Fast-growing tech firm moving to Grandview Yard
October 20th, 2017
Tristan Navera, Columbus Business First
A young technology company is moving its headquarters to Grandview Yard as it plans to continue its growth.will be fully moved into its new offices in 8,000 square feet at 800 Yard Street by the end of the month.
FMX CEO Jeff Wilkins said the software firm needed new space to continue scaling. After its 2012 founding it moved into 1515 Lake Shore Drive when it had three employees. Now it has 30.
“The company has been growing very nicely with a solid customer base in the United States and all over the world,” said Wilkins, a serial entrepreneur who previously founded CompuServe Corp. and took an equity stake in FMX in 2013. “The product has been well received in the marketplace and that drives growth.”
Jeff Wilkins is now CEO at Facilities Management eXpress. Photographer: Kyle David Widder
The company’s software helps building managers handle work flow and plan maintenance. It also interacts with building systems like HVAC, and will control large facilities and environmental systems, which is a big plus for organizations trying to save money.
The company picked Grandview Yard after looking all over the city for new space, especially around downtown and Dublin. It picked Grandview Yard, though, because the amenities in the development resonated well with FMXemployees. While 8,000 square feet is more space than the technology company needs today, it should be able to comfortably grow there, Wilkins said.
Founded by engineers Brian Gregory and Todd Mace, FMX develops cloud-based facilities management software. It started working mainly with small and medium-sized manufacturers, property managers and schools, but has since expanded to government, religious organizations, sports teams and zoos — anywhere that has big facilities to maintain.
There are now close to 600 customers and 120,000 users on the company’s products. Among those clients are Nike, the San Diego Padres, the Columbus Zoo, Nationwide Arena, and most of the schools in Central Ohio. But its customer base is global, with some users as far away as Saudi Arabia.
Facilities management software has been a business since the personal computer was invented, Wilkins said. But many of these products have grown more complicated and less usable. FMX has landed its niche with customers who do planning on Excel spreadsheets or who don’t want to use an unnecessarily complicated system. It offers a 30-day trial to let people use it, and as a result “the product sells itself.”
“It’s highly configurable so we can adapt to the way people do work,” Wilkins said.
While it’s a younger-than-average company to land in Grandview Yard, Wilkins said Brian Ellis, president and COO of Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd., helped FMX find a place there.
Brett Cisler of Colliers International and Wayne Harer of Continental Realty also helped broker the deal to bring the company to its new space.
Click here for the original article.