Summit Data has been recognized as the fastest growing privately-held computer hardware manufacturer in the Midwest generating technology jobs and economic growth in downtown Akron and the northeastern Ohio region.
Akron, OH (PRWEB) June 29, 2011
Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic congratulated Akron-based Summit Data Communications by proclaiming today, June 29th, 2011, as “Summit Data Day” in the City of Akron.
Summit Data Communications (Summit Data) was named “Outstanding Incubator Client of the Year” in the United States, by the National Business Accelerator Association. Summit Data ranked first in the technology category, competing against 7,000 other business incubators in the world, and over 1,000 in the United States.
Summit Data is a tenant of the Global Business Accelerator and manufactures industrial and medical grade wireless modules that provide secure and reliable connectivity in challenging places such as hospitals, factories and distribution centers. The company’s products are used across a broad spectrum of business - everything from barcode scanners to medical devices.
“Summit Data has been recognized as the fastest growing privately-held computer hardware manufacturer in the Midwest generating technology jobs and economic growth in downtown Akron and the northeastern Ohio region,” said Scott Kuehn, Director of Global Markets for the Ohio Department of Development. “Summit Data Communications is the fastest growing IT hardware company east of the Mississippi and the 5th fastest growing in the Country.”
“The competition was fierce,” said Ron Seide, President of Summit Data. “This now positions Summit Data as a worldwide contender in the field of wireless communications,” said Seide. The two runners-up for the award hailed from Hong Kong.
“Summit Data is a home-grown company that took advantage of the amenities offered by the City and the Akron Global Business Accelerator,” said Mayor Don Plusquellic. “We are working hard to position Akron as the Start-Up City – THE place that fosters start-up companies who can compete globally in polymers, biomedical devices, and wireless communications. Summit Data is one of ABGA’s success stories, and Summit Data and the ABGA are growing by leaps and bounds.”
Summit Data was founded in 2006 by “five guys with an idea” says Terry Martell, Director of Operations and Business Development at the Akron Global Business Accelerator. “Those ‘five guys’ now have over 30 employees and their wireless modules are used by Fortune 500 companies around the world. It is a true Cinderella story,” said Martell.
Summit Data has recently turned its focus to working with hospitals and electronic medical records. Seide says, “Summit Data’s technology will play a big role in making it easier for hospitals to switch to electronic medical records which, in turn, will decrease patient errors, and streamline costs.”
Summit Data has also made important and lasting contributions to students through its partnership with the University of Akron. In a push to retain and develop local technology talent, Summit Data provides scholarships and internships to university computer science majors. Every fall and spring semester, one student is awarded a $5,000 Summit Internship. That student agrees to work 15 hours per week at Summit Data Communications for that semester.
“By providing this connection to University of Akron students, Summit Data is actively preventing ‘brain drain’ (the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge),” said Dr. CC Chan, Dean of Computer Science at the University of Akron.
“We hire computer science interns who, because of the competitive, challenging, and innovative technology environment provided by AGBA, and specifically Summit Data, stay in Akron,” said Seide. “In turn, the scholarship students provide us with a fresh knowledge base that we use to grow Summit Data into a globally competitive company.”
About Summit
Summit Data Communications, Inc. is the mobile in today's mobile computers and other business-critical mobile devices. Summit's embedded Wi-Fi solutions provide secure, reliable connections in the challenging environments in which business-critical mobile devices operate, including factories, warehouses, ports, hospitals, and retail stores. For more information, visit http://www.summitdatacom.com.
Wi-Fi®, Wi-Fi Protected Access® 2, and WPA2® are registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance.
Summit Media Contact:
Hannah Wheaton
hwheaton(at)summitdatacom(dot)com
+1 330.434.7929 Ext. 102
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