News Releases for October 2007
October 23, 2007
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Hoeven, Officials Dedicate NDSU's Center Of Excellence For Technology Enterprise
FARGO, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven, university, and state officials today were in Fargo to dedicate North Dakota State University’s Center for Technology Enterprise, a business incubator and one of North Dakota’s first Centers of Excellence. The facility is located at the campus’s Research and Technology Park.
The technology incubator is a hub of technology entrepreneurship. The incubator serves to provide proactive, value-added support to start-up companies in the area of: advanced manufacturing, information technology, bioscience, and advanced materials technology. The facility currently houses seven companies and employs 77 people. An economic impact report in 2006 indicated an average salary of $50,000.
The Legislature approved the Center for Technology Enterprise in 2003 as one of the state’s first Centers of Excellence. In the fall of 2005, the project received a $1.25 million Centers of Excellence grant. Hoeven also worked with the U.S. Economic Development Administration to secure a $1.75 million grant, the largest ever awarded to North Dakota. Private sector sponsors secured $4 million for the project. In August 2006, Assistant U.S. Commerce Secretary Sandy Baruah was in Fargo to present the project a prestigious EDA Excellence in Technology-led Economic Development award.
“The Center for Technology Enterprise embodies the goals of Centers of Excellence by partnering NDSU with innovative companies to create good paying jobs and opportunities for North Dakota citizens,” Hoeven said. “It’s this kind of environment that gives some of our best and brightest an opportunity to transform their ideas into real businesses.”
“Centers of Excellence help to expand the capacity of the research park and NDSU by creating an entrepreneurial environment and leveraging enough private funds on the required match,” said state Senator Tony Grindberg, who is also executive director of the NDSU Research and Technology Park, Inc. “More importantly, on a macro-strategic level, it helps to create an entrepreneurial state and community to expand ideas through technology innovation.”
“This is about North Dakota. It is about the exciting partnerships that spur our state’s economy,” NDSU President Joseph A. Chapman said. “Our success demonstrates what can happen when we work together as a community, and we have done an incredible job. We have redefined the future of our state.”
Joining Hoeven for the ceremony were NDSU President Joseph A. Chapman; Sen. Tony Grindberg; Sen. Pam Gullison on behalf of Sen. Byron Dorgan; and the NDSU Technology Park Board of Directors.
Current tenants of the Technology Incubator include.
- Appareo Systems develops solutions that build on innovation in augmented reality and advanced electronics. The company employs experts in embedded hardware and software, networking, advanced graphics and large-scale computing platforms.
- Bobcat® is an anchor tenant in the Technology Incubator. The company is a leader in the design and construction of compact equipment for the industrial, construction and agribusiness industries.
- Feed Management Systems is an innovative application software company for the global feed industry.
- Pedigree Technologies is a leader in the field of intelligent asset management systems. The company’s “Lineage Services Platform,” an advanced software and hardware system, unites wireless and embedded sensor networking technologies with the World Wide Web.
- Precision Partners provides precision agriculture solutions nationally and internationally. It focuses on improving the profitability of agribusinesses, especially grower profits.
- Appolis Mobile Business Solutions is a software product and services company that develops mobile business software using the latest Microsoft technologies specifically for small and medium size organizations.
- Intelligent InSites is a developer of real-time location, communication, and workflow solutions for the healthcare market.
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