The Business Technology and Research Park at Western Michigan University has grown by one new business--Lynx Network Group.
The company is one of six that are building a fiber optic network to connect businesses, schools and others in rural Michigan to advanced, high-speed Internet service. Some portions of the route still are being determined, but the portion being built by
Lynx Network Group could be as much as 2,500 miles when the network is done.
"We all will have our different sections and will maintain them according to our own business models," says Lynx's co-founder Greg Rutgers. "We're creating a business around that network at the same time. It's exciting."
Lynx, which also is a wholesale and retail provider of telecommunication services, got its start in 2003. It has grown from seven employees to 14 in the past 16 months and has two part-time employees. It expects to add 10 positions by the end of 2013 and another 10 to 12 by the end of 2014.
The company will locate in office space in the F & V Engineering and Technology Center at 4798 Campus Drive, near the entrance of the Business Technology and Research Park. There Lynx Network Group, which is currently a virtual company, will gather its employees who work remotely.
Employees from as far away as Lansing and Jackson will be relocating or commuting to the new company headquarters. Others are coming from communities surrounding Kalamazoo and Portage.
An advantage that Rutgers sees in the new location is possible research collaborations and equipment testing. Lynx network professionals hope to collaborate with WMU faculty and students in such programs as computer information systems and telecommunications and information management.
"The time is right to bring everyone together and take advantage of some of the synergy we miss by working in separate locations," Rutgers says.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Sources: Greg Rutgers, Lynx Network Group; Cheryl Roland, Western Michigan University
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.