Software Company Breaks Ground On Office Complex

By CANDACE J. SAMOLINSKI csamolinski@tampatrib.com
Tampa Tribune
Published: Apr 1, 2006

A technology company that credits its creativity to its diverse work force is coming to Telecom Park in Temple Terrace.

Quadrant Software broke ground on its $2 million, 10,000-square-foot office complex Monday. The building is scheduled to be completed by September. The headquarters is spread among three cramped rooms in a building on North Dale Mabry Highway.

The company was lured to Florida from Boston in part by the state's Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program, said Quadrant spokesman Daniel Kuperman.

On Tuesday, the Temple Terrace City Council will decide whether to approve paying the city's 10 percent share of the state tax refund program, which amounts to $10,000 spread over six years. The QTI program will make Quadrant eligible for $20,000 in tax refunds, in exchange for creating 25 new jobs with average annual wages exceeding $47,000, according to city documents. Telecom Park was chosen because of its high-tech underground fiber-optic system, which will enable Quadrant to communicate efficiently with its worldwide customer base.

Sunshine and a diverse community also made the area attractive, Kuperman said.

"People talk about 'Southern hospitality,' but it was really interesting to see that in terms of how people at the [Greater Temple Terrace] Chamber of Commerce and the city responded to the company."

What began as a company of three employees in co-founder Peter DePierro's Massachusetts' home has grown to three offices, in Boston, the United Kingdom and the temporary headquarters on Dale Mabry, Kuperman said. It serves about 3,500 customers.

The company is best known for its Paperless Process Management software that allows companies to do everything from placing orders to tracking shipments to paying bills.

The company prides itself on diversity, said Kuperman, who hails from Brazil. Its 60 employees come from the United States, India, Central America and the Caribbean.

The smaller staff allows employees to embrace one another's differences, Kuperman said. To give back to the community, employees are given a paid day off annually to do volunteer work.