Ugobe move boosts Eagle tech corridor 

The company that makes Pleo, a sophisticated interactive robotic dinosaur, has moved back to Idaho. Officials at Ugobe announced on Saturday the firm would pull up stakes in Emeryville, Calif. to consolidate sales and operations with its existing design and R&D facility in Eagle. The move makes Ugobe, which invented the Jurassic-era Camarasaurus “Life Form” about three years ago, a cornerstone of Eagle’s potential technology corridor.

"Pleo and our Life-Form technology started right here in Idaho,” Ugobe co-founder and chief technology officer John Sosoka said in a release. “Ugobe’s headquarters were later established in Emeryville. As the corporate and R&D teams traveled between California and Idaho, the benefits of consolidating in Eagle became apparent.

“The depth and loyalty of the technical work force, the pro-business attitudes of Eagle and the state government's support for new technology made this an easy decision,” he added. “We are delighted to have the international attention on Pleo being directed to Eagle.”

Pleo was called one of the best inventions of 2006 by Time Magazine and has been featured by The Wall Street Journal, ABC’s “Nightline,” “The Today Show, Australia” and Wired magazine. The company operates a 9,000-square-foot R&D facility in Eagle, and may bring in about 60 more workers, according to Eagle Mayor Phil Bandy.

“We’re excited to have them relocate here. They’ve had their research and development folks here for a little while… and I think they just saw they could take advantage of our educated work force here in the Valley,” he said.

“We were presented with a compelling business case for headquartering our company in Eagle,” said Ugobe CEO Liz Gasper. “The dedicated efforts of the Eagle Chamber of Commerce, the Idaho Department of Commerce and Idaho Economic Advisory Council Chairman and former Apple Computer executive C. Lloyd Mahaffey caused us to consider the key benefits of business costs, work force and quality of life that ultimately prompted us to relocate our headquarters to Eagle.”

Eagle and Star officials hope that Ugobe’s return will usher in other tech firms, adding to a growing number of businesses planned to make up the Eagle-Star Technology Corridor – a potential area specially zoned to foster and develop tech companies. Bandy said it could become a model for the rest of the state.

“If we can get this tech corridor idea piloted and successful, then perhaps eastern Idaho and northern Idaho could be able to take advantage of a similar effort,” he said.

The state is excited about Ugobe’s return to the Treasure Valley as well, celebrating the move as a prime example of the Department of Commerce’s “top-to-top” strategy of using home-grown executives to reach out and attract out-of-state colleagues. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter released a statement saying the move fits right in with his Project 60 initiative to increase the state’s gross domestic product from $51.5 billion to $60 billion before he leaves office.

“Our best salesmen are the folks who already live, work and raise families here. They know the quality of life, the quality of our work force and the kind of business climate that appeals to those with entrepreneurial spirit,” Otter said in the statement. “We're pushing economic opportunity on a number of fronts, and I'm proud of the great example being set by the community of Eagle.”

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