Gainesville, FL – On February 19, Optym celebrated the grand opening of its new corporate headquarters building in Gainesville, FL. Festivities included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a visit from Florida Governor Rick Scott, entertainment by Gosia & Ali and a buffet dinner catered by Mark’s Prime. The company also held a mini-conference, called Convergence, featuring sessions and panel discussions with its clients.
The occasion marks a major milestone for the firm after it spent the last 10 years in the city’s GTEC (Gainesville Technology Entrepreneurship Center) incubator building.
“The move to our own building represents a significant moment in our company’s history,” said Dr. Ravindra K. Ahuja, the company’s Founding President and CEO. “We are poised for major growth in the coming year as we serve more clients worldwide in the transportation industry and expand into new sectors such a city planning and shared mobility.”
Optym purchased the three-building complex in 2014 when only the shells had been completed. Two of the three buildings in the nearly 30,000-square-foot modern facility have since undergone several months of build-out and renovation; plans for the third building’s renovation will soon be underway. Once that phase is complete, the property will have room for up to 200 team members in order to accommodate Optym’s planned growth over the next several years.
The project was led by Optym Graphic Designer Pauline Forgeard-Grignon; she and Creative Director Sam Ahuja were the driving forces behind the layout, design and features of the new building. The team blended modern touches with elements of nature and took advantage of the building’s floor-to-ceiling windows – resulting in an environment that meshes with the natural surroundings of the property. But aesthetics weren’t the only motivation behind the design.
“We wanted to create a space that addresses all of the technological and ergonomic needs of our engineers,” said Forgeard-Grignon. “Our industry also requires a lot of electricity, so we wanted to make our building as efficient as it could possibly be with energy-saving devices such as motion detector lights. Finally, we honored our multi-cultural staff with facilities that address their needs, including a meditation room and microwaves designated as vegan or pork-free.”
The grand opening is the pinnacle of a year-long transformation of the company that included a new name, logo, color scheme and approach to the production of its products.