Kurth, Turner Leave Company

In the complaint against Bio Based Chemicals, Next Generation Financial Services lays claim to “intellectual property”— namely Hydroxylated Soy-based Polyol, Carbon Black and Dihydroxy Soy-Based Polyol. The intellectual property claim states that a patent application should have been submitted for the first item and patent disclosures have been filed on the other two.

Tom Kurth, former CEO of Bio Based, said he left the company in August and now works for Life Cycle Resources, a Princeton, Ill.-based firm. Kurth didn’t disclose his exact reasons for leaving, only saying it was “a very long story.”

Robert Turner, former BBC head research scientist, and former CFO Rich Muckey left Bio Based a few months before Kurth did. Kurth, along with Turner, came up with the soy-based polyurethane formula that now makes up Bio Base Insulation, the product that Next Generation Industries installs and distributes.

Six years ago, Kurth and Turner, the former head scientist at Dow Chemical Co., received a $100,000 research grant from the United Soybean Board. The two developed a soybean polyal and obtained a patent. The research eventually led to the development of the company’s signature product, BioBase 501. Next Generation Industries is a distributor of BioBase 501 and a majority owner.