Former mall site home to high-tech enterprises
September 27, 2002

Scott Sisco, The Daily News

Hitcents.com is almost ready to open its new office and High Tide Technologies will be up and running in the Western Kentucky University Center for Research and Development, formerly the Bowling Green Mall, in a few weeks. Ed Mills, Clinton Mills and Chris Mills have been painting and installing cable for Hitcents.com, their Internet advertising company. They took out the teller stations and converted the safe into a safe place for Web servers at what used to be a bank branch.

Clinton Mills said a hardwood floor will be installed on Friday.

"That's the last thing to do," he said.

The Millses plan to hire four students from Western Kentucky University as the business expands. They are looking for an advertising student, a marketing student, a computer science or computer information systems student and a graphic artist.

Ed Mills said hiring students will help give back to Western and could foster an entrepreneurial spirit in the employees. He said they are looking for students who fit in with the laid-back atmosphere of the office.

Next week, the Millses will have a place to entertain clients now that they won't be running the business out of their basement.

"This is going to make a big difference," Clinton Mills said.

After the floor is installed, the Millses will be moving in custom-built furniture from local Eagle Industries.

High Tide Technologies began in July by Joe Ahler and his partner David Mundie. The company manufactures a device that allows the user to monitor water, waste water and transmission pipeline equipment via the Internet from around the world.

"We send packets of data at specific increments," Ahler said.

Ahler said he's hoping to get a crew into his space soon to renovate and be up and running in the next two weeks.

The company applied for several research and development grants.

"Part of being able to get these grants, we have to team with a university," Ahler said.

Since Ahler and Mundie are both from Nashville, Bowling Green and Western offered a good opportunity.

"It was a good fit for us," Ahler said.

High Tide has clients in places such as Peru, Mexico and Canada.

"It keeps us moving pretty quickly," Ahler said.

Ann Mead, chief financial officer for Western, has had some trouble attracting start-up, New Economy businesses to the center.

"This is a challenge and it hasn't been easy for us to recruit companies because it is not ready to be leased now," Mead said.

The companies locating to the center must pay the cost of renovations because Western doesn't have the funds to cover it, Mead said. New companies have a hard time coming up with the capital to do that.

"These companies don't have strong enough balance sheets to get a loan," she said. Western bought the old Bowling Green Mall property to bring in technology companies. The university received a New Economy grant from the state to purchase the property and make a few improvements.

"We have to be careful to stay true to what the state wants us to do," Mead said. Some of those improvements have been to the parking lot. Some of the parking lot has been subdivided and will be either leased or sold to commercial businesses, such as restaurants and banks.