25 Sep Key Tech’s Expanded Space & Continued Growth, Plans for the Future
New space, New hires, and New equipment – Continued Steady Growth
Key Tech Plans for the Future.
In a landmark year, one celebrating 2 decades of success, Key Tech has dug its roots further and deeper into the Baltimore City neighborhood called Federal Hill. Expanded space and the typical 10-15% annual bump in staff give testament to our technology and product development firm’s consistent growth as we celebrate our 20th year. Looking forward into the next 20 years, we’ve anchored ourselves for continued momentum in the markets we serve.
The newly leased 1,700 square foot commercial space in the historic stretch of Light Street is known to Key Tech staffers as the “Backstage.” We named it that since it’s backstage to our restored historic theater space, 16,000 sq. feet, a half a block away on Cross Street. The expanded space houses some of our product development “wet labs,” for projects requiring precision fluid handling and sensing apparatuses, chemical handling equipment, laboratory type instruments and appliances. The space also houses a large instrumentation and testing room including an environmental chamber, new dedicated project rooms and new meeting and storage spaces. The expansion provides us the growing room to take on new projects while current projects are in development.
With the demand for technology and product development growing at a rapid pace across all industries, Key Tech has excelled. In 2018 we gained 6 new engineers, mechanical, electrical and computer engineers, ready to train-up in Key Tech process and culture. Key Tech has also expanded the business development team with sights on securing the most interesting and challenging projects for the crew to solve. Continued recognition through industry awards and conference presentations highlight our deep expertise and sought after perspectives. As the demand for tech integrations into most devices, especially in medical devices, continues to rise, the market can expect extraordinary things from our boutique tech firm.
In addition to staff and space, Key Tech has also built out its array of in-house machines giving us expanded capabilities in fabrication and prototype development. New equipment, including sophisticated 3-D printing capabilities through the Lulz-Bot 3D printer and the Ultimaker 2 3-D printer, allows for quick turn concept part printing, giving the team the ability to ensure proper fit and feel of our prototypes, and quick iterations of improvements as well as rapid part iteration for development projects. The addition of a Thermo-former AW pro, which can mold plastic around the outline of any part, allows our engineers to meet test fabrication requirements as well as some packaging requirements. Other new tools include an Epilog Zing Laser Cutter; 2 Mark 10 Force gauges; and an Othermill pro CNC machine.
We also added quite a few new microscopes to round out our microscope “fleet” and build out our optical capabilities. We leverage the Zeiss Axio Observer; Leica DMLB Microscope; Nikon Eclipse Ti; Boom-Mounted Stereoscopic Microscope; other more common USB scopes, and access to the impressive Hopkins Microfab Lab’s Keyence VK-X100/X200 for 24000x magnifications.
These development and testing specific tools help the company stay nimble and efficient with in-house capabilities. Saving our clients both time and money.
Baltimore has always been a hot bed of technology innovation. Key Tech has found it a conducive environment in which to thrive. The proximity of high caliber educational institutions such as University of Maryland School of Engineering, Loyola University in Maryland and Johns Hopkins University and many others along the mid-Atlantic stretch provide access to highly qualified interns and new hires. This summer brought 8 interns into the troupe, boosting Key Tech’s numbers by another 20%, if only temporarily.
Key Tech gives back by participating in job fairs, mentoring programs, and other volunteer programs on campuses and in the Baltimore community. Here, every employee is encouraged to participate in the company’s volunteer programs. It’s a great way to stay connected to the community we call home, and a great way to come together as colleagues to “do good”.
We attribute our ongoing success to creating a super team. Hiring the best and the brightest and providing the right environment for creativity and innovation to germinate. A multiple year winner of various Best Places to Work awards, including the Baltimore Sun, we are actively recruiting!
Seeking new projects in MedTech, Pharma, In-Vitro Diagnostics, AI and Robotics keeps us diversified and grounded in some of the toughest tech challenges out there.
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