Park isn't limited to science, technology

The University of Nebraska's decade-oldTechnology Park hosts 19 businesses.

Abraham Oommen may look at home in his lab at the University of Nebraska Technology Park, but the lab coat and the instruments he wields at the helm of the nation's largest swine and cattle genetics company don't tell the whole story.

While gene discovery and plant molecular genetics may be at the heart of his daily work, Oommen's answer to the "What do you do for a living?" question comes with a bit more ease, or at least it did in his most recent response, he recalled.

"I said I'm a scientist, but actually I'm a businessman," he said.

Oommen's firm, GeneSeek, has garnered much attention since it launched in 1998 at the Tech Park in 600 square feet of space and one employee. The company really drew notice in 2004 when it teamed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to trace the origins of the nation's first mad cow case.

As Oommen expanded his biotechnology company, building its workforce to 15 and its physical space to 4,000 square feet, his company's efforts haven't been limited to scientific discoveries. They have made gains for economic development.

GeneSeek has been credited with attracting the Alpaca Registry, a global storehouse of alpaca genealogical data, as well as Merial Ltd., an health company.

"That's our little contribution to Lincoln," Oommen said of the additions.

Little may not be the word used by Tech Park President Steve Frayser, who describes the now decade-old park as well positioned and gaining in momentum, in part thanks to GeneSeek's contributions.

The efforts are snowballing at the 137-acre park that was designed to bridge the gap between research and development. Today, 19 firms are located there, with Verizon Wireless and 800 new employees planning to move in later this year when the company opens a new call center.

The addition of Verizon will nearly double both the park's employment base and its facilities, Frayser said. Verizon is building a 112,800-square-foot call center.

Though Verizon doesn't deal in biotechnology or engineer computer software as several of the park's firms do the company will help advance the park's mission and be in the mix as much as any other company leasing space on the northwest Lincoln business campus would, he said.

"That's why we let them in," Frayser said. "They'll certainly add more critical mass, more momentum in marketing the park to others, and will be an attractor of additional services in this part of town."

Verizon will use about 14 acres at the park, leaving 76 acres for other development, Frayser said.

Within four years, he anticipates 2,000 people will be employed at the park, although he's not yet ready to reveal what plans are in the works that could bring such growth.

The park is continually working toward creating a broader and deeper labor pool, which is a definite plus for the local economy, Frayser said.

When it comes to economic development, Nebraska traditionally has looked to attract branch plants of major corporations, said Frayser, who is a big believer in the "grow-your-own" mentality.

"(Attracting branch plants is) part of the puzzle, and you need to do that. And I don't want to say that is something we shouldn't continue to do we should. Verizon is a branch operation. But that can't be exclusively what you do," he said.

With its ready infrastructure and efforts to help start-up businesses get off the ground, the Tech Park has been an invaluable resource to the community and economic development efforts, said Jason Smith, vice president of economic development for the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development.

Those efforts have churned out such companies as i2rd, an interactive research and development company that last year was recognized by the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce as the city's fastest growing company.

"They're the kind of company any community in the United States would want," Smith said.

Biotechnology remains a target for economic development officials, who recognize the challenges they face in marketing Lincoln as a biotech hub, he said. Though they want the reputation as a biotech leader, so do 49 other states and 10,000 other communities.

The challenge is not lost on Oommen, who believes the state, city and university all play a role.

"We're not going to get a lot of companies that come here and set up something," he said. "It has to start from Lincoln. Lincoln has to produce technology companies."

Five years ago, most people might have struggled to locate the Tech Park, Oommen said. Today, many know about Innovation Drive and the developments occurring there.

"The community has to be aware of it," Oommen said. "The town as a whole has to bind to this tech place. Lincoln has a chance, believe it or not."

Reach Jean Ortiz at 473-7107 or jortiz@journalstar.com.

TECH PARK HIGHLIGHTS

* New companies: Orange Peel, Little Big Endian, Progressive PetCare (Mars), Technology as Promised

* Total companies: 19, with 820 full- and part-time employees

* Recent grants:

Nature Technology Corp. Nearly $1 million federal grant to continue work on genetically engineered drugs and vaccines.

LNK ChemSolutions Small Business Innovation Research Phase II grant worth $725,150 to use nanotechnology to produce drugs for use in possible cancer treatments.

GeneSeek Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grant worth about $80,000 to develop a test that detects the bacterium that causes Johne's disease in cattle.

* Developments: Facade improvements at One Technology Place; 17,478 square feet of renovations to One Technology Place and the Technology Development Center

ON THE WEB

University of Nebraska Technology Park: www.unebtechpark.com