Lincoln—March 20, 2007—The University of Nebraska Technology Park announced that Pro-Solutions, Inc. has graduated from the University of Nebraska Technology Development Center and will set up shop at a new location at 4800 North 57th Street in Lincoln.
Pro-Solutions, an engineering design firm, entered the incubator program in 2002 and is the 15th new company to successfully graduate from the park.
To date, it has helped meet the engineering service needs of more than 50 businesses, including General Electric, Goodyear, Kawasaki and the University of Nebraska. Pro-Solutions helps these large firms, as well as small local ones, to design new products and to develop more efficient manufacturing processes.
One of the best examples of Pro-Solutions’ work, company President Robert Walters said, is the 96-position automated genetic materials handling device the company developed for biotechnology firm GeneSeek.
The machine cut the company’s testing time from days to hours. GeneSeek estimated that Pro-Solutions’s invention saves them about seven hours a day, almost doubling their testing capacity.
Other items the company has designed include a hydraulic skid steer loader attachment for the nursery industry, a clamping system used to produce subway cars more efficiently, and test apparatuses for the telecommunications industry. Walters added that Pro-Solutions strives to do more than just fulfill its clients’ engineering needs.
“Pro-Solutions exists to make our clients look good and perform as expected under pressure,” he said.
Walters credits the Tech Park with helping his firm succeed in fulfilling its commitment to clients. He said the Tech Park provided vital office services, increased the company’s initial credibility and helped develop relationships with the University of Nebraska.
“The Technology Park helped us grow by providing a first-class office environment, networking opportunities, small business counseling and information about the government’s Small Business Innovation Research Program,” Walters said.
NU Technology Park President Stephen Frayser said Pro-Solutions, in turn, has served the park by demonstrating how powerful opportunity can be for a small business.
“It’s what the mission of this park is all about,” Frayser said. “It’s about trying to create a critical mass of technology-based companies, and this helps fill the gap created by the economy. Pro-Solutions is the 15th firm to graduate from our incubation program. A decade after launching the Technology Development Center we are happy to note that 11 of our graduates are still in business and that nine are in Nebraska contributing to the state’s economic vitality.”
Walters said he will miss the people, the energy and the excitement at the Tech Park, although he anticipates the move as a good step for his business.
Within the next five years, he said that he hopes to expand Pro-Solutions into a full service product development firm.
Walters said he knows obstacles lie ahead, such as the uncertainty of adapting to the ever-changing manufacturing center, but he continues to look to the future with optimism.
“It’s a different day with new challenges,” he said.