Tech Potential
Threaded with waterways, ridges, and mountain ranges, Chattanooga has attracted commerce since the Tennessee River carried entrepreneurs to the area in the mid-19th century. Now, a new era is dawning, and Chattanooga is becoming a hub for technological exploration and entrepreneurship. Home of the Computational Simulation and Design Center at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, an easy drive from three major federal research and technology centers, directly connected to one of the fastest super computers in the world, and laced with an extraordinary fiber optic network, Chattanooga is a natural fit for technology-based businesses.
Over the last two years, Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker and Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey have further opened the door to technological growth through a series of complementary initiatives.
Live Here, Work Wherever
UTC's recent connection to one of the fastest supercomputers in the world at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories Super Computing Center, was the key to recruiting the SimCenter, a prestigious academic program that aids industry by creating computerized models and simulations, which dramatically reduce the time and resources spent on creating real-world prototypes.
"The world-renowned faculty of the SimCenter was able to come to our city because we created the infrastructure that allows them to do their high-tech work," Corker says. "They chose our community because of our high quality of life, our tremendous outdoor amenities, and our low cost of living. Because of our community's focus on technology, high-tech businesses have very sophisticated resources while enjoying the high standard of living that has made Chattanooga famous."
Capital and Tax Credits for Business Ventures
Mayor Corker has also led two initiatives that provide financial reasons for locating in the Chattanooga area. He recruited Southeast Community Capital to open an office in downtown Chattanooga. Among other available lines of financing, Southeast Community Capital administers the Chattanooga Opportunity Fund, a $1.5 million loan pool for Chattanooga-based companies.
Mayor Corker also worked to have Chattanooga designated as a Renewal Community. This federal program provides generous tax credits for investments in specific zones of the city including the Central Business District. "Through Southeast Community Capital and the Renewal Community Designation, we have created strong financial incentives to nurture high-tech start-ups and attract new ventures to our city," Corker says.
Support for Start-ups
Meanwhile, Ramsey launched an innovative program to ensure that the most promising technology start-ups were nurtured through the challenges of launching a new business. Working with Congressman Zach Wamp, Ramsey secured a grant for the creation of a "high-tech incubator." The result was the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth (CEG). The CEG is managed by Tech 2020, which has a successful track record of moving start-ups through the early growth stages.
"With the tremendous technology resources in this region, there's great potential for industrial growth," says Ramsey. "The CEG can unlock this potential and create quality jobs with new companies that are both profitable and sustainable."
The CEG is already working with a number of exciting technology companies that have established themselves in the Chattanooga and Hamilton County area. The CEG's goal is to find eight to 10 new companies each year that would benefit from its services. "Chattanooga is a hotbed of innovative technology companies," says John Riddell, Jr., Tech 2020's director of the CEG for Hamilton County. "We located seven companies that met our exacting criteria for viability and growth potential in less than four months."
Once a company is selected, the CEG works with the technology entrepreneurs, providing a structured program of counseling, guidance, and financial assistance during the beginning years of business. Thanks to the grant, these services are offered on site at the individual businesses at no cost.
Where Technology Meets the Market
In October, Chattanooga will host the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit, an initiative spearheaded by Congressman Wamp to connect the Tennessee Valley's federal research and technology institutions with one another and with the business community. In November, the Tennessee Venture Forum comes to Chattanooga. During this statewide meeting, start-up companies have the opportunity to present their ideas to venture capitalists.
"We are the hub of a region with tremendous applied research capabilities," Corker says. "We must take full advantage of the work going on at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, and the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma to become the place where the technologies created in these labs are developed, manufactured, and introduced into the marketplace. No doubt, this is a big vision, but one that I believe our community can achieve."
"We're giving entrepreneurs the framework to pursue their dreams and succeed," Ramsey says. "Our success is founded in a community-wide collaborative effort involving the Chamber, the City of Chattanooga, Hamilton County, our universities, our community partners, and the citizens, who have made Chattanooga such a great place to be. Together, we have taken the first step by building infrastructure and programs that fit together to create an environment where technology companies can grow and thrive."
Airnet
by Jeff Averbeck President, Airnet
Airnet, located at 801 Broad Street, is a point-to-point wireless Internet distributor and parent company of Smart Tech, a 5-year-old Web hosting company.
Jeff Averbeck
As host to GeorgeWBush.com and e-mail provider for the Republican National Committee, we send over 50 million e-mails each month. We made history when President Bush sent out a signed personal letter as an e-mail to over 12 million constituentsÑand it originated here in Chattanooga.
Currently, we provide free Internet services to the patrons of the city of Chattanooga through our "Wireless in the Park" program, as well as wireless connection to many businesses such as the Business Development Center. We also provide streaming media, carrying live radio streams for several large stations like WGST in Atlanta.
We came to Chattanooga to start Smart Tech five years ago because of the appeal of the technology and family environment of the city. We're taking advantage of Chattanooga's topology. With the ridges and mountains, wireless Internet is a perfect solution.
