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The DeKalb office of Wendler Engineering Services is offering a business incubator program to science and engineering professionals, with the goal to jump-start new businesses in the local community.
The engineering firm, which began in Dixon in 1968, moved its local office from Sycamore to DeKalb in October 2008 to be more visible, director Glen Lee said. The office sits on more than an acre of land on Grove Street, across from city hall.
The company plans to grow into its new location, but for now, is sitting on some extra space. The building, a former auto service center, and surrounding land have been gutted and redeveloped, and about two-thirds of the office space – including five small offices – are currently unused, Lee said.
The number of laid-off architects, engineers and other science-related professionals looking for their next career move, coupled with room to share, is what led to the business incubator, Lee said. He also is on the board of directors for the DeKalb County Economic Development Corp., which looks at different business models that support growth.
“This is one of those items where I can practice what I’m preaching,” Lee said. “... We feel there is a need for this starter location for someone who’s ready to take that leap.”
The way an incubator works is that physical space and resources are shared, and networks are strengthened. Each program is a little different, and Wendler’s incubator is self-funded, Lee said.
In Wendler’s program, specifically, large-format and multi-functional printers, copiers and scanners are necessities for making maps and drawings, but are too big and too pricey for a home-office setting. Fiber-optic Internet also is a draw.
So far, the program has had one graduate – an aerial photogrammetrist who was relocating to DeKalb from California. He was incubated for one year, and now has an office in downtown DeKalb.
Jim Allen, DeKalb Chamber of Commerce executive director, sees an incubator as “a sign of a progressive community.”
“What happens is when you have an incubator like that, you share all of the internal assets that are at the facility – secretaries, computers and those types of things,” he said. “Someone who’s just starting out, it becomes a somewhat inexpensive way to stick your foot into the business community.”
Scientists and engineers are in high demand, he added.
Lee noted a study that was conducted by Northern Illinois University, DCEDC and DeKalb County that shows the county is low on professional services offerings based on its population. He said that the incubator can help fill that gap.
“The whole idea of the incubator is to keep talent here,” he said.
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