Value One

People are our most treasured asset. We treat everyone with respect, dignity and fairness, and we offer opportunities for personal growth. We are an empowered organization, but also highly accountable for all of our actions. Our work culture values internal and external collaboration, open information sharing, continuous learning, fiscal responsibility, transparency in our decisions, and we leverage speed, simplicity, and focus as a part of our competitive advantage.

MATRIC believes that an organization is only as strong as the employees who represent that organization to its customers, vendors and the community. The manner in which a company interacts with its employees often determines the fate of the organization. MATRIC is fortunate to have a highly- dedicated and professional staff at every level that go above and beyond the expected to deliver quality services and products. As a leadership team it is our responsibility to see that people remain our number one priority and that respect, dignity and fairness are the benchmarks against which we measure our interactions.

• Even after the Marconi acquisition FORE spun off a number of new technology companies, employing hundreds of people and raising hundreds of millions in venture capital.  
• An example of just one of the successes of FORE was Spinnaker Networks, which was eventually sold to Network Appliance for $300 million.  
• FORE repeatedly impacted the Pittsburgh region through the number of seasoned entrepreneurs it brought to the region and many former FORE entrepreneurs channeled their passion into starting new companies, and advising others.  
• In addition, many of the FORE alumni made generous donations to the arts, education and other nonprofits.  
• Finally, a new group of wealthy individuals emerged after the Marconi acquisition. These individuals invested in venture funds and made angel investments in other local early-stage companies. And existing organizations enjoyed the additional recognition and credibility to the area.  

• The initial research came out of a research base funded by Federal resources, the initial research on (ATM) switching (FORE’s primary technology) began in the late 80’s at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) through government funding.
  
  The FORE research was able to be commercialized above and beyond its initial government customers largely because Pittsburgh already had a commercialization support infrastructure base through the organizations such as the Ben Franklin Centers and InnovationWorks. These organizations provided much of the initial seed funding and technical assistance.
• It could be argued that much of the success of FORE was due to perfect timing. ATM became all the rage as the entire concept of “voice/video/data convergence” was overtaking the telecom industry. The telecom bubble of the late ‘90s began as FORE was at exactly the right point. The Company was off the ground, had proven technology and the technology offered many advantages for new applications and technology trends in the industry.
  
  Even though the big hit with FORE may have been due in part because of great timing – the region had already laid the foundation to do many, many deals through Ben Franklin.    

Our first MATRIC STAR Employee of the year so impressed one of our prime contractors by his professionalism that they wrote a letter praising him. This employee took the lead in developing and delivering an excellent product. He made sure all the relevant parties were included in the product review at all stages. As is sometimes the case with the government, when the product was delivered, the government customer indicated that the wrong profile had been used in the development of the product even though they had approved the design and reviewed each stage of the development. Our employee was incredibly gracious, apologizing for “misunderstanding” the design concept and offering to make the changes immediately. In the letter, the prime contractor stated: “The way he stepped up in the situation without a hint of resentment really demonstrates to me that he is focused and dedicated and will not allow anything to stand in the way of delivering a quality product and providing excellent service. If he doesn’t deserve an award, then I absolutely don’t know who does.” Of course, we at MATRIC recognized these qualities in this individual from the beginning of his employment. For his outstanding customer service and dedication to quality, we honor John “Jay” Long as the Advanced Engineering Systems 2009 STAR employee.

The second MATRIC STAR Employee of the year has an outstanding breadth of knowledge of laboratory operations. He was a team member in MATRIC's very first laboratory projects and he has helped to greatly expand our experimental capabilities since that time. He is always upbeat and willing to help anyone in any way. His can-do attitude and his range of experience have contributed greatly to our success, and he is always looking for ways to improve MATRIC's operations. This year he has made excellent contributions to our progress in three major projects, which are expected to lead to further R&D opportunities for MATRIC. For his strong technical contributions and enthusiastic participation in MATRIC’s development, we honor Paul Aubry as a Chemical & Environmental Technologies 2009 STAR Employee.

The next MATRIC STAR employee brings a wide range of engineering capabilities to MATRIC. Over the past year he has been very active in the evaluation of potential new processes through process simulation and economic modeling studies. His contributions have helped guide our R&D efforts to bring the most value to our clients, and he has mentored younger staff members in these techniques. Because of his varied experience, we have asked this individual to change projects, assume leadership responsibilities, and fill in for others. He has accepted every challenge with good grace and professionalism. This year he was instrumental in writing a proposal and winning a major project involving development of a technology licensing package. For his hard work and dedication to excellence, we honor Kevin Roy as a Chemical and Environmental Technologies 2009 STAR Employee.