MicroGREEN Polymers Inc., a startup company based in Arlington, has raised $2.4 million to continue developing new plastics technology that can be used in environmentally friendly food packaging. Two private investment groups led the financing, along with the Washington Research Foundation. The company plans to build a test production facility in Snohomish County.
BlackBerry case still up in the air
BlackBerry owners will have to wait a while longer to learn the fate of their wireless e-mail devices. A federal judge ended a hearing Friday without making a ruling on an injunction request. Shares of BlackBerry’s maker, Research In Motion Ltd. of Waterloo, Ontario, got a lift in afternoon trading following the news, as well as the second favorable decision this week from the U.S. patent office. NTP Inc., a small patent-holding firm that successfully sued RIM for patent infringement, asked U.S. District Judge James Spencer to impose an injunction on the service with a 30-day grace period for the parties to work out the details.
Eden plant product sales rise 250%
Sales of Eden Bioscience Corp.’s plant-enhancing products totaled $588,000 during fourth quarter 2005, an increase of 250 percent compared with the same period of 2004. That helped the small Bothell company boost sales last year by 262 percent over the previous year. The bigger sales haven’t yet improved the bottom line. For the year, Eden lost $10.9 million, or 45 cents a share.
Cardiac Science posts quarterly loss
Bothell’s Cardiac Science Corp. posted losses for the fourth quarter and all of 2005 as one-time expenses related to the company’s recent merger took hold. Cardiac Science, formed by the September merger of Quinton Cardiology Systems and Cardiac Science Inc., lost $1.2 million during the year. compared with gross revenue of $106.6 million. The maker of heart defibrillators and cardiac monitoring equipment expects to be back in the black this year.
Alaska Air battles pressure problems
Alaska Airlines plans to inspect all 110 of its aircraft pressurization systems following a spate of problems with aircraft over the past couple of months. The airline has had 11 flights with possible pressurization problems since Jan. 1. Those instances follow an accident on Dec. 26 in which a plane lost cabin pressure in flight because of a hole in the plane caused by a ramp worker striking the aircraft with a baggage-handling vehicle while it was at the gate.
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