Late in 2003, a small technology company with two employees moved into NDSU’s Research and Technology Park to start development of a software application that would connect and automate sensor-enabled physical assets. Still headquartered out of Fargo, Pedigree Technologies has become an award-winning machine-to-machine business solutions provider with a national footprint.
“Pedigree’s success and rapid growth are illustrative of the economic stimulation being created at NDSU,” said NDSU President Dean L. Bresciani. “They are one of a growing number of North Dakota success stories we are proud of having started here.”
From its office in NDSU’s Technology Incubator, the company provides cloud- and tablet-based applications that locate, monitor and diagnose high-value assets, equipment and vehicles. The technology allows machines to engage in real-time dialogue with the enterprise and mobile workforce, improving operations and logistics for more profitable fleet and field service management. Since the commercial launch of its OneView application suite in 2009, Pedigree has more than doubled its customer base each year, with a 226 percent increase in 2011 alone.
“This kind of rapid growth speaks not only to demand for the technology, but to the quality and innovation coming out of our region,” said Pedigree Technologies founder and CEO Alex Warner, BS ’97, crop and weed sciences. To support its growth, the company has added 40 percent more employees since the commercial launch and is preparing to relocate to its own facility in the Urban Plains area of Fargo. The company also has a satellite office in Sioux Falls, S.D.
“We congratulate Pedigree Technologies and Alex Warner on all they have achieved during their impressive growth in their initial years at the NDSU Research and Technology Park," said Tony Grindberg, executive director of the park. “A number of companies such as Pedigree have achieved success after their startup phase and graduated from the park. We continue to support startup businesses that coincide with core research competencies at NDSU."
Warner was recently announced as a finalist for the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Warner attributes the nomination to the success of his employees and said he looks forward to celebrating the company’s rapid growth in the new facility in June. “The NDSU Research and Technology Park provides a space that facilitates innovation and community-building among entrepreneurs at early-stage companies, allowing them to focus on the core business in the early years,” Warner said.
Pedigree Technologies was located at NDSU’s Research 2 before moving into the Technology Incubator in 2007. "NDSU’s Research Park and Pedigree have been partners from the beginning, bringing opportunities to the region,” said Philip Boudjouk, NDSU vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer. “Our researchers and students continue to work with area companies such as Pedigree, contributing to technology-based economic growth. We congratulate the company on its many successes and look forward to continuing as research partners in the future."
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.