Forbes:

“Wildfires across the United States have leveled nearly 7 million acres of land this year.

Green Bay entrepreneur Mike Krysiak said that he thinks he can help prevent the damage from getting worse. The danger that a wildfire poses doesn’t end once the flames are extinguished. With no vegetation to hold exposed soil in place, even moderate rainfall can trigger flash floods and mudslides. But Krysiak’s company — ENCAP — makes organic polymers wrapped in recycled paper mulch. According to early tests, the product binds with soil at the molecular level, forming a net that keeps soil in place. U.S. Forest Service officials said three years of tests have yielded promising results, but the experiments were under limited circumstances.It could take 10 years or more before there’s enough research data to justify making the product part of standard post-fire treatments.

Krysiak declined to reveal revenue numbers. But Inc. magazine recently ranked Encap 110th on a list of the top 500 fastest growing private companies in America. To qualify, companies had to have 2003 revenue of at least $200,000 and 2006 revenue of at least $2 million.

Krysiak isn’t shy about his hopes for Encap, which he intends to keep private. He expects it will take about five years before forestry officials begin to use PAM-12 more regularly, and he predicts continued sales growth in the consumer sector.

“If we play our cards right, we could be half a billion dollars (in revenue) in 10 years,” he said.