WV Executive

Journalists sometimes forget how much of an impact they have on their readers. From personal experience, I can tell you before their stories hit the news stands, they’re off on another assignment. While they may have every intention of checking back to see how something plays out, they get sidetracked, distracted or called off on more urgent business. One such article, written in the Wall Street Journal March 11, 2002, by Michael Phil lips, scoffed at West Virginia’s ability to become a key player in the national technology and biometrics game, making fun of the efforts of our leaders and calling the I-79 Corridor ‘Silicon Holler.’

But what Phillips and others have underestimated is the innovation and tenacity of West Virginians determined to secure a place not only for their state, but also the country, and become world leaders in technology and biometrics.

Dawn of a New Era

Much of this story began with an institution known as the West Virginia High Technology Foundation (WVHTC). Created in the 1993 by Congressman Alan B. Mollohan and a small group of local high technology businesses, the non-profit corporation is dedicated to leading development of high technology industries and research facilities in north central West Virginia through advanced technology-based development and workforce initiatives. However, by the latter part of the decade the WVHTC was facing both financial and political challenges. The foundation had only 57 employees and annual revenue of $7 million. Outlook for the organization was dismal when James Estep took the helm as president and CEO in 2000. “Every few years a business needs to evaluate where it is, what its competitive position is, and ask if it’s still in sync with its shareholders,” says Estep. “WVHTC failed to do that and failed to respond to the changing business community.”

Estep immediately began a comprehensive review of the new organization and decided it needed to get back to basic principles. “The most important principle was helping technology businesses grow and prosper in the state. We had to refocus our efforts on those things that were important to the business community,” Estep says. For example when the foundation was first cre­ated there was a demand for office space. It needed to be highly functional and lend credibility to those using the space. In order for it to have a solid economic impact, the foundation had to help create infrastruc­ture that could support 20 to 30 thousand people. “With this in mind,” Estep recalls, “we changed our strategic model from building one building at a time to building a technology park.”

Thinking Out of the Box

A wise leader, Estep knew he didn’t have all the answers and therefore could not make broad sweeping changes without doing one important thing—listening. So one of the first things he did was to go out into the business community where he spent weeks on end collecting valuable information about what businesses needed and what they felt was missing.

Estep looked inside his organization as well, trimming fat and redundant or obsolete tasks where necessary. It was during this time that he realized that the very founda­tion that was supposed to be acting as an incubator was at times becoming more of a hindrance than a help. So he made an­other subtle shift, refocusing new business and development research efforts so that they would have the fundamental goal of enabling technology businesses to be more competitive. “Instead of pursuing just any project, we began to focus on only those projects that were enabling such as The Grid,” says Estep. Every project since 2000 has been secured with the enabling variable in mind.

Estep asks “If you don’t project 20 years down the road, how do you plan?” The second phase of revitalizing the WVHTC Foundation began in 2001 with a new strategic plan as well as the development of some new programs. One of the ways he accomplished the strategic plan was part dream part common sense. Working closely with his team and the technology business community, they projected a target for the ideal number of workers they would like to see in the I-79 Technology Park within 20 years, then figured out the amount of square footage number of offices that would be re­quired and the number of acres it would take to build those offices. Today, the WVHTC Foundation has developed 165 thousand square feet of class A office space, with 125 thousand under construction and a total park capacity of 2 million plus square feet.

“Technology is moving and evolving rapidly. Look at technology from five years ago,” says Estep, “it has either disappeared or evolved. For example just think how much the inter­net has changed in that time.” He says that means technology and biometric companies must remain flexible in the endeavors they pursue and deploy. For West Virginia, he believes that means the state should do a bet­ter job helping small companies adopt technol­ogy, but says the focus may be a bit different for every state.

The next evolu­tionary step level is to help com­panies that are product driven. Estep feels that the state has been very ser­vice oriented and needs to diversify its support for product development companies. He also believes that the state must put more emphasis on financial support for product companies. “We are hurting as a state across the board when it comes to financial support, but it is most evident at the seed level,” Estep says.

The Heroes of WVHTC

With the majority of the WVHTC Foun­dation’s problems addressed by 2002, the team effort was beginning to enjoy some success. Of course, none of it would have been possible without a strong advocate and champion in the form of US Congressman Alan B. Mollohan. As you trace the growth of the High Tech Corridor it is unmistakable that his influence has been the guiding light of its growth. Senator Robert C. Byrd has also been key in technology development in the region using his position on the Appro­priations Committee to secure money for a number of federal facilities in West Virginia. The benefits of these technology centers are key to a number of national missions and come in the form of The National En­ergy Laboratory, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health research facility, the NASA Independent Verifica­tion & Validation facility, FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division and the Biometrics Fusion Center. In a 2003 issue of WVE the Senator spoke of his hopes for the state’s technology endeavors saying, “… by providing the wherewithal, the infrastructure for the state’s growth, we provide a foundation for the future.”

Let's Give 'Em Something to Talk About

While new businesses were springing up all around the foundation, several projects were gaining momentum at the WVHTC facility as well. One of those projects known as INNOVA, focused on taking product prototypes from the drawing board to the boardroom. The program, which is still going strong, offers a flex­ible and supportive approach to advanc­ing products to commercial success.

As the years rolled by, WVHTC moved from course correction and planning to implemen­tation. It bought the needed land to complete its industrial park and launched a new course of enabling computer programs. This came about in part due to the creation of spin-off organizations. One of the first is a project started in Spain, a biotechnology company called Biopharmance, Inc., the foundation of which was laid when Congressman Mol­lohan visited the country two years ago. It dawned on him that the way they were doing business was the same way the foundation did business. At first, the alliance was created as a way to maintain international ties and networking opportunities, but it was soon discovered that there could be a great deal more to capitalize upon.

Another example of how the foundation will not only stay in the game, but be a star player has to do with a program known as Amber View. This program, created through the foundation, sends a 3D im­age of a missing or abducted child to law enforcement, media and private sectors via the World Wide Web within minutes of an official Amber Alert.

Inevitable Success

Today WVHTC has 172 employees and an annual revenue exceeding $27 million. If things continue to go as planned, revenue will exceed $35 million next year.

As the success of Estep’s efforts take firm hold, he says he has no intention of slow­ing down. Instead he believes he has only completed the first phase of this new fron­tier. He often finds himself asking “where do we go from here?” The answer he says is becoming increasing clear as he takes time to listen and observe society.

“We are becoming an increasingly mobile society—technology needs to be oriented to that mobile society. The days of being tethered to a desk or office are gone,” says Estep. “We are virtual. We need to be very sensitive to that and direct our efforts to take that into consideration.”

Though Wall Street Journal reporter never returned WVE’s calls, chances are he’s not quite so smug about Silicon Holler anymore. Never underestimate the power of West Virginia!