Medical Technologies, went out of his way Tuesday to put his best foot forward.
In turn, those attending the community open house, from local leaders to curious neighbors, went out of their way to make Piefer feel right at home.
The open house, held at Rotary Botanical Gardens, was the first public meet and greet where community members could talk to company officials and learn more about the project that some say will transform the job market and economy in Rock County.
SHINE Medical Technologies uses a recently designed process to produce radioactive medical isotopes, used in medical tests ranging from heart stress tests to cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The company recently announced it had chosen Janesville to build its state-of-the-art medical isotope manufacturing facility.
We've been very interested in Janesville all along," Piefer said. "Janesville was always the one I was pulling for. It's been the one we've worked with the most and it's the one we've been impressed with the most," Piefer said.
Piefer, a Wisconsin native who received his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at the University of Wisconsin, has a reputation as an entrepreneur. This is his third startup.
The technology was developed and nurtured in Wisconsin, said Piefer, and he has collaborated with a wide variety of organizations, including the University of Wisconsin and the Morgridge Institute for Research, a Madison nonprofit that works to move university research into private industry.
SHINE also has collaborated with Los Alamos National Laboratory, Argon National Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory and the National Nuclear Security Agency.
The company will produce molybdenum-99, an isotope used in more than 50,000 procedures daily.
Unlike previous technologies, SHINE does not use highly enriched uranium, and it would not require a nuclear reactor. That's one reason Piefer focused on safety and addressed concerns over the process.
He said his goal is to be open and honest in addressing safety concerns from the community.
"We see Janesville becoming a town that is based on high-tech, advanced manufacturing and health care businesses. We feel we fit all three descriptions," Piefer said.
Piefer said the company is well on the way to becoming a world leader in the green and safe production of and clean form of producing medical isotope technology. "Cheaper, cleaner, greener," is how he put it.
The SHINE project actually came out of talks several years ago to lure NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes to Janesville. The company eventually chose Beloit, but SHINE soon entered the city's radar screen, said Janesville City Manager Eric Levitt.
Levitt cautioned that the project isn't completely a done deal yet, however. The city planned to announce its incentive package this week, and a variety of other state and local issues must be addressed as well.
The production facility would be located on 84 acres the city is buying and annexing across Highway 51 from the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport.
Ultimately, Levitt said, it was the incentives, along with infrastructure, including proximity to markets and the airport, that tipped the scales in the city's favor.
For one evening, at least, the prospect of what Janesville's future could look like seemed pretty bright.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 08 February 2012 10:17 |
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