Two researchers at the University of North Carolina Wilmington have developed an instrument that measures the health of coral reefs, a tool that could be useful for universities, organizations and businesses looking to learn more about the underwater ecosystem.   After 10 years of developing the one-of-a-kind instrument, Alina Szmant, coral reef ecologist and adjunc ...

Girard Newkirk CEO & Founder, KWHCoin   With KWHCoin, Girard Newkirk merged cryptocurrency and renewable energy with the goal of providing affordable energy access. The startup also hopes to promote coding and blockchain in the region through classes at Cape Fear Community College.   Newspapers and magazines Newkirk regularly reads for work or pleasure ...

Holly Aiken Bags 7232 Wrightsville Ave., Wilmington No. of employees: 5 Year founded: 2008 Top local official: Holly Aiken, owner and designer Company description: Holly Aiken Bags is a designer and manufacturer of handbags and accessories. Bag and accessories are handmade in North Carolina (Wilmington ...

Each year, at least 8 million tons of plastic accumulate in the ocean – an amount that equates to a full garbage truck being dumped into global waters each minute. If that rate continues, the amount could increase to a corresponding two trucks per minute by 2030 and four by 2050. To escape this prediction, several local, eco-friendly business owners practice and prom ...

Wilmington-based SQUEAK, a business that makes natural and organic cleaning products, is moving into the Dutch Square Industrial Park. Founder and owner Jayna Crittenden plans to move the business from inside the basement of her home and scaling it into the company’s new 1,300-square-foot location at 6700 Netherlands Drive, Unit D, Crittenden said Tuesday. ...

In 1999, HotJobs.com, a job search website founded by Richard Johnson, aired a 30-second Superbowl commercial that cost the company $2 million at a time when it was making $4 million a year. Five minutes after the commercial ran, the website experienced five times the volume it usually had, officials said at the time. While the ad itself was successful at reaching an ...

A Leland-based precision manufacturer has started a fundraising campaign in a push to launch a portfolio of products focused on clean energy, water and agriculture. Synergy Automation, located on Old Fayetteville Road in Leland, has a goal to raise $6.5 million for the first of three products within a new 13-product portfolio, said Kevin Carlson, co-founder and presiden ...

A new manufacturing company has rooted itself in Wilmington. C2C Plastics, a plastics injection molding company, plans to begin full production capabilities at its 17,000-square-foot facility in the North Kerr Industrial Park in mid- to late-July, Mark Pandozzi, CEO of C2C Plastics, said Friday. The company specializes making caps and closures, he said. The compan ...

The Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NEW) has received a grant from NC IDEA to fund an event in June featuring two successful technology entrepreneurs. The Engage grant will help underwrite what NEW founder Jim Roberts calls a Riverside Chat on June 25. The event features Tom Fisher, a leader in cloud-based technology, and Jordan Cohen, an expert in voice techno ...

A fast-growing online social platform for real estate investors was named Entrepreneur of the Year at Wednesday’s Coastal Entrepreneur Awards.  Connected Investors came away from the event with the CEA wooden surfboard, created by Kids Making It, that is passed from winner to winner each year. The annual event is co-sponsored by the Greater Wilmington Busi ...