Agribusiness  May 7, 2010

Water cluster brings industry together

FORT COLINS – Business leaders, Colorado State University and the city of Fort Collins are hoping to open the floodgates for economic development and job growth through the formation of a water cluster.

Early meetings have already identified more than 100 companies operating in some capacity in the local water industry. The companies employ more than 3,000 workers with average annual wages of more than $74,000 and offer a wide variety of technologies.

Fort Collins first identified its key industry clusters in 2005 – semiconductor chip, clean energy, bioscience, software and the creative economy. Josh Birks, economic advisor for the city, explained that the software cluster was further focused on GIS since the Front Range was pretty much the birthplace of the technology. However, the local industry has matured, with many companies focused on applying the already advanced technologies in new ways.

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A cluster around water didn’t pop up on the radar sooner because many of the companies fall under a different industry heading – software, GIS, engineering and instrumentation to name a few. The idea condensed after Wade Troxell, city councilman and CSU professor, pointed out that the university is one of the premier sources of water expertise, anywhere.

“The university has been working on water since it opened its doors in 1870,´ said Reagan Waskom, director of both the Colorado Water Institute and CSU Water Center.

Much like the industry cluster, the disciplines related to water issues at CSU vary greatly, from hydrology and geosciences to business and agriculture, and the Water Institute attempts to connect them. Since its founding in 1965 with a mission of coordinating water research, teaching and outreach, the institute has helped to publish 250 to 300 scientific reports and helps to identify funding for water projects.

“The water cluster is, for us, a new, interesting and exciting idea,” Waskom said.

The institute has not traditionally been involved in economic development, but it has worked closely with a number of local firms, including Stewart Environmental and Riverside Technologies. Waskom sees benefits in forming the cluster from many angles, not the least of which is to foster relationships and create jobs for CSU students.

“It’s been a mutually beneficial relationship that’s been there in pieces, so we’re trying to bring it all together,” he said of the private-public affiliations. “We have as much to learn from them as they have to learn from us.”

Kick off in January

With CSU’s water talent on board, the cluster kicked off in January, when about a dozen companies came together for an initial meeting. There was resounding support from the companies involved, many of which didn’t realize there were complementary firms so close by. In February, water monitor developer In-Situ Inc. hosted an informal networking meeting to bring together a broader group of water-centric companies.

“There are a number of strong businesses in Northern Colorado that serve the water space,´ said Bob Blythe, president of In-Situ. “It’s really one of the best kept secrets of Northern Colorado.”

Blythe explained that water innovation is becoming more and more important because of the limited number of potable water sources, population growth outpacing the ability to treat water and the need to manage environmental impacts. Many of the companies in the cluster have seen steady growth or at least maintained their revenues, with noticeable strengthening in the first quarter.

“The timing is right,” he said. “There are needs that are going unmet right now. My personal opinion is that there is room for more innovation.”

In-Situ moved to Fort Collins in 2004 from Laramie, Wyo. with about 65 employees.

“We came to Northern Colorado because we felt like there is a good, strong, educated workforce,” he said. “And it’s proven to be the case for us.”

Blythe declined to detail the number of employees In-Situ now has in Fort Collins, but he did offer that the business has more than doubled in size since the move.

Attracted to Northern Colorado

In-Situ isn’t the only water industry company that zeroed in on Northern Colorado in the recent past. Rubicon Systems, which develops irrigation control gates, flow meters and level sensors, selected Loveland for its first office outside of Australia. The office, headed by Trevor Boomstra, opened in 2007 after staking out the U.S. industry at trade shows, and found many of the companies and organizations he met were based in Colorado. The company landed a few projects in the state, and that, along with the expertise at CSU and Bureau of Reclamation in Denver, was enough to set roots here. Boomstra sees the water industry as one with virtually endless growth possibilities, despite its age.

“It’s ancient more than mature,” he said. “These systems are very old and some of the infrastructure is just as old.”

Rubicon’s products are aimed at improving the overall efficiency and accuracy of water systems. The company has completed many U.S. projects already, but Boomstra is hoping to deploy its products in a cluster showcase project.

“The cluster is able to improve our opportunity to go into spaces we wouldn’t have had access to before,” he said, explaining that forming ties with the city of Fort Collins and CSU will open up even more projects.

In return, Rubicon promises to be the type of company a cluster wants among its ranks. In the past year, employment doubled to 10 full-time positions.

“Here, we’re only at the early stages of growth,” Boomstra said. “We’re just beginning.”

Rubicon will have a chance to evolve along with the cluster. Birks said that the group is still forming, but it is likely to flow into the same model as the clean energy cluster with free participation and a pay-to-play board.

The group will make its debut at the Rocky Mountain Innovation Initiative Innovation After Hours event on May 13. From there, the hope is that the connections, innovations and deals will flow.

FORT COLINS – Business leaders, Colorado State University and the city of Fort Collins are hoping to open the floodgates for economic development and job growth through the formation of a water cluster.

Early meetings have already identified more than 100 companies operating in some capacity in the local water industry. The companies employ more than 3,000 workers with average annual wages of more than $74,000 and offer a wide variety of technologies.

Fort Collins first identified its key industry clusters in 2005 – semiconductor chip, clean energy, bioscience, software and the creative economy. Josh Birks, economic advisor for the city, explained…

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