Ridgetop Group, Inc. Takes its Technology on the Road
January 18th, 2007 . by
Arizona MEP Helps Electronic Prognostics Company Transition to the Commercial Market
   TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The military sector relies heavily on Ridgetop Group, Inc. The Tucson, Arizona engineering, research and development firm specializes in electronic prognostics technology for critical systems. Specifically, their built-in self-tests estimate the remaining useful life of components so they can be replaced or repaired before a malfunction. For their work with military applications, this is crucial as Ridgetop develops the technology for warning devices that alert fighter pilots of potential equipment failures.
   “Since we’ve yielded such good results with the military, that’s where our efforts have been centered. However, we knew our technology could be useful in other avenues, but we weren’t sure how to make that transition,” said Doug Goodman, President and CEO of Ridgetop Group, Inc. “We learned that the Northern Arizona Council of Governments (NACOG) was having the Arizona Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Arizona MEP) administer a U.S. Department of Labor H1B grant to help companies like ours strengthen our technology skills and secure the knowledge needed to expand our technology into other markets through various partners. This was exactly what we needed.”
   “We brought in other experts to help Ridgetop decide what direction they wanted to go to in terms of expansion,” said John Little, Arizona MEP director of operations. “These consultants and industry experts assisted them in developing a strategic business plan and helped with marketing and commercialization. Through this program, Ridgetop was able to determine that the automotive industry was the most viable commercial sector for them to transition to.”
   Once the company identified their new market to work with, they were able to decide how to use their technology in a variety of ways. \
   “Our technology has a number of safety applications for cars, like predicting degradation of anti-lock breaking systems and electronically alerting the driver or their mechanic of a potential problem,” added Goodman. “Thanks to the Arizona MEP H1B program, we are now working with a major auto manufacturer on ways to implement our technology into their vehicles. Without NACOG and the Arizona MEP, we would be months or years away from where we are now and wouldn’t have tapped into what is a very promising growth opportunity for our company.”
   The Arizona MEP is an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the U.S. Department of Commerce. The national MEP is a network of manufacturing extension centers that provide business and technical assistance to smaller manufacturers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Through MEP, manufacturers have access to more than 2000 manufacturing and business “coaches” whose job is to help firms make changes that lead to greater productivity, increased profits, and enhanced global competitiveness. For more information on the Arizona MEP program call 480-874- 9100.
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