DURANT OK-- For inventors and innovators bringing a new product to market can be a difficult task, now inventors and entrepreneurs in Oklahoma have more resources than ever, to help them create the products and technologies to power the American economy.

Faye Boydston works for KT Plastics, a small company in Calera, which is developing a new product. She attended a luncheon to hear from a group called i2e, a non- profit organization that is helping Oklahoma companies bring new technologies to the market.

"You know it is amazing the innovation I see hear in Oklahoma is just amazing," said i2e's David Thomison. He works with innovators all over the state, to get them noticed and financed.

His company is not alone; Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma also helps inventors by offering several programs, including its small business incubator, which guides innovators from the conception of an idea, through the manufacturing of a finished product.

The Oklahoma State University New Product Development Center is helping KT Plastics get going with their new product.

"They are doing some developing research to determine what the properties are of the product," said Boydston.

KT plastics have developed a way to take old carpeting and recycle it into a strong durable composite material that can be molded into almost anything.

"One of the major benefits is that this is going to be a green product, and it is going to keep millions of tons of used carpet out of the landfills every year," said Boydston.

Those Millions of tons equals about 3 percent of landfill material by weight nationwide. David Thomison says nurturing this type of innovation is critical to the future of the U.S. economy.

"We have always been good at it, and that is part of our challenge, is to continue that innovation, because if we don't we will lose our competitive edge in the global economy," said Thomison.