(1888PressRelease)
September 10, 2008 - Raleigh, N. C. - Bob Luddy, the CEO of Captive-Aire, the nation’s leading manufacturer of commercial kitchen ventilation systems, with annual sales in 2007 of $210 million, will lead part of the discussion at the September 25, 2008 RTP Tech Event at Goodnight’s.
Captive-Aire employs 775 people in 57 offices in the United States and Canada and has been named by INC. magazine as one of the top 500 fastest growing private companies in America. Captive-Aire has also been recognized as one of the 100 largest private companies in North Carolina (Business North Carolina magazine) and one of the top 50 fastest growing private companies in the Triangle (Triangle Business Journal). Captive-Aire has also been voted “Best In Class” by industry dealers and consultants, according to Foodservice Equipment & Supplies magazine.
“I have been an entrepreneur since age of 20, while as a student at LaSalle University in Philadelphia, I opened a fiberglass manufacturing business and worked at night to manage the company,” he said. “I know first hand the problems manufacturers are having here in North Carolina trying to innovate and run a successful company, and I want to contribute to the discussion of how we can improve the regional and state economy.”
“When I talk about creating successful, innovative manufacturing companies in the RTP regional economy, said Tom Vass, the organizer of the RTP Tech Event,” I have Captive-Aire in mind as the model.”
Captive-Aire has introduced five new products that have changed the way their market conducts business. “We would probably call these types of products radical innovations,” said Vass.
Luddy has been engaged in economic development in North Carolina on several fronts. He is a past chairman of the Franklin County Economic Development Commission and he founded and developed the Franklin Park Industrial Center, which has drawn over 15 entrepreneurial businesses and hundreds of jobs to Franklin and Wake counties.
He also founded 2 new Thales Academy (K-8), the Franklin Academy, the largest public charter school in North Carolina, and St. Thomas More Academy in Raleigh, a classical, college-preparatory high school.
“Our state and regional economies must have continual innovation to survive in the global market,” said Luddy. “This will not be an easy task for many small manufacturing companies. We will need to establish a new innovation economic framework and brainstorm ideas on how to innovate new products and create new markets. We must overcome gaps in our current economic development strategy, which does not place enough priority on technological innovation and new product development.”
The RTP Tech Event @ Goodnight’s is a community economic forum of manufacturing and technology companies who meet once a month to brainstorm ideas on new products, developing new markets, and discussing ways to do more business with each other in the regional economy.
Each monthly networking session features presentations from two different industrial sectors. The September 25 event features George King, of Triangle MicroSystems from SIC 38, which is instruments and controls and SIC 36 which is Luddy’s manufacturing industrial sector for Captive-Aire.
At the end of each session, the floor is open for a budding entrepreneur or inventor to stand up and give a five-minute elevator pitch on their venture or new product idea.
Registration for the monthly event is available at MeetUp.com. Annual membership in the RTP Tech Event is $50, and there is a $10 door fee that includes the purchase of the first drink and a discount on the comedy show that night at Goodnight’s.
About Captive-Aire. Captive-Aire is the nation’s leading manufacturer of commercial kitchen ventilation systems. The industry’s innovator, Captive-Aire sets the standard for commercial kitchen ventilation equipment and service and offers the most competitive pricing. Captive-Aire is known for the fastest and most reliable lead times in the industry. Contact Bob Luddy (800) 334-9256. http://www.captiveaire.com/default.asp
About the RTP Tech Event @ Goodnights. Our event's mission is to create more business for local firms and to increase the rate of new product development in the RTP regional economy. We call this "new business idea brainstorming." Each month, executives from local manufacturing firms, product development engineers and people with new business ideas for new products get together to brainstorm ideas for what types of new products may be successful in the RTP market. http://newtech.meetup.com/115/ Contact Tom Vass 919 9754856.
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