ON-TIME, AFFORDABLE PRODUCT COMPLIANCE TESTING
Press
NCEE Labs: Lincoln’s World Class Testing Facility Celebrates Five Successful Years
(June 2, 2006) - Even in a small city like Lincoln, it too often happens that cutting edge national and international businesses based here go unnoticed by locals.
Such is the case with the Nebraska Center for Excellence in Electronics, aka NCEE Labs, a world-class nonprofit product compliance and safety testing laboratory and educational facility.
A brainchild of the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development’s Technology Committee, the NCEE has been a quiet but mighty resident of the Tech Park for the last five years. Conceived of as a company that could bolster local and state economic development, NCEE—which houses one of only a handful of 10m semi-anechoic chambers in the country—has built a diverse and respectable client base.
Beyond that, “The story of NCEE Labs illustrates a cutting-edge collaboration between business, government, and education,” according to John Brasch, one of the founders of the project. “These types of partnerships have the potential to create major economic growth and international recognition for Nebraska.”
The idea for the lab developed in response to a unique set of circumstances. To begin with, the Technology Committee members were electronics manufacturers but not competitors, so they were able to freely exchange ideas and talk about the needs of their companies.
Additionally, the European Union had just instituted the requirement for CE testing for all products introduced into European markets – and only a few testing facilities existed in the U.S. These facilities were expensive, located at great distances, and required long lead times for testing. Often, member companies were unable to meet product release deadlines.
Finally, and perhaps most fortuitously, the State of Nebraska had a $120 million surplus, and decision makers sought new ideas for growing business and industry in the state. The Committee has no trouble gaining support from state senators for a testing lab.
Despite growing local and regional demand, no companies were able to privately finance the facility on their own. In response, the Technology Committee formed a nonprofit organization and established a Board of Directors to assess the issues associated with building a testing facility. They studied costs, equipment, processes, new business issues, and how the facility could be used, not only for testing but for training.
This brought to the fore another question: who would run such a facility.
Committee members couldn’t do it themselves, and the State could not finance private industry. Since training was also a major focus, it seemed natural to approach Southeast Community College (SECC), which offers technical training. The school agreed to become a partner in the venture. Steve Frayser, then the head of Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development (LPED), wrote a business plan. With the help of the committee members and Senator Ron Raikes, he successfully introduced a new model of collaboration to the State.
“We received a truly unprecedented level of support from our elected officials,” said Jim Carrier, president of Lester Electrical and a founder of NCEE Labs. “We are lucky they had the foresight to recognize the importance of this venture.”
The State gave $5 million to SECC to construct the facility and purchase equipment. Typically, government maintains ownership of the building and is responsible for it; in this case SECC owns the building and equipment. In return, any profits from NCEE Labs are reinvested in the organization to add new equipment and services to spur further economic development.
The Board faced one more hurdle in the development of the lab. State funds covered the building and equipment, but could not finance operations. Not to be deterred, board members established memberships, which would fund operations during start-up. Members could pre-purchase testing time and then use it when they needed it. For investing early, the members—both public and privately held companies—received a discount on testing.
Today, NCEE Labs has established itself as one of the country’s most successful, state-of-the-art testing facilities. There are twelve founding members; national corporations have purchased a few original member companies. The benefits of memberships are extended to other divisions of those corporations, and new memberships are available.
Looking forward, the Board of Directors plans to meet the changing technological demands of local, state, and regional companies. Members believe that NCEE Labs has the potential to become an economic magnet for the region. Growing the current customer and member base, as well as further investment in the organization, will help provide the additional capital needed to add services and continuing education and programs that build a strong workforce and expand Nebraska’s economy.
With a history of meeting the challenges of innovation, NCEE Labs has a bright future. As Marshall Borchert, one of the founding members says, “When you come to a hurdle you cross over it – when you come to a problem you solve it.” This unique and innovative partnership has been successful because of the hard work and commitment of the State of Nebraska, the Staff, and the individuals who laid the groundwork for this innovative, cutting edge facility.
For more information on NCEE Labs visit www.nceelabs.org. You can also email dkramer@nceelabs.org or call Doug Kramer at 402.472.5880.
