Grizella opens in Hebron
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
A North Dakota native living in Denver brings his partners to Hebron for a game of paint ball. The group liked what they saw so much that they stayed. According to Mr. Mark Draeb, "I had a great childhood here. I think North Dakota is a great place to live."
Following an initial contact from Mr. Jerry Chase, a member of the Hebron EDC, the BMDA started a dialogue with Mr. Mark Draeb of Denver about the prospect of moving his relatively new software company to Hebron. Mark and his brother, Jon, were originally from Hebron. They have been looking for years for an opportunity to bring a company to the community.
The company's name is Grizella and its principal software product, "PostEverywhere," at this time is a program that helps both shippers and haulers to essentially find each other. The intent is help the shippers find truckers, and truckers find shippers, with similar trailer, origination, and destination requirements. With one entry of key data, the software allows either party to enter the freight they need shipped or trucks they need filled along with various other requirements like destination, load weight, load size, etc. The software then posts these requirements to over 25 website databases to help bring the two parties together. Once a match is found, the customer can click on a button in PostEverywhere to remove the listing on the website datatbase, thereby eliminating calls for loads or trucks that are no longer available. This is all done for a flat fee of $19.95 per month.
The BMDA, working with Mark Draeb, identified a number of equity investors to help assemble an initial equity fund for assisting Grizella's relocation from Denver to Hebron. Included in the funding package were the following: Lewis & Clark RDC, ND State Development Fund, Hebron Business & Industry, Hebron Community EDC, Mandan Growth Fund, Bismarck Vision Fund, Morton County Development Fund, Stark County Development Corp., Montana Dakota Utilities Company, and Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative.
The relocation of the company was completed by September 2003. Initial employment in Hebron started with three persons. The company will have six employees by September 2004, and plans are to have over 20 in the next five to six years. These will be high quality jobs including software programmers, marketing specialists, graphic design, UNIX administrator, quality assurance, call center support services, and administrative services. The salaries, wages, and benefits will be exceptional for the area, and will provide new economic strength to Hebron and the surrounding area.
The business currently occupies approximately 1,300 square feet of a building in Hebron. This portion of the building was previously unoccupied. As Grizella expands, the space needed will also expand. The Draebs worked very hard to re-locate their company to their hometown of Hebron and will continue to work hard to make Grizella successful in Hebron.
The BMDA thanks Mark and Jon Draeb for their willingness to bring this high tech project back to their home town. Good luck in your efforts!
Grizella Corporation received the 2003 Governor's Choice for Economic Development Project of the Year Award.
Pictured above are ND Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Grizella owner Mark Draeb at the 2003 Governor's Choice for Economic Development Awards Dinner.