Using a trademarked slogan of ``real help, right now,'' Battelle Memorial Institute (Booth S832) is broadening its consulting offerings to include a yearly 40-hour plan to help companies get rapid answers to urgent problems.
``We're trying to leverage Battelle's ability to give companies a quick response,'' said Kelly Jenkins, project manager for advanced materials at Battelle, based in Columbus, Ohio.
The company still specializes in handling projects, but the new plan is a way to solve problems as they arise or to gain materials help to enter a new market.
The new plan is called Battelle's Materials Applications Technology Solutions - or B-Mats for short. It offers advanced materials help, tactical and strategic growth assistance, 40 hours of technical help, specialized technical summaries of select trade shows and a semiannual technical review publication. The program also has its own Web site, www.bmats.org.
Jenkins said the program allows Battelle to learn about a company, and it in turn can tap Battelle's strengths when needed. He noted that it could be used by a large company needing material solutions, as well as conventional plastics processors seeking material or processing help.
Jenkins said that the program would give an unbiased review to a problem and would be backed with Battelle research.
``This by no means replaces a typical Battelle project. We still want to do large-scale research and development, but this is another product offering that fills a need that we identified in the R&D world,'' he said.
The plan is in beta testing and is being rolled out at NPE.
Battelle conducts $3.4 billion in annual research and development.