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You may not realize it, but if you
have flown in an airplane, shopped at a grocery store, used an ATM,
or filled your car with gasoline in the past ten years, then you have
used the services of Fairfield's Donatech Corporation, which is
celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year.
A National Reputation for Software Testing
As one of the companies that has helped make Fairfield the high-tech capital of Iowa, Donatech specializes in the art and science of software development and testing. Working with Fortune 500 companies, Donatech has achieved a national reputation for its work in the formalized testing of complex software programs. These programs include common software applications such as accounting and airline reservation, and also unusual, even life-or-death applications such as controlling an airplane's flight management system, autopilot, weather radar, and global positioning system.
Real-time software, which is one of Donatech's areas of specialization, is also used to manage factory robots and telephone-switching equipment. Errors in applications such as these can prove costly or even hazardous, especially if they involve software with millions of pathways. This is where Donatech comes in&emdash;assuring clients that the programs are correct and error free.
"You can't live in the United States or in many parts of the world without using a product Donatech has either developed or helped in developing," says Michael Mendocha, an electronic engineer who heads Business Development for the company.
The Early Decision to Specialize
Founded in 1986 by Rob Glazier with a handful of employees under the name Glazier Electronics Systems Group, Donatech has grown rapidly to become one of Fairfield's most successful high-tech companies. Part of the company's success is attributed to the founder's early decision to specialize in the testing niche of the software industry, with a focus on the testing of real-time software applications. With real-time activities, you have to deal with events that are taking place from moment to moment. This means that you don't have the luxury of placing those events on hold to garner time to decide how to proceed next.
For this reason, software that deals with real-time events is far more demanding to design and test. So far, however, Donatech has lived up to the vision of its founder&emdash;to strive towards the highest ideal of correctness in researching and testing software that is pertinent to everyday living.
This devotion to excellence results in software products which its clients can use with a high degree of confidence. According to Glazier, "We are one of the fastest growing information technology companies in the area, and we have been financially solid since we began. We're looking forward to diversifying our technological niche, as well as enjoying the growth potential that is there."
Excellence in Service Brings Fulfillment to Employees & Clients Alike
Glazier has 26 years of experience in software services, engineering management, and applications development in the aerospace, finance, manufacturing, and communication industries. As we talk about what the future holds for the company, he smiles and laughs as softly as he speaks. "We have the support of nature," he says. "There are myriads of projects for us. Over the years we've been able to do a lot of work that relates to my engineering background." He pauses for a lengthy moment, and then speaks as one would while giving assurance of some sort. "Our goal is to increase the number of customers we serve. We are a service company. We want to help our customers as much as possible."
Glazier's background includes management positions at General Atomic Company, Oak Industries, and General Dynamics. Since founding Donatech, he has served as program manager for over 20 software development projects, including Windows applications development, client/server database programs, integrated PC products, and real-time embedded systems.
"I love working here," says Mendocha enthusiastically. "Who wouldn't? We're contributing to developing things that help people every day&emdash;airplanes, ATM's, barcode scanners in grocery stores, and telephone systems. There is great fulfillment in that."
A visitor to the company is struck with the great corporate culture that exists there. These days it's not unusual to walk into a company and find that no one cares about your presence. This is not the case at Donatech. You are attended to the moment you walk into the office. The broad smiles on the faces of the employees hardly reveal the serious work that the company does. Nothing seems out of place, and no one seems to be in an excessive hurry&emdash;not the managers, not the employees.
"It feels good to deal with people&emdash;good people," Glazier tells me. "Our business is to help people. And while helping them, we help our business."
Matching Skilled Engineers with Software Assignments
The recruiting and sales personnel who work for the company include engineers who are highly trained. They oversee the placement of new hires, ensuring that their skills and career goals are correctly matched with the assignments. "We are continually bringing software professionals into the company," says Senior Recruiter Randy Smith. "New employees come here and have the opportunity to work on challenging and diverse projects in a stable, steady work environment, and they appreciate it."
Many highly experienced computer software engineers have been pleased to discover that they "weren't required to sacrifice anything in terms of professional development" in order to move to Fairfield and work at Donatech. Among the benefits Donatech's employees choose from are 401K, medical and long-term disability plans, and paid vacations. Salaries at the company are competitive with those in big-city environments, and programmers also have the chance to work in leading-edge technologies.
Adding to their skills is very important to software and engineering professionals. For example, one of Donatech's very first employees, Bob Butler, who has been with the company for ten years, recalls, "When Rob asked me to be a part of Donatech's first team, the idea of working on airplanes was beyond my conception. I decided to give it a shot. I had a huge learning curve, but was able to rise to the challenge. Now I'm considered an avionics software expert!" he says with a hearty laugh.
The key to any company's success is finding, employing, and keeping top-notch people that help the company grow. Like most of the companies in Fairfield, Donatech has found a way to meet this challenge. Nearly half of Donatech's programmers throughout the last ten years have been graduates of Maharishi University of Management. The company describes their MUM graduates as outstanding, and attributes their abilities to the university's excellent computer science and electrical engineering programs and faculty.
A Second Office in Cedar Rapids
Donatech is located at 116 West Burlington, right in the heart of Fairfield. For over ten years it has helped to fuel the economy of the city. In addition to its Fairfield home, Donatech provides offsite project management for a diverse customer base at its Cedar Rapids, Iowa, location.
Donatech's Future Looks Promising As Testing Demands Grow
According to Glazier, the future looks bright for the company. It will continue to develop tomorrow's avionics, industrial electronics, and telecommunications technologies for its Fortune 500 clients. With computer hardware getting faster and more capable, and with applications getting increasingly complex, the demand for advanced development and testing technologies continues to grow.
As a company whose aim is to apply its expertise at the forefront of technology and keep pace with the best, Donatech plans to provide the innovative technologies to fill the need of the industry and fuel its own growth. "As we celebrate this ten-year milestone," says Glazier, "We would like to express our gratitude to Maharishi University of Management, to all of the brilliant software professionals and engineers who throughout the years have lent their expertise and contributed to Donatech's success, and to everyone in Iowa who has supported us and given us the opportunity to grow and be a part of this great community."
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