Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> February 12, 2015

Interview with the Founder, President and CEO: AbTech Industries, Inc. (ABHD)

Rink, Glenn R.
Glenn R. Rink is the Founder, President and CEO of AbTech Industries, Inc. For over a decade, Glenn R. Rink has led AbTech Industries, Inc., an AlwaysOn GoingGreen Top 100 winner, in its commitment to green tech innovation and pioneering cutting-edge clean water solutions to meet community and industry needs. Mr. Rink oversaw AbTech's growth from a startup R&D venture to an over $30 million-invested environmental company by engineering his patented Smart Sponge technology — the unique polymer technology chemically selective to hydrocarbons — into innovative applications to target the multiple avenues of water contamination, including stormwater runoff, the leading cause of water pollution. Smart Sponge is currently installed in over 15,000 locations across America and in eight countries. Additionally, Mr. Rink serves as the Chairman of the board of directors and of the trustees for Waterkeeper Alliance, one of the largest and fastest-growing environmental groups in the U.S. From 1992 to 1995, Mr. Rink served as the President of HydroGrowth International, an agricultural-products company that specialized in aqueous absorption polymer technology. The advancement of this technology at HydroGrowth expanded into the development and application of polymer technologies to hydrocarbons, and fostered the founding of AbTech. Prior to founding HydroGrowth, Mr. Rink was involved in the restaurant industry, where he participated in business acquisitions and expansions that resulted in the creation of a successful restaurant franchise business. Mr. Rink’s media appearances include Good Morning America, Discovery Channel’s Planet Green, Fox Business Report, the Fox Business Network, and multiple Bloomberg radio and TV segments.     Profile
TWST: Can you provide an overview of your company?

Mr. Rink: AbTech is an environmental technologies and engineering company that provides innovative solutions for water management of