Back to Press
NCEE Labs: Lincoln’s World Class Testing Facility Celebrates Five Successful Years
(June 2, 2006) - Even in a small city like Lincoln, it too often happens that cutting edge national and international businesses based here go unnoticed by locals.
Such is the case with the Nebraska Center for Excellence in Electronics, aka NCEE Labs, a world-class nonprofit product compliance and safety testing laboratory and educational facility.
A brainchild of the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development’s Technology Committee, the NCEE has been a quiet but mighty resident of the Tech Park for the last five years. Conceived of as a company that could bolster local and state economic development, NCEE—which houses one of only a handful of 10m semi-anechoic chambers in the country—has built a diverse and respectable client base.
Beyond that, “The story of NCEE Labs illustrates a cutting-edge collaboration between business, government, and education,” according to John Brasch, one of the founders of the project. “These types of partnerships have the potential to create major economic growth and international recognition for Nebraska.”
The idea for the lab developed in response to a unique set of circumstances. To begin with, the Technology Committee members were electronics manufacturers but not competitors, so they were able to freely exchange ideas and talk about the needs of their companies.
Additionally, the European Union had just instituted the requirement for CE testing for all products introduced into European markets – and only a few testing facilities existed in the U.S. These facilities were expensive, located at great distances, and required long lead times for testing. Often, member companies were unable to meet product release deadlines.
Finally, and perhaps most fortuitously, the State of Nebraska had a $120 million surplus, and decision makers sought new ideas for growing business and industry in the state. The Committee has no trouble gaining support from state senators for a testing lab.
Despite growing local and regional demand, no companies were able to privately finance the facility on their own. In response, the Technology Committee formed a nonprofit organization and established a Board of Directors to assess the issues associated with building a testing facility. They studied costs, equipment, processes, new business issues, and how the facility could be used, not only for testing but for training.
This brought to the fore another question: who would run such a facility.
Committee members couldn’t do it themselves, and the State could not finance private industry. Since training was also a major focus, it seemed natural to approach Southeast Community College (SECC), which offers technical training. The school agreed to become a partner in the venture. Steve Frayser, then the head of Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development (LPED), wrote a business plan. With the help of the committee members and Senator Ron Raikes, he successfully introduced a new model of collaboration to the State.
“We received a truly unprecedented level of support from our elected officials,” said Jim Carrier, president of Lester Electrical and a founder of NCEE Labs. “We are lucky they had the foresight to recognize the importance of this venture.”
The State gave $5 million to SECC to construct the facility and purchase equipment. Typically, government maintains ownership of the building and is responsible for it; in this case SECC owns the building and equipment. In return, any profits from NCEE Labs are reinvested in the organization to add new equipment and services to spur further economic development.
The Board faced one more hurdle in the development of the lab. State funds covered the building and equipment, but could not finance operations. Not to be deterred, board members established memberships, which would fund operations during start-up. Members could pre-purchase testing time and then use it when they needed it. For investing early, the members—both public and privately held companies—received a discount on testing.
Today, NCEE Labs has established itself as one of the country’s most successful, state-of-the-art testing facilities. There are twelve founding members; national corporations have purchased a few original member companies. The benefits of memberships are extended to other divisions of those corporations, and new memberships are available.
Looking forward, the Board of Directors plans to meet the changing technological demands of local, state, and regional companies. Members believe that NCEE Labs has the potential to become an economic magnet for the region. Growing the current customer and member base, as well as further investment in the organization, will help provide the additional capital needed to add services and continuing education and programs that build a strong workforce and expand Nebraska’s economy.
With a history of meeting the challenges of innovation, NCEE Labs has a bright future. As Marshall Borchert, one of the founding members says, “When you come to a hurdle you cross over it – when you come to a problem you solve it.” This unique and innovative partnership has been successful because of the hard work and commitment of the State of Nebraska, the Staff, and the individuals who laid the groundwork for this innovative, cutting edge facility.
For more information on NCEE Labs visit www.nceelabs.org. You can also email dkramer@nceelabs.org or call Doug Kramer at 402.472.5880.
Back to Press
