In tech news from the Triangle and just beyond:

  • Counter Culture Coffee expands
  • RT Cleantech Cluster grows
  • COR365 buys SC Data
  • Infranet and WebPoint IT merge

The details:

  • Counter Culture Coffee Expands to Los Angeles, Announces Plans to Open Coffee Training Centers in Seattle, Dallas and Miami for a Total of 14 Cities Nationwide

Source: Counter Culture Coffee

DURHAM – Counter Culture Coffee, the North Carolina-based coffee roaster, will open its 11th training center nationwide this week in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. This opening follows the company’s initial expansion to the West Coast in 2015, when it opened a roastery & training center in the Bay Area. Their unique training centers offer extensive coffee education programs and support for industry professionals as well as regular tastings and coffee brewing classes for the public. The company is also announcing that in the coming year, it will open three additional training centers across the country in Seattle, WA; Dallas, TX and Miami, FL, bringing their unique approach to coffee education to professionals and the public to fourteen cities across the country.

“We are thrilled to become a part of the vibrant coffee community in Los Angeles this year,” said founder Brett Smith. “We look forward to welcoming people who are coffee-driven to come learn with us, and we are excited to bring our innovative approach to coffee to Seattle, Dallas and Miami in the near future.”

  • Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster grows

Source: RTCC

CARY – The Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster (RTCC) announces double-digit growth in its membership base over the last six months, adding 25 members since January 1. The organization creates a competitive advantage for the region by strategically focusing business, government, nonprofit, and academic stakeholders to promote cleantech innovation, regional growth, and international, market opportunities. RTCC aims to add 100 new members by July 2017 and will formally announce this goal and a new business plan at RTCC’s Annual Meeting Luncheon on September 7th, featuring Simon Hansen with the C40 Cities initiative.

Membership growth in the cluster is due to a more financially-accessible model and the anticipated growth of the cluster overall. According to an RTI International study on Talent Needs in the Energy and Technology Sector, the cluster is poised to create approximately 3,300 new, cleantech jobs over the next two years. To reflect the diversity of firms in the region, RTCC’s Board of Directors approved a tiered, membership structurelate last year that provides access for industry and professional services firms based on their employee base in NC and adds a new membership category for academic, nonprofit, and municipal members. The region’s three tier-1 research universities, Duke University, NC State University, and UNC-Chapel Hill, have joined RTCC under the new membership model.

“The Research Triangle Region has an opportunity to leverage our unique composition of fortune 500, mid-size, and start-up companies and leading research institutions to develop technologies that deliver clean, efficient sources of energy, alternative modes of transportation, and adequate clean water,” said Jenn Bosser, Executive Director for RTCC. New members include organizations that specialize in products or services that broaden the scope of the cleantech cluster, including the internet of things, smart metering, real-time analytics, building technologies, renewables, and emerging technologies that create more sustainable, efficient, and resilient communities and cities.

  • COR365 Information Solutions buys SC Data in Raleigh

Source: COR365

WINSTON-SALEM – COR365 Information Solutions, a leading records and information management service provider throughout NC, has acquired SC Data Inc. of Raleigh, NC. SC Data has served the Triangle with data processing, document scanning and digitization, record and media storage and secure delivery services for almost 45 years.

“We were looking for a buyer that would bring the same level of commitment to both our clients and employees that we have had over the years,” said former owner Diane Merritt. “We believe we have a lot in common. COR365 has integrity and strives for long term customer relationships.”

Chris Kelley, CEO of COR365 stated, “We are excited about this addition to the COR365 family as it greatly strengthens our position in the Triangle market. We will be adding the former SC Data staff to our COR365 ranks and will continue to offer clients the innovative solutions, absolute security and unsurpassed customer care they have come to expect, 24/7/365.”

  • Infranet Technologies Group merges with WebPoint IT Solutions

Source: Infranet Technologies

WILMINGTON, NC — Infranet Technologies Group, the North Carolina based IT infrastructure solutions and management company, has announced its merger with WebPoint IT Solutions, a regional IT Managed Services Provider headquartered in Rocky Mount, NC.

After several months of collaboration between the two companies, Infranet and WebPoint have completed a merger that will bring the two companies together. The resultant merger forms a technology solutions company that will deliver a higher level of service for clients through combined resources, experience and access to greater technological advancements. Serving small to enterprise-level businesses across various vertical industries, the combined company has grown to around 60 employees and operates offices in Wilmington, NC; Rocky Mount, NC; Raleigh, NC; and Richmond, VA.