Patent Venture: ENCAP

Problem: Planting Grass & Paper Sludge

Problem Planting Grass: Mike Krysiak, president and founder of ENCAP traces his company's beginnings to problems he had planting grass at his home. "I had a dead spot in my lawn, and I bought grass seeds. More than what I needed, but I put them down anyway, because the concept I had at that point was more is better, right?" When he watered it, all of the seed floated over to one area. "Two weeks later, I had a putting green instead of a lawn," Krysiak said. "It was thick in one area and slim in the rest. I thought, 'There's got to be a better solution.'" Trained as an industrial engineer, Krysiak likes to solve problems. He describes himself as an inventor and an entrepreneur at heart.

Paper Sludge: Paper sludge has been a disposal liability for a number of years. Plants with on-site landfills are running out of storage space, or are faced with environmental concerns and liabilities involving potential ground water contamination from earlier disposal practices. Off-site commercial landfill for paper sludge disposal is becoming prohibitively expensive in many parts of the world.

Development: Process Research Development & Complete Plant

Process Research Development: The basis of ENCAP’s agglomeration (particle size enlargement) technologies was developed along with its parent company, FEECO International.

Complete Plant: ENCAP’s production plant, located in Green Bay, WI was built in 1999, covers 20,000 sq. ft. and has received numerous awards for energy efficiency and green building designs. This fully integrated; state-of-the-art processing plant is completely automated. Bagging capabilities at the facility range from ten to fifty pound poly bags. The versatile plant has the capability to produce granulated mulch, encapsulated seed, NPK fertilizers, and many other agglomerated materials for private label, tolling, and test market purposes.

Solution: DIY Lawn & Garden Products
ENCAP is a technology driven company that produces value-added products for the retail, landscapers, golf, sports, lawn care, and forest fire restoration markets. The ENCAP Product Line is featured in many stores including: Lowes, Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware, Menards, Fleet Farm plus thousands of other stores .The mulch-based product line offers solutions to help repair bare spots, establish new turf, control erosion, and condition the soil. The entire line features the AST (Advanced Soil Technology), a patented technology that releases water-soluble PAM (WSPAM) into the soil.

Conclusion:
FEECO International assisted in bringing this idea to conceptual design from testing and design to producing the equipment and installation.