Hebron to get new company
Thursday, July 17, 2003
By RICHARD VOLESKY The Dickinson Press
HEBRON The owners of a small software company plan to move the company's headquarters from Denver to Hebron this fall.
GriZella Corporation was founded in 2001 by Hebron natives and brothers Mark and Jon Draeb, plus acquaintance Nik Hultgren of Denver. The company employs six people in Denver, including its founders.
Mark Draeb, Hultgren and senior programmer Collin Scull plan to move to Hebron, while three employees will remain in Denver.
"The primary reason, from my perspective, is to help Hebron because that's where my roots are," Mark Draeb, who is also the company's president, said of the decision to move the headquarters.
His brother is GriZella's vice president, while Hultgren is the chief technology officer.
The company provides software tools for the trucking industry. The software is intended to improve the management of marketing, freight, customer service and dispatching.
With GriZella's first software product, Post Everywhere, the overall goal is to save time and money for the transportation brokers and trucking companies involved. Information such as the amount of space available on a truck and its destination are posted on the Internet.
GriZella is named after the fictitious alien race that worked as a third-party mediator to improve communications in the "Star Trek" television series.
GriZella's clients access Post Everywhere by paying a $19.95 monthly subscription fee. Mark Draeb said they have more than 100 clients.
Late this fall, the company's plans include hiring a technical support person and an office manager in Hebron. The company's business plan calls for employing about 14 people in about 2 ½ years, said Mark Draeb.
The company will operate out of a yet-to-be-announced building in Hebron. The business won't operate with a walk-in storefront, said Mark Draeb.
The company is locating in Hebron with the assistance of area economic developers that would be announced later, he said.
Jon Draeb and Hultgren have a background in working for a software development firm that catered to the transportation industry. Mark Draeb's background is in telecommunications and company startups. Mark Draeb has a degree in electrical engineering from Florida International University, while his brother has a degree in computer information systems from Arizona State. Hultgren has a degree in systems engineering from Boston University.
Holly O'Brien, a Press regional correspondent from Dickinson, contributed to this story.
Content © 2003 The Red Wing Republican Eagle