Dynamic Buzz
During 2005, Spokane’s tech sector scored one very big deal: General Dynamics Corp., one of the nation’s largest government contractors, bought Spokane-based Itronix for an undisclosed sum.
For many in the high-tech business here, that was like the Rolling Stones coming to town.”This will be huge. To have General Dynamics as a corporate icon here says a lot about Spokane,” said Bill Kalivas, CEO of Connect Northwest, an organization that helps technology companies grow or find new partners.
Kalivas said he believes more mergers or acquisitions are ahead for local firms. He doubts any one deal will rise to the level of the Itronix purchase, however.
Kalivas added that he’d bet on growth in two tech sectors in particular this year — homeland security products and health and medical services.
The presence of General Dynamics in Eastern Washington should fuel the expansion in the homeland security business, he said.
The company, which is among the five largest U.S. government contractors, has sales of about $20 billion a year. Based in Falls Church, Va., General Dynamics also made Spokane the headquarters of a new information computing division it launched.
At the least, said Kalivas, that deal helps Itronix gain access to a much larger market for its products. Itronix makes ultra-rugged mobile computing products, many of which are purchased by the military and used in a variety of environments
“General Dynamics can open several key doors that may not be open to small companies unable to fund a full-time lobbyist or a person to do business development with the government,” Kalivas said.
Other area firms also are likely to get a “Big Brother benefit” in the way of increased government business. Liberty Lake-based ISR Inc., which develops cooling systems for high-performance electronics chassis, should enjoy a breakout year in 2006 or soon after, said John Pariseau, managing partner of WIN Partners, a Spokane investment group. Besides its government work, ISR is developing cooling and energy-efficient systems for large commercial data centers.
“They’ve got great deals going with the government. Plus, they’re focused on the commercial sector and they should do well there,” Pariseau said.
Likely to also feel an impact will be Spokane-based Next IT, said Kevin Cable, a partner with Cascadia Capital, a Seattle-based investment firm. Next IT recently won contracts with the U.S. Army and with the Department of Homeland Security for its technology products, which use software to provide more intelligent gathering of data from the World Wide Web.
Among companies in the health and medical technology sector, Spokane-based MatriCal, Inc. should expect to see a strong 1006, say several observers. Privately owned MatriCal designs and builds special storage and processing equipment for pharmaceutical companies.
“It’s our darling company,” said Peter Mowery, director of commercialization for the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute (SIRTI), which leases offices to MatriCal.
With about 30 workers currently, Mowery expects MatriCal to break out in a year or two. “It could be a nice, good-sized company in next several years,” he said.
A new effort to generate more jobs and more medical research in the region is the Institute for Systems Medicine. Formally announced in January, the nonprofit institute is seeking $100 million in funding to hatch more research projects that can lead to developing new medical treatments and products, said coordinator Lewis Rumpler.