And with 80 percent of our business coming from outside of the city, we're bringing money from outside economies into our local economy. What we're trying to do is make Chattanooga a technology hub. We've developed a lot of technology that originates from here and is being used throughout the world.
C.J. Enterprises, Inc.
by Carolyn Jones President and CEO, C.J. Enterprises, Inc.
C.J. Enterprises, Inc. provides record and information management systems for local, state, and federal government agencies, commercial companies, and healthcare facilities. The corporate offices are located at 7010 Lee Highway in Chattanooga, and site offices are located in Oak Ridge, Georgia, Ohio, and Kentucky.
Carolyn Jones
Chattanooga is my home. I have fond memories of my childhood here. When my husband (Edward), our son (Charles), and I started looking at what kind of business we wanted, we knew we needed to be able to travel yet return home to Chattanooga. We started the company in 1980 in the basement of our home with three people providing primarily health record consulting.
After strategically looking at the business, we began to expand in 1985 by providing record and information management for the federal government and commercial businesses. We landed our first contract with the Department of Energy (DOE), Savannah River Operation. Later in 1990, we were awarded a contract with DOE, Oak Ridge Operations.
Since that time, C.J. Enterprises has been involved in a number of technological processes. Since 1990, we've looked at opportunities to expand our reach. We partnered with other companies to enhance our capabilities with biometric devices, got into Web site development working with the city of Chattanooga, and developed a computerized property management program for the city.
ThreeHD
by David Peterson, Managing Partner, ThreeHD
ThreeHD, located in downtown Chattanooga, is a technology and graphic design company providing Chattanooga and other metropolitan markets with specialized services in Web site design and start-up, in addition to Internet software and print services.
David Peterson and Ben Horner, ThreeHD graphics designer
ThreeHD was founded in 1996 as one of the premier multimedia firms in the Chattanooga area, providing CD-ROM and Internet development and touch screen kiosks. Even though the majority of our clientele was in larger metropolitan areas like Chicago and St. Louis, we began in Chattanooga because we liked the city. One of the city's business incubators gave us a good solid start by helping us get our footing in the market.
In 1997 we made the commitment to focus on Internet-based solutions. We developed content management solutions, which allow our clients to customize the content and navigation of their Web sites on their own. We then saw the need to bolster the design aspect of our work and added a full-service design studio in 1999.
Now about 80 percent of our business comes from Chattanooga, and we look forward to what the future holds for the city and for us.
Tricycle, Inc.
by Jonathan Bragdon President, Tricycle, Inc.
Tricycle, Inc. is a Chattanooga-based company that provides surface simulation and design technologies to the textile industry. One of its products, SIM V3ª, was recently honored in Chicago with a Gold Best of NeoCon¨ award for technology. Last fall, SIMª garnered a similar award for Sustainable Design at IIDEX/NeoCon Canada.
Before interior designers or other consumers purchase carpet, they typically receive a "sample" from the carpet manufacturer. While the samples help designers choose the fabric, pattern, or color that's right for their needs, they cost the industry approximately $1 billion each year and create excessive waste for landfills.
With SIM V3, Tricycle provides products and services that rely on sophisticated computer imaging to simulate the carpet sample - including exact color and texture - on a piece of paper. This streamlines the buying process and increases the impact of the samples while saving time, money, and waste.
While we're often touted as a technology company, for us the technology has really just been a tool to help us achieve our goal of finding a solution for an industry-wide problem.
Chattanooga provides the ideal location for this company first of all because of its proximity to Dalton, Georgia, "The Carpet Capital of the World." Since we've established Tricycle, we've been able to take advantage of the renewal efforts and the collaboration with CEG and Tech 2020. In addition, we enjoy the cityÕs entrepreneurial spirit, which generates camaraderie among many of the small businesses.
TVIG
by Richard Ector President and CEO of TVIG
From homes with solar panels to hybrid cars, the search for eco-friendly energy sources is a subject of international interest. Today a local company, Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group (TVIG), is turning the idea of alternative energy into action.
Richard Ector
TVIG focuses on generating power for small- and medium-sized utility services across the country and around the world. From wind turbines in Nebraska and South Dakota to diesel fuel in Haiti and Uzbekistan, TVIG provides affordable and reliable renewable energy solutions by drawing together some of the best known names in utility technologies, power management, and economic development.
Though I'm not originally from Chattanooga, I chose the Scenic City as the site for TVIG because I had lived here before and the city has an international energy reputation through TVA.
But TVA isn't the only organization with acclaim. Chattanooga actually has a number of unique and different technologies growing here, though many may not be as well known.
At TVIG, keeping up with technology is a way of life. We manage a lot of projects both nationally and internationally, and technology is essential to effective communication and monitoring performance. We also work with other companies to combine several forms of power generation into a new system, particularly the development of a wind-diesel hybrid technology.
