The
U-Start business incubator associated with Union
College
is announcing the opening of a new building on Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 5 p.m.
at 2 Nott Terrace
the site of the addition.
U-Start
has been operating since July 1999 at 4 Nott Terrace, a converted Victorian
home just off Union
College's
South border. The new building, also a Victorian house most recently occupied
by the Pedestrian Café, will add 1,350 square feet to the incubator and house
six companies, bringing U-Start's occupancy to 12 firms when full.
“This
expansion builds on the great success we have experienced to date with
technology development in Schenectady,”
said Walt Robb, a U-Start board member and retired senior vice president at
General Electric. “Now more than ever Schenectady
must reaffirm its presence as a technology business leader. We look forward to
continued success helping young entrepreneurs build their businesses and expand
here in Schenectady
County.”
Robb is also president of Vantage Management, Inc.
“I share Walt's commitment to investing our time, resources and energy in Schenectady County and assisting young companies succeed,” said Union College President Roger H. Hull. “Union
College
is proud to be a partner in this exciting expansion.”
Four
companies currently occupy the first U-Start building: H&M Technology
Acquisition, Inc, which provides technology consulting services; Meenan
Information Services, LLC, a software consulting firm; FaciliTECH, a financial
consulting firm to technology businesses; and Pinched Productions, a firm that
develops software for matching up college roommates.
Three
companies “graduated” out of the incubator to their own business space. Treetop
Solutions, Inc., which provides web design, website hosting and e-commerce
consulting, is now located at 112 Erie Blvd. Co-president David Ward is a
recent Union College graduate with a degree in economics, and Co-president
Derek Mebus will graduate next year from Union with a degree in computer
information systems. Synetics, now located in Rotterdam,
is a designer and developer of computerized information systems for mid-size
businesses and organizations. Senior consultant Philip Oates started the
company after completing an MBA degree at Union
College's
Graduate Management Institute. The third company, Artela Inc. (formerly
Hotwire), designed and built applications for the telecommunications market.
U-Start's
Co-directors Peter McElligott
and Theodore Haller are currently working on contracts with two new tenants to
occupy the additional incubator building.
Along
with Robb, members of U-Start's board of directors include:
- Harry
Apkarian, chairman and CEO of TransTech Systems Inc. and former
CEO/Co-founder of Mechanical Technology, Inc. - Edward
Cummings, attorney - Lewis Golub,
chairman of the board, Golub Corporation - Ted Haller,
president of H&M Technologies Acquisition (and co-director of U-Start) - Roger Hull,
president of Union
College - Susan
Lehrman, president of the Graduate College of Union University - Peter
McElligott, vice president of H&M Technology Acquisition (and
co-director of U-Start) - Dick Roberts,
partner of Higgins, Roberts, Beyerl & Coan, PC - Carl Rosner,
chairman of the board of Intermagnetics General Corp. and chairman/CEO of
CardioMag Imaging, Inc.