In the late 1990s, William Moeller was looking for a new way to use the plentiful silver being extracted by a mining operation he was running, in the face of drastically falling silver prices.

After market research, Moeller decided to use it as a health/immune system supplement through a manufacturing process that helps the products retain their high potency and "resonance" — that is, their character and effectiveness, even with changes in temperature and other factors.

These manufacturing processes of Alpine-based American Biotech Labs have helped the company apply its SilverSol technology to such diverse product lines as health supplements, wound-care products and EPA-approved disinfectants for medical and dental care.

While William Moeller serves as the company's chief strategist, his son, Scott Moeller, runs the company's operations and finances, while son Keith handles sales and marketing.

Together, they have developed potentially world-changing products, like the company's malaria treatments. Existing treatments for this disease, the second-leading cause of death from infection worldwide, often are either expensive or largely ineffective, particularly in advanced cases.

ABL's treatment, rigorously tested in labs and on thousands of patients in African clinics, showed full recovery from malaria in an average of five days at a cost of just $3 per patient.

The company, which has manufacturing facilities in the United States and India, also is gearing up for World Health Organization-supported tests of its products for treating malaria and AIDS in India.

ABL nurtures employees' ideas for using its technology through such simple means as daily company lunches around the boardroom table, in which workers from all levels in the company share challenges and ideas.