You can tell by the list of high tech companies listed on page 18 and the separate list of bio tech companies on page 20 of the November 5 issue that innovation and creativity in a world largely unknown to the regular world is alive and well in Central Oregon.
The granddad of them all of course is Bend Research established in 1975 when many of us only thought of Central Oregon as a place we wished we could live. The company is the cornerstone of Central Oregon’s technological community with advanced drug delivery technologies and formulation development. Numerous other companies have sprouted from their inventive environment.
For their successful labors in the field of pharmaceutical science, Bend Research was acquired by global powerhouse Capsugel Dosage Form Solutions in September 2013. Capsuget is a world-class organization that helps Bend Research bring innovative new products to market faster providing a unique combination of scientific, technological and global market expertise. By joining the Capsugel family of companies, Bend Research has established a global presence with partnerships throughout Europe. More importantly to Central Oregon, they are currently in an intense growing phase in both their manufacturing facility and workforce of 250 employees. The company is currently hiring in all areas of their research and manufacturing divisions.
Bend Research’s physical expansion can be seen east of the parkway as they add 6,000 square feet to their cGMP manufacturing facility. The $20 million construction project is slated to completed by April 2015.
Another company profiled in this issue is Microsemi, established in 1984, a manufacturer of power semiconductors. It is hard to understand what exactly they do so we sent our savvy young intern, Morgan Doyscher (a senior at Summit High) to uncover the real story. He thought it was a boring assignment, but came away with a pretty fascinating story.
Morgan explains that in 1985, the founders of Advanced Power Technology had an idea: a new way to build a high powered transistor. According to Marc Vandenberg, vice president and general manager of the Bend division, they also had a problem: their new method “was so special,” that some other Silicon Valley company was liable to steal it. Thus, a discreet Central Oregon destination became the headquarters where the company would grow to have a staff of over 100 before a successful acquisition by Microsemi in 2006.
Today Microsemi employs 130 people in a nondescript building in Bend. But there’s nothing nondescript about what they do. Morgan adds: You could venture hours down an internet rabbit hole trying to understand the product names, from mixed signal integrated circuits to high power transistors, and still not understand the difference between P-type and N-type silicon (hint: google it). However, this inherent verbosity is simply a barrier to entry into a world that is undeniably cool. You gotta read the whole story on page 19.
Bend continues to be an incubator for innovation as Microsemi is constantly looking to innovate and develop new capabilities in an industry where being on the cutting edge is not a goal but a necessity.
We thought it appropriate to add a component of high tech: the social media, app world that’s circumventing the world, and yet sprouting right here in Central Oregon.
JUJU, aptly named by its creator Julia Junkin of Bend, is a design messaging app, which, like Facebook and Instagram, will invite customers to create profiles, share work and ideas —building brand identity and demand. Called art mashup, it is gaining worldwide attention and artistic credibility. Art mashups—the combining of images and, in some cases, text—are a rising art form. With sales on the rise and a national launch planned for later this fall, the Bend-based start-up company is pushing the next phase in their Kickstarter funding effort, which continues through December 6 of this year (http://sharethejuju.com/).
To explain it a little more definitive: With JUJU even if you don’t think you’re creative, you can make a visual message through texting, email, designing unique wallpaper, greeting cards or digital and/or physical postcards. If you choose a postcard, JUJU will send it to the recipients of your choice for you.
Perhaps a little more fun than Bend Research or Microsemi, but that’s only in the eyes of the inventor!
We could not complete a just review of the tech world in the high desert without including a story on the Tech Alliance of Central Oregon, that is creating hubs for tech startups all over the region. The non-profit has been around since April 2010 and consistently grown since its inception.
The quietly focused leader, James Gentes, says its mission is to connect tech professionals in Central Oregon and create a local, world-class start-up community. Under the Alliance, BendTECH has emerged to assist Bend-based entrepreneurs, while SistersTECH will begin this month and RedmondTECH looks to start sometime next year.
These TECH centers offer co-working space for technology startups. In January, BendTECH will upgrade their co-working space to a new building on SW Emkay. The building, already 75 percent full, features over 3,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor cafe and event space with 20 offices, 32 desks, three conference rooms and four private phone rooms.
The tenants run the gamut of professionals in the tech community from a patent attorney to a startup solar device company. Once entrepreneurial ideas are ready for development, the Tech Alliance of Central Oregon assists with matching the startups with local business incubators, such as Founders Pad, that help bring ideas to market.
There is so much more going on in the tech world in the high desert and Cascade Business News will continue to cover these emerging companies.
It’s an exciting place to be beginning with the founder, Bend Research, and culminating in an innovative world of research, invention and creativity.
As Morgan offers, it’s undeniably cool.
