The agreement is part of the Center's efforts to grow the number of minority technology-based companies in Wisconsin. The Center for Advanced Technology & Innovation, known as CATI, is a nonprofit organization that promotes business and work force development and technology innovation in southeastern Wisconsin.
CATI, based in Sturtevant, maintains a multimillion-dollar patent portfolio available for licensing. Its patents are donated from companies such as S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., Racine, and Boeing Co. , Chicago (NYSE: BA).
The technology being licensed by Alliance Enterprises of S.E. Wisconsin L.L.C. was developed by Kraft Foods Inc. , Northfield, Ill. (NYSE: KFT). It allows for the removal of up to 90 percent of cholesterol from dairy products and the replacement of saturated fats with unsaturated fats.
The technology works with all cheeses, but Alliance will initially focus on the rapidly growing Hispanic cheese market, where few low-fat or low-cholesterol cheeses compete, said Ed Salinas, Alliance's chief executive officer.
The Hispanic cheese market is growing at a 23 percent annual rate, Salinas said.
"Hispanic households use more cheese than any other ethnic group in the U.S.," he said. "This product will give a healthy alternative with the same characteristics of the products Hispanics love for authentic meals."
Alliance is a contract packaging company with a 75,000-square-foot plant in Racine. The company will initially license the Kraft technology to a Wisconsin-based cheese producer for production. It is also considering opening manufacturing operations in Racine.
Alliance will also subcontract with other cheese manufacturers to produce low-fat and low-cholesterol mozzarella, cheddar and Muenster cheeses for school lunch programs and other foodservice providers.