Contact Information: For information contact: Mara Conklin 847.816.9411 Linda Muskin 847.432.7300
Watchfire Signs Expands With New Offices at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Research Park
Software Development Team to Seek Collaborative Research Opportunities
| Source: Watchfire Digital Outdoor
DANVILLE, IL and INDIANAPOLIS, IN--(Marketwire - February 20, 2008) - Watchfire Signs by
Time-O-Matic, Inc. (http://www.watchfiresigns.com), the most reliable LED
sign manufacturer in the on-premise and digital billboard markets,
announced that it has opened a new office for its software development
group at The Research Park at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
The new office will house Watchfire's software development team, which is
responsible for developing Watchfire's Ignite™ graphics and controller
software used for both Watchfire on-premise signs and digital billboards.
The expansion to the University of Illinois will position the software
development team closer to an available, skilled talent pool and will
enable the software team to utilize University of Illinois interns year
round.
As part of an aggressive growth strategy, Watchfire plans to double its
software development staff in 2008, according to David Wood, president of
Watchfire. "The opening of a software development office at the UIUC
Research Park is a natural next step in our growth. It follows a doubling
of plant capacity in 2007, the opening of new sales and marketing offices
and the expansion of our support staff."
The UIUC Research Park provides an environment where technology-based
businesses can work with research faculty and students from the University
of Illinois to take advantage of opportunities for collaborative research
and easy access to University labs, equipment and services. Located
minutes from the central campus, the Research Park is home to 50 companies
and employs nearly 1,000 people pursuing high-technology careers.
Carl Roth, Watchfire's lead software engineer, said he is excited about the
opportunity to be exposed to the ideas and research generated by the
University of Illinois, and is looking forward to an environment that will
foster the development of new ideas.
"The expansion of our software development offices complements our
tremendous growth. The Research Park is a top-notch facility that will
allow our software developers to be among other tech firms and benefit from
a creative flow of ideas," said Roth, who will manage the new location.
Other companies located at the Research Park include Archer Daniels Midland
Company, State Farm Insurance, RiverGlass and Yahoo!.
About Watchfire Signs
Watchfire Signs engineers and manufactures LED signs to help businesses and
organizations increase visibility and drive growth. The company has
created more than 12,000 LED signs for banks, retail, schools, places of
worship and other locations throughout North America. Watchfire Signs is
unique in its loyalty to its sign company customers and is committed to the
highest level of education, training and support to make sign companies and
their customers successful. Founded in 1932 as Time-O-Matic, Inc.,
Watchfire Signs is headquartered in Danville, Ill. For more information,
go to http://www.watchfiresigns.com.
About Watchfire Digital Outdoor
Watchfire Digital Outdoor engineers and manufactures the best looking and
most durable digital billboards available anywhere. It is the digital
billboard division of Watchfire by Time-O-Matic, which has been
manufacturing outdoor electric signs for more than 75 years, has been
manufacturing LED signs for 10 years, and has more than 12,000 outdoor LED
signs in daily operation throughout North America. Watchfire Digital
Outdoor is located in Danville, Ill. with marketing and sales operations in
Indianapolis. For more information, go to
http://www.watchfiredigitaloutdoor.com.