What was once a small Cochrane tech start-up celebrated its 20th year with the grand opening of its new 45,000 square-foot-office building, while reaffirming its commitment to the community it calls home.
Launching in Jim Rooney's garage under the moniker Dynastream Innovations, the company evolved over the years as it expanded from those humble beginnings.
In 2006, it was acquired as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Garmin and then this past summer became Garmin Canada, the official Canadian Headquarters of the multi-national tech giant.
Rooney, managing director of Garmin Canada and one of Dynastream's founders, said he could never have imagined how far the company would come over the past 20 years.
However, despite Garmin's success, Rooney has always stayed true to his roots.
"I don't know if we ever had a specific goal in mind, we were really just driven by building great products ... but we're still pretty proud about what we've been able to accomplish here, he said. "it's such an amazing change. We started off with a handful of people and now we have more than 100 full-time employees, all hi-tech positions, really trying to diversify the economy."
As one of Cochrane's top three largest employers with room to double its workforce, Garmin has also become one of the community's top economic engines.
"The employees that are here, they eat in Cochrane, they shop in Cochrane, a number of them live in Cochrane. We try to contribute to Cochrane as well. It's a great place to be, it's a great place to raise a family. I have been here for 20 years as well," said Rooney. "Going back to that garage in a couple hundred square feet and here in this facility now we have 45,000 square feet of space to really innovate great products. It's twice the size of our previous facility and is going to give us the opportunity to keep growing."
Cochrane and region also align well with Garmin Canada's business model and market, being it specializes in wearable and GPS fitness accessories designed to enhance people's outdoor experience. Rooney said this is a great area for testing Garmin's products. All of those factors helped keep the company grounded here, despite competition for cheaper office space.
"When we outgrew our last facility and we had to look around and ask ourselves where did we really want to be, there's really cheap space right now in downtown Calgary. In fact, places we could have gone and got low or no rent, so we really had to ask ourselves where did we want to be and where did we want to spend, it really is here in Cochrane," said Rooney.
Next up for Garmin Canada is a gathering of minds as it gets set to host its annual ANT Wireless Symposium from Oct. 2 to 4 in Banff.
The event discusses applications and innovations for the ANT protocol, which is an ultra-low power (ULP) wireless networking application designed to allow wireless devices to communicate with each other.
Following the symposium, Garmin Canada employees will get to work in their new space, which is designed as a state-of-the-art facility complete with gathering spaces, a full gym and more.
"Moving forward you will continue to see us innovate and make some great new products in all the lines we currently work in and I think we will have a few surprises up our sleeve as well," Rooney said.
He also hopes Dynastream's and now Garmin Canada's success also serves as an inspiration to others.
"I hope it encourages other entrepreneurs to start up businesses," Rooney said.
