I-Tech AB crowned winner of the Trade and Industry Group Göteborg & Co Companipris 2018
We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded the 2018 Göteborg & Co Prize for great entrepreneurship and innovation demonstrated in developing and achieving the establishment of the unique antifouling active agent Selektope® in the marine coatings industry.
The prize will be awarded by the Trade and Industry Group Göteborg & Co and the Chairman of the Municipal Board, Axel Josefson, on April 2 in connection with the Börssällskapets meeting.
I-Tech was founded in 2000 as a spin-off from a research project conducted by the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers. Added into marine paints during the manufacturing process, Selektope prohibits the attachment of barnacles to a ship’s hull by keeping the exposed barnacle larvae in swimming mode due to the activation of the larvae’s octopamine receptor. It is unique in its application in ship biofouling protection as it is the only antifouling substance that has a deterrent effect on barnacles.
“This year's winner is a company that has shown great entrepreneurship and innovation. Through their ground-breaking research, they have changed the marine paint industry and are now at the forefront of development. I-Tech has a unique and sustainable product that is world-leading,” says Christian Westerberg, project manager at Näringslivsgruppen, Göteborg & Co.
“In a city with many exciting and promising companies, we feel great humility to stand as the winner of the Göteborg Companipris. I-Tech, born from local academic research and largely backed up by local financiers, is in the midst of a global expansion in the Gothenburg significant marine sector. We share the honor with everyone who has participated in our almost 20-year journey,” says Philip Chaabane, CEO of I-Tech.
Facts about the Göteborgs Companipris:
– The Business & Industry Group at Göteborg & Co annually distributes the Göteborgs Companipris to successful companies that are run and developed in the Gothenburg region.
– The prize consists of 25,000 sek and a silver statue.
– Since the Companipris was founded in 1994, the prize has been received to appoximately 60 companies.
The Business & Industry Group at Göteborg & Co is a platform for collaboration between business, organizations, municipalities and academia that works to strengthen and develop Gothenburg's competitive and attractive power. Through initiatives and projects, the Enterprise Group stimulates long-term competence provision and inclusion in order to contribute to an attractive, vibrant and sustainable metropolitan area.
