Hail to the Cheese.

• Author: Christensen, Jeremy
• Position: Brief Article

Spotlight on cheese, airbag and venture capitalist comoanies.

SAFETY TECHNOLOGY

The IC was first introduced in 1998 in Volvo, Mercedes, Toyota and Audi cars and will be used in high-profile vehicles like the Honda Passport. The IC is located along the edge of the headliner and is primarily used in side-impact and rollover protection. It inflates in approximately 45 milliseconds to protect the head from hitting the side of the vehicle.

Ogden-based Autoliv, the world's largest manufacturer of airbag modules and restraint systems, recently introduced a line of airbags called the inflatable curtain (IC).

Recently, Autoliv was awarded the Honda Green Partner Award. This award is given annually to only one supplier. In addition to providing a safer driving experience, Autoliv has become an industry leader in environmental practices throughout North America.

The company takes used automotive-safety products, such as the aluminum canisters and nylon cushioning used in airbags, and reclaims the material for recycling. This process of waste elimination is highly profitable for the company. Autoliv currently is the only company in the automotive-safety industry that recycles all parts of the airbag module; in fact, both competitors and customers send their waste products to Autoliv to be recycled.

"Over the past two years, Autoliv's module facility has reduced aluminum, paper and Styrofoam waste by more than 400 tons and has recycled almost 700 tons of plastics, metals and packaging, some of which was previously thought to be not recyclable," says Gary Beadles, Autoliv's environmental management systems team leader.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Founded in 1998 by president and CEO Scott McKinley and headquartered in Midvale, New Media Venture Partners Inc. (NMVP) focuses on harvesting post-seed-stage digital media and information technology companies. NMVP works with such companies as Moon Crescent Studios (with a 90 percent holding) in Manhattan Beach, Calif., Campus Pipeline in Salt Lake City, and WhizBang! Labs and subsidiary Flipdog.com in Provo. NMVP has racked up nearly $40 million in private capital from investors like Houston Partners, Cornerstone Capital and Hewlett Packard.

NMVP does not generally invest in start-ups, but instead assists those companies with nine to 18 months of experience to reach customers worldwide. Its business focus is largely directed to Utah, considering the Utah venture capital market as highly undercapitalized. Spokesman Mark...