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Initiative: Inventrek Technology Park
Location: Kokomo, Indiana

Mobilizing Kokomo’s Economy

Inventrek Technology Park decreases Howard County’s dependence on the automotive industry by nurturing high-tech startups

Andy Baker and Mark Koors are reinventing the wheel.

The co-owners of AndyMark Inc., a tenant in the business incubator at Kokomo’s Inventrek Technology Park, have filed a patent for a new type of wheel. They will market it—along with all the wheels, gearboxes, and other parts they’ve designed in the last four years—to their worldwide client base of high school robotics teams. They’ve doubled their revenues every year, and in 2008 they hope to bring in $500,000.

High-Tech Startups: The Future of Business

High-tech startups like AndyMark are the future of business in Howard County, thanks in part to Inventrek and its partners, such as Indiana University Kokomo. Launched in 2004, Inventrek houses 10 companies and more than 70 jobs in its business incubator, plus five larger, more established organizations that employ nearly 40 more people. The 110-plus employees who work for Inventrek tenants earn an average of nearly $50,000 a year, generating more than $5.5 million in taxable wages.

“We’re creating substantial jobs,” says Jan Hendrix, general manager of Inventrek and president of the Kokomo–Howard County Development Corporation. “We’re adding back to the economy.”

The Upside of Downsizing: A Talented and Experienced Workforce

This is very good news for Howard County, which has long relied on an automotive industry that has increasingly resorted to downsizing. By nurturing high-tech, high-growth startups, Inventrek is diversifying the economy and taking advantage of a workforce that is talented and experienced in electronics, manufacturing, and advanced materials.

“Technology is the future of this region,” says Ruth Person, IU Kokomo chancellor and a member of Inventrek’s board of directors.

Inventrek: Offering Support, Insight, and Investors

Space in Inventrek’s nearly 100,000-square-foot facility—the former headquarters of automotive supplier Delphi Corporation—is affordable and offers room to grow, which is ideal for recently formed, up-and-coming businesses. Inventrek’s incubator also provides shared conference rooms and equipment, and business development support such as assistance with creating business plans and analyzing markets. Inventrek staff members help companies get grants and attract investors, and Inventrek’s mentoring team of current and retired executives offers tenants advice and insight.

This support is invaluable to businesses that are trying to find their footing. “People here are looking out for us,” Andy Baker says.

Those people include IU Kokomo faculty and administrators, who serve as resources for Inventrek’s tenants and helped Inventrek secure $1 million in federal funds in 2004. Each semester, IU Kokomo students intern in Inventrek’s central offices and for its incubator tenants.

A Market on the Move

Baker is eager to expand AndyMark’s market to mobility devices such as wheelchairs and scooters.

“We can translate our designs to things other than robotics,” Baker says, “but right now we’re just trying to keep up with demand.”

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