Let's do lunch - Commerce Department grant helps fight pollution by boosting exports of enzyme that multiplies oil-eating bacteria

Business America, Jan-Feb, 1996 by Curt Cultice

While meeting over a bowl of petroleum might not be your idea of "doing lunch," microbes with an appetite for black crude are dining this moment on oil-contaminated sites in the Russian Federation. This feast comes as a direct result of a public-private sector effort funded by the Commerce Department aimed at increasing U.S. exports to the New Independent States.

"The Russian Federation has a tremendous need for oil-spill technology and is beginning to understand the importance of environmental cleanup efforts," said Trevor Stansbury, President of Ecotech International, a Scottsdale, Az.-based environmental management firm that provides "hands-on" export marketing expertise to 28 U.S. companies in a consortium administered by Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management of Glendale, Az.

Start-up funding for the consortium was provided by a $500,000 matching grant to Thunderbird under the Commerce Department's Consortia of American Businesses in the New Independent States (CABNIS) program.

Under the consortium, Ecotech works to match the specific environmental needs of the New Independent States in air, water, soil, and hazardous waste disposal to the advanced and cost-effective technologies of for-profit consortia members, including Ecotech International (ETI).

Members of the consortium, such as ETI, benefit from a shared pool of resources and expertise that reduce the risks inherent to exporting. For example, Thunderbird, as the consortium's administering body, provides specialized graduate interns, Russian language and area experts, and other academic resources to the consortium and its newly established trade office in Moscow. Thunderbird's resources complement the "hands-on" ground-level expertise of Ecotech members engaged in environmental law, advanced technology, marketing, and other aspects of environmental technologies.

ETI is the manufacturer of FyreZyme, one of several environmental technologies being promoted by the consortium. FyreZyme is a 100 percent chemical-free biodegradable enzyme that enhances the ability of the soil's and water's own natural bacteria and microorganisms to consume petroleum. "While the soil's bacteria would eventually consume the contamination on its own, a technique known as bioremediation can greatly speed the process," said ETI President Peter Condy.

Condy explained that once in the soil, FyreZyme converts harmful hydrocarbons to fatty acids, carbon dioxide, and water that provide food for the soil, fueling the growth of the natural bacteria. "What we do is add FyreZyme to existing bacteria-in effect, force-feeding them so they multiply and consume the contamination at a much more rapid pace. As a result, we can do in three to seven weeks what would take nature anywhere from 30 to 70 years to complete," Condy said.

The consortium's effort in promoting FyreZyme is just one example of how CABNIS grants are helping American businesses establish a commercial presence in the former Soviet Union. Since 1992, CABNIS has awarded grants of up to $500,000 to 12 organizations in sectors ranging from food processing to telecommunications, and has assisted U.S. companies in generating approximately $30 million in U.S. business activity in the NIS.

The consortium approach to doing business abroad is becoming increasingly popular with smaller-sized U.S. firms. As a pragmatic business person with international trade experience, Condy understood the difficulties in trying to "go it alone," particularly when it. comes to selling to the NIS, a region undergoing economic transition. However, as a consortium member, Condy recognized that the Ecotech-Thunderbird partnership could help him overcome obstacles to marketing, financing, and other key elements of the exporting process, thus enhancing his chances for success in the region. Through its Moscow-based office, the consortium's trade experts worked with Condy in developing a strategy for marketing FyreZyme. For example, the office began by translating existing FyreZyme promotional material from English into Russian. The material was then targeted to potential clients at conferences and trade shows, including the 1995 Moscow International Oil and Gas Exhibition. Using its in-country expertise, Ecotech overcame logistical challenges to arrange a series of seminars that provided additional exposure for FyreZyme. One such event, held in Moscow, was attended by 26 major Russian oil companies.

The consortium's seminars enabled Condy to personally introduce FyreZyme to Russian oil industry officials, which in turn, led to the arrangement of an actual field test of the product. "These seminars and contracts with the Russians would not have happened without the efforts of the consortium office," said Condy. Bioremediation is so new outside of the United States that people tend to be skeptical at first, so it is a real educational process to familiarize people with the product," he said.

Condy described the reaction of Russian officials who witnessed the on-site test of the oil-consuming bacteria as one of surprise. "During our first demonstration in Siberia, the Russians were in awe of how simply it works, because you can actually see the soil gradually turn from dark to tan," he said,