September 2004
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology's business incubator helps small firms flyNew Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) alumnus Bob Tarantino had a very good idea when he came up with the concept for New Jersey Precision Technologies in 1995 and took the first step toward making it a commercial reality at the university's Enterprise Development Center (EDC).
In fact, Tarantino's idea was so good that he now owns one of the leading electrical discharge machining (EDM) operations in the northeastern United States, with gross annual sales topping $4 million.
Tarantino's company has specialized in producing custom components for the electronics, aerospace, medical and other high-tech industries. The principal technology that Tarantino and his more than 30 employees apply, EDM, removes metal or other conductive material from a work piece by generating sparks between an electrode and the work piece. Energy from the sparks is dissipated by melting and vaporizing the work piece material at it is shaped. Much of what Precision Technologies is currently doing with this process at the company's 10,000 square foot facility in Mountainside involves producing orthopedic implants and related surgical tools.
Tarantino, Somerset, who graduated from NJIT in 1990 with a degree in engineering technology, needed specialized equipment and motivated, affordable staff when he started on the road to his present success. By establishing his company at the Enterprise Development Center, he gained access to sophisticated equipment that would have been out of the reach of most small companies, as well as to a highly skilled workforce - NJIT work-study students, some of whom have become full-time employees at Precision Technologies. The EDC, which is a proving ground for innovative technology-based products and services such as Tarantino's, also provided a subsidized rent and broad range of support during Precision Technologies' first years.
"NJIT and the EDC helped us every step of the way," Tarantino says. "In addition to the resources needed for a good start, we received the support necessary for making the full transition to the high-tech marketplace, for being successful on our own."
NJIT is a public, scientific and technological research university enrolling more than 8,800 students. The university offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees to students in 80 degree programs throughout its six colleges: Newark College of Engineering, New Jersey School of Architecture, College of Science and Liberal Arts, School of Management, Albert Dorman Honors College and College of Computing Sciences. The division of continuing professional education offers adults eLearning, off campus degrees and short courses. Expertise and research initiatives include architecture and building science, applied mathematics, biomedical engineering, environmental engineering and science, information technology, manufacturing, materials, microelectronics, multimedia, telecommunications, transportation and solar physics. NJIT ranks among the top schools of U.S. News & World Report's list of national doctoral universities.
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