With contracts from the United States Air Force, the Army Corp of Engineers, and the National Science Foundation, Daniel Turner and Stephen Carter, co-founders of TRAXyL, Inc. have met their customers’ needs across the nation for years. Yet when it came time to find office and manufacturing space, they knew where they wanted to be: home in Prince William County.
“This is our first real office, not counting the home, garage, and co-working spaces,” said Turner, co-founder and CEO. “We badly needed the space to research, develop, and test our FiberTRAXtor fiber install machine.”
Both Turner and Carter grew up in Prince William County and are returning to their roots with a new headquarters location at 7669 Limestone Drive in Gainesville, VA. Founded in 2014, the startup information technology and telecommunications firm primarily focuses on developing equipment to lay fiber optic cables into existing road or runway infrastructure as well as in rural neighborhoods.
"Prince William County is a great location where we can interact with both our government and commercial customers," said Turner. "It is much more affordable than counties closer to D.C., yet still has robust infrastructure necessary to support our growing business."
TRAXyL has already worked on pilot programs with several internet service providers. By continuing to win contracts and finding new funding sources, Turner and Carter said they plan to grow the team and bring on new talent.
“We believe that there is some great engineering talent available in Prince William County who definitely want to come work with a startup and are tired of making the commute towards D.C.,” said Turner. “In fact, our first hire lives in Manassas so we are already executing this plan. We are excited to make Prince William our home.”
Appealing to entrepreneurs remains a top priority for Prince William County, including an emphasis on building a community culture focused on innovative resiliency.
“Our approach is to make all businesses feel like they are home, no matter the size of the business,” said Christina Winn, executive director of the Prince William County Department of Economic Development. “Start-ups bring high-growth energy, and those business can benefit from the low cost of entry our county provides.”
Today the Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved a $25,000 grant from the Economic Development Opportunity Fund (EDOF) to assist the company during the relocation.
“Building and retaining a robust economy remains a priority focus of our strategic plan,” said Ann Wheeler, chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. “Attracting companies like TRAXyL is an example of how we are tactically using our resources to grow jobs and investment in our community even during challenging times.”
“We are committed to building a pro-business climate through competitive opportunities,” said Brentsville District Supervisor Jeanine M. Lawson. “TRAXyL is the perfect example of an innovative company able to expand through the incentives provided by the county. The result is one that builds on the ever-increasing diversity of our economy.”