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SOMS Raises Seed Round For Novel Car Oil Filter

By Jonathan Shieber

8/21/2007 – Aiming to reduce oil changes for cars and trucks, SOMS Technologies LLC
has raised just under $1 million in a round of seed financing.

The Bedford, N.Y.-based company said that its filter technology can dramatically cut the
number of times owners need to change the oil in their cars and trucks. The company has
closed on $900,000 in seed financing from undisclosed angel investors to begin bringing its
product to market, according to an interview with SOMS Technoloiges Chief Executive
Miles Flamenbaum.

"Ultimately we have developed a filter that improves the filtration efficiency such that you
can use the oil longer," Flamenbaum said. "You can use the same oil for 25,000 to 30,000
miles instead of 3,000."

Founded in November 2006, the SOMS technology is based on a new micro-filter
developed by SOMS co-founder Norbert Assion. A mechanical engineer by training, Assion
spent seven years developing the technology, and holds several U.S. and global patents,
Flamenbaum said.

SOMS will use the latest financing to ramp up its market-testing activities. The company
is in discussions with light-truck and van fleets in New York tri-state area to test its new
filters, according to Flamenbaum. SOMS is also looking to expand its product lines to
include filters for larger vehicles, he said.

In fact, the company has been selected to receive a $500,000 development grant from
the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Flamenbaum said. The
matching grant would be used to expand its testing program and move the filter catalogue
into larger-sized vehicles.

Though energy efficiency is a large market, Flamenbaum said, it has not gotten the
attention from investors that energy generation technologies have.

"It's much more near-term, and certainly extremely valuable, but us efficiency guys don't
get the names in big lights, like the power generators," he said.

http://www.somstech.com