Our past NLT picks: Where are they now?

In 2003 the Environmental Protection Agency began requiring cities with more than 10,000 residents to develop programs to reduce the amount of pollutants in storm water run-off. Next year many of those cities will receive the okay to begin implementing their plans. As a result, AbTech expects increased demand for its water-purifying Smart Sponge, which helps cleanse storm water that spills into municipal sewage systems, and has quadrupled its manufacturing capabilities and almost doubled its management staff. It also acquired six new patents, including one for the antimicrobial sponge, which was pending at the time of FSB's December 2006 article.

Currently, there are more than 13,000 Smart Sponges installed in 36 states, and over the summer cities in California began increasing the quantity of orders (up to 20,000 lbs) so that they could install AbTech's sponges in large underground chambers where multiple street drains dump their water. The electrical magnetic charges emitted from the sponges kill between 70% and 99.9% of bacteria in water depending on the volume, speed, and proximity of the flow.

The company's cash flow has remained positive thanks to a $7 million round of financing received late in 2006. "Things have been going really well," says CEO Glenn Rink. "We're really excited about the next year."