IVY Computer Inc. puts down roots
September 18, 2022 | By Lisa Scagliotti For 20 years Ivy Computer Inc. has been growing alongside Vermont Route 100 near the former Waterbury Festival Playhouse tent.
Company members and economic development officials turn over the first ceremonial shovelfuls of soil. Photo by Gordon Miller
First in one building, then adding the former Agway and furniture store into its campus, the computer software company now is about to launch into an ambitious expansion this fall.
A groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 14, made it official.
With 50 or so employees looking on clad in the company’s black t-shirts, founder George Pierce told Ivy’s story that “began on a kitchen table in Vermont.”
Now the company named third-best small business to work for by Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce this year aims to move into a new $4 million, 22,000-square-foot state-of-the-art office building. Construction is expected to start next month as state permitting is finalized, Pierce said, with the goal of moving in next year.
Wednesday’s ceremony set up outdoors beside the building site – the playhouse tent will be taken down before excavation begins. In attendance were various state and local officials including Joan Goldstein, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Economic Development, and Jamie Stewart, executive director of the Vermont Economic Development Corporation. Municipal Manager Bill Shelpeluk and state Rep. Theresa Wood, D-Waterbury, joined as well.
Ivy Computers Inc. founder George Pierce. Photo by Gordon Miller
Founded in 1986, Ivy Computer produces software specific to the trash-hauling industry, specifically a program called Trash Flow that’s a business management tool as well as a Trash Billing software platform.
As the company has grown, it has expanded into structures on the 8-acre site and the next step is a completely new headquarters that will consolidate staff with room to expand. Today Ivy employs 58 people, Pierce said, with the new facility designed for 150.
An array of solar panels features prominently already on the property and the new building will incorporate a number of green building features. “This new building will be powered by the sun, with climate-conscious geothermal heating and cooling, and no fossil fuels; well-insulated with plenty of natural light,” Pierce said.
The expansion at Ivy is buoyed by its participation in the Vermont Employment Growth Initiative – referred to as VEGI for short – overseen by the Vermont Economic Development Corporation. The program gives businesses monetary grants based on their performance meeting benchmark goals for growth, employment, and economic activity. Ivy has been approved for a package worth approximately $2.5 million to be paid out over multiple years as it reaches various growth milestones.
Commissioner Goldstein commented on how the program supports business growth. “Vermont has proven to be a great incubator of tech companies that create meaningful jobs and opportunities in communities across the state,” she said. “With VEGI’s support, Ivy Computer can build and expand its headquarters and add more employees to capitalize on its need for additional space and capacity to grow its day-to-day business operations.”