News Room: ViewPlus Technologies Receives International Honor

ViewPlus Technologies Inc. today was named the 2003 Outstanding Incubator Client in the technology category at the National Business Incubation Association’s (NBIA) 17th International Conference on Business Incubation in Richmond, Va.

A client of the Business Enterprise Center (BEC) of Linn and Benton Counties , ViewPlus commercializes technologies that help the visually impaired access graphical information tactilely. The company’s flagship product, the Tiger embosser, is the first embosser to print both Braille and tactile graphics directly from most Microsoft Windows computer applications.

When ViewPlus founder and president John Gardner lost his eyesight in 1988, the internationally recognized physics professor from Oregon State University discovered that simply reading a map or analyzing a spreadsheet was next to impossible. While Braille helped the visually impaired read words, little technology was available to help them access graphic information.

Noting that many visual objects—like the complex equations and flow charts common in math and science—cannot adequately be described with words, Gardner set out to develop tools to help him and others with visual disabilities study and work in fields that traditionally had been out of reach for the blind.

Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, Gardner created the Science Access Project at Oregon State to develop technologies that promote full accessibility of electronic information by people with visual disabilities. ViewPlus Technologies was incorporated in 1996 to commercialize technologies that came out of the research project.

”All entrepreneurs have a passion to succeed, but Dr. Gardner is unparalleled in his laser-like focus on his mission,” said Bill Ford, vice president of the board of directors at the Business Enterprise Center . “ViewPlus is a company built on frustration over a situation John lives with every day, so he has a burning passion to do something about it.”

Prior to joining the Business Enterprise Center in 1999, Gardner met with the staff of the incubator several times while growing his business at home. “I always knew we’d move into the incubator when the time was right,” he said. “We knew technology, but we didn’t really know business. We recognized that we didn’t always know what we were doing though, so we reached out for help.”

Business incubation programs catalyze the process of starting and growing companies by providing entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful. Research shows that 87 percent of companies that graduate from incubation programs are still in business. Today, more than 950 of these programs operate in North America, up from 12 in 1980.

As an academic turned entrepreneur, Gardner said he appreciates the guidance provided by on-site incubator manager Ellen Fuller, who answers day-to-day questions about running a business. He noted that access to an advisory panel of seasoned business counselors, the availability of standard office facilities, and the ability to network with other entrepreneurs also have been instrumental to the company’s growth.

Since 1999, the company has expanded from one 328-square-foot office to nearly 3,000 square feet of both office and light industrial space. ViewPlus now employs 16 people, including Gardner ’s wife, Carolyn, who serves as vice president of operations, and their son, Jeff, who serves as vice president of marketing.

According to Gardner , ViewPlus will continue to develop new technologies to help the visually impaired access the same information as sighted individuals. The company recently secured two federal Small Business Innovation Research grants to improve the accessibility of graphic information on the Internet.

Gardner, who received Oregon State ’s Distinguished Service Award in 2002, retired from the university in January 2003.

The 2003 Outstanding Incubator Client award is sponsored by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) of the City of Richmond . The IDA supports Richmond ’s economic development strategy and assists the city with commercial development projects.

The National Business Incubation Association is the world’s leading organization advancing incubation and entrepreneurship. Each year, NBIA honors the business incubators, client companies and graduates that exemplify the best of the industry.

The BEC is located in Corvallis, Oregon. It was created in 1988 through a grant from the Oregon State Lottery as a part of the regional strategies program administered by the State of Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. The board of directors is made up of local business people, dedicated professionals from large and small companies alike. The BEC is currently the business home to new companies. The BEC is celebrating its fifteen years of successful operation by re-inventing itself and its business model and preparing to move to a new facility.