Innovation of the Year

The Innovation of the Year Award recognizes a company providing new technology, product, or service that has been shown to demonstrably reduce production costs, increase productivity, improve product quality or in some other way provide a bottom-line benefit to APA members. 

2023 Call for Entries and Guidelines

Each fall, entries submitted by EWTA members are posted for review on the EWTA website and web-based ballots are sent to all APA mill managers for voting. The award is presented at APA's Annual Meeting and featured in the Spring Engineered Wood Journal and EWTA social media sites.

Guidelines: Entries should be new, original and unique items or services that are in field use and producing positive results. All entries are subject to review and approval by EWTA staff.

Each listing must include up to two key benefits and any measurable results achieved during use.

Deadline: September 1, 2023

Get > 2023 Innovation of the Year Award Entry Form

An electronic ballot listing all entries will be sent to APA member executives and mill managers in mid-September. The winner will be announced at the APA Annual Meeting October 16, 2023, in Palm Desert, California and featured in the Engineered Wood Journal, Connections newsletter and on the EWTA website.

View > Innovation of the Year Winners: 2016 - 2022 

MXOne High Performance Fire Protection Turbine

Entered By: Flamex, Inc.

Date of First Use: March 2022

Benefit 1: Ability to fight large scale fire events from a distance.

Benefit 2: Versatile fire protection turbine capable if fighting fires with three separate methods, straight fire monitor, fine water spray and/or Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF).

Results: Fire load test by third party approval agency 

Description: The MXOne has a 360° operating range and enables the highly precise application of water mist from a significant and safe distance. When applied to a fire, the water mist absorbs a huge amount of energy, cools particularly effectively and reaches hidden fire sources better than typical water spray devices. 

MXOne can be operated with potable water, seawater and with/without foaming agents. Spray patterns can range from a fine water mist to a full jet. It can produce a flow rate of up to 4,000 liters per minute. MXOne can be aimed at a hot spot either fully automatically or manually via remote control. Thanks to a smart operating system, a single turbine can supply water alternately to two or more neighboring areas. Accordingly, several fires can be fought in parallel, or nearby facilities threatened by fire can be cooled to prevent ignition.
The turbine can be easily integrated into existing plant facilities and is suitable for use in areas with temperatures ranging from -25°C to +60°C.

Superior throwing range
MXOne has the unique ability to fight a fire with water mist from a significant distance. The turbine is able to offset the susceptibility of small droplets to external factors such as crosswinds or head- winds using a smart control system and activating a supporting air stream. Its flexibility allows it to be adapted to meet almost any challenge posed by different fire scenarios.

Efficient firefighting with water mist
When extinguishing a fire with water mist, the water is atomized under high pressure, producing a dramatic increase of water surface which allows a greater efficiency in the absorption of heat. When water evaporates, its volume is increased many times over, which causes a cooling and suffocating effect on the fire. The volume of water consumed during the firefighting effort as well as the consequential damage caused by the water are extremely low.

Maximum flexibility in positioning and application
The control and direction of the extinguishing turbine can be done fully automatically upon detection by IR Flame Detectors, remotely by mobile devices or manually. Various stationary and mobile control variants can be implemented according to the operator's requirements.

Prior Innovation of the Year Winners