MGE supports new research park expansion

Madison Gas and Electric Co. announced July 29 it will contribute more than $1 million toward a new and expanded innovation center at the UW–Madison Research Park.

The contribution will help MGE and the Research Park build and maintain a 24,000-square-foot MGE Innovation Center on the park’s west property. The new facility will more than double the space of the existing MGE Innovation Center, which has operated at the park since 1989.

The center has been a success story in its first decade. Of its 26 small-business tenants, all but three have been successful and four of them relocated to permanent spaces in the Research Park. Companies with beginnings at the center have been responsible for 175 new jobs.

“This commitment by MGE shareholders is a long-term investment in our local economy,” said David Mebane, chief executive officer of MGE. “High-technology businesses provide steady growth for our electric and gas operations.”

Wayne McGown, director of the research park, expressed gratitude to MGE for the company’s continued partnership, noting that the Innovation Center’s success has helped bring the park national recognition.

The center is ideally suited for university-based startups, he added. The expansion will support UW–Madison’s continuing efforts to commercialize research advances.

The innovation center provides shared staff and resources to research- and technology-based small businesses, giving them a greater chance of succeeding in their earliest stages. The new center will be housed within a 62,000 square foot office building being constructed on newly developed property across Whitney Way from the existing park.

The facility is expected to be completed by March 1999, and should provide enough space for about 20 companies at a time.