Gov. Tim Pawlenty Delivered Keynote Address at Last Night's Ceremony; Former
Medtronic Chairman and CEO Bill George Received the Lifetime Achievement Award
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Minnesota High Tech Association
(MHTA) and Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI), in partnership with Medical
Alley, MNBIO and Minnesota Project Innovation, named the recipients of the
2003 Tekne Awards last night at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The sixteen
2003 Tekne Award recipients represent technology innovators who have made
lasting contributions to enhancing Minnesota's quality of life and economic
competitiveness.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty delivered the keynote address. Former
Medtronic Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William W. (Bill) George was
honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his years of leadership and
innovation. George was elected chief executive officer of Medtronic in 1991.
He served as chairman of the board from 1996 to 2002. Currently, he is a
visiting professor of leadership and governance at the International Institute
for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, and executive in
residence at Yale School of Management.
2003 Tekne Award categories and recipients are:
Innovative Development Award
Recognizing emerging companies (annual revenues under $50 million) and
established companies (annual revenues of $50 million+) or division within an
established company that exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit, and promises
continued economic growth through technology development and/or application in
the following six categories:
Advanced Manufacturing -- Advanced materials and chemicals, machinery and
equipment, electronics and components, measuring instruments, photonics,
optics and lasers, and computer and peripheral equipment.
-- Emerging company recipient is Infrared Solutions, Plymouth, a privately
owned company that develops infrared sensing and imaging devices for
thermal measurement and evaluation.
-- Established company recipient is 3M, Performance Materials Division,
St. Paul. This division at 3M introduced a new class of clean
extinguishing agents to the fire protection agency.
Biotechnology -- Agriculture, environmental, food science and
pharmaceuticals. (Companies in this category were not singled out as emerging
or established.)
-- Recipients are Gel-Del Technologies, St. Paul, and Protein Design Labs,
Plymouth. Gel-Del Technologies designs and produces customized
biomatrix materials to advance the efficacy and safety of a broad array
of medical products. Protein Design Labs is a leader in the
development of humanized monoclonal antibodies to treat various disease
conditions.
IT-Software, Communications, and Infrastructure -- Software, networking,
communications, and wireless equipment and products.
-- Emerging company recipient is Integrated Decisions and Systems,
Bloomington - a leading provider of revenue optimization solutions
designed to deliver measurable revenue increases.
-- Established company recipient is Digital River, Eden Prairie. Digital
River builds and manages online businesses for nearly 34,000 companies
worldwide such as Symantec, Macromedia, Major League Baseball and
Motorola.
Medical Technology -- Devices, diagnostics and equipment.
-- Emerging company recipient is SurModics, Eden Prairie, which was formed
in 1979 to develop and commercialize diagnostic and
medical/pharmaceutical products.
-- Established company recipient is Arizant, Eden Prairie, which develops
and manufactures a complete line of temperature management products.
Technology Services -- Finding innovative solutions for a client's use of
technology.
-- Emerging company recipient is ePredix, Minneapolis. ePredix solutions
accurately predict future job performance and help employers make
better hiring, employee development and succession planning and
staffing decisions.
-- Established company recipient is Identix, Minnetonka - the world's
leading multi-biometrics security technology company.
Technology User -- Innovative application of products or services
resulting in dramatic business improvement or market advantage.
-- Emerging company recipient is NaviCare Systems, St. Paul - a provider
of capacity management, resource optimization and dynamic patient-flow
solutions for the health care industry
-- Established company recipient is Cargill, Wayzata. Cargill is an
international marketer, processor and distributor of agricultural,
food, financial and industrial products and services with 98,000
employees in 61 countries.
LEADERSHIP AWARD
Honors an outstanding individual who, beyond a specific innovation or
achievement, has contributed significantly to Minnesota's technology
expansion.
-- Emerging company recipient is the late Roger Jensen, former executive
director, Anoka County Economic Development Partnership, Coon Rapids.
-- Established company recipient is Dr. H.S. Muralidhara, vice president,
Plant Operations, Center of Expertise - Process Technology, Cargill,
Wayzata. Muralidhara
INNOVATION AWARD
Honors a business, academic institution or business/academic collaboration
that has demonstrated leadership, dedication and excellence in the development
of an innovation in areas such as digital technology, nanotechnology, MEMS, or
medtech/biotech, genomics/bioinformatics or other areas of life sciences
research with the potential to contribute significantly to Minnesota's
technology-based economy.
-- Emerging company recipient is Guidance Interactive, Delano, which
created the Glucoboy by combining blood glucose monitoring and video
games into a "kid friendly" medical device that provides motivation for
blood testing.
-- Established company recipient is 3M, Performance Materials Division,
St. Paul. This division of 3M developed a new, high performance
conductor material that can provide transmission capacities up to three
times greater than those of existing systems.
About MTI
Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI) is recognized as a leading provider of
technology information and strategic consulting services for manufacturers,
technology businesses, and communities throughout Minnesota and the Midwest
region. MTI combines strategic advice and information with technology to meet
its customers' quality, productivity, and profitability goals. MTI has a 10-
year return on investment track record of adding more than $800 million to the
bottom lines of 4,500 small to medium-sized Greater Minnesota companies. For
more information visit http://www.minnesotatechnology.org .
About MHTA
The Minnesota High Tech Association accelerates the growth, success and
sustainability of Minnesota's technology-based economy through public policy
advocacy, member collaboration and education, and community outreach. MHTA is
the only membership organization that represents Minnesota's entire
technology-based economy. MHTA members include organizations of every size -
involved in virtually every aspect of technology creation, production,
application and education in Minnesota. MHTA works in partnership with AeA,
which represents Minnesota's technology organizations nationally. More
information on the MHTA can be found at http://www.mhta.org .
SOURCE Minnesota High Tech Association
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Related links:
http://www.minnesotatechnology.org
http://www.mhta.org
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/144694.html
CONTACT:
Peter Lindstrom of Minnesota High Tech
Association, +1-952-230-4551, plindstrom@mhta.org
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