BLOC Digital recently cut the ribbon on their new office in Mentor’s historic Matchworks Building.
This UK-based firm was founded in the 2000 as a 3-D modeling and animation studio. Since then, they have evolved into a digital solutions company that serves engineering and manufacturing companies. Recently they’ve branched into immersive technologies including virtual reality and industrial IOT.
Their client base includes world-renown organizations like Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Range Rover, and the military.
They’ve had their eye on opening an operation in the US and as luck would have it, a contingent from Mentor was there to tell our story.
The journey started several years ago when BLOC founder Keith Cox, and partner, Christopher Hotham, met the Mentor Internation Trade Initiative (MITI) team at an East Midlands Chamber of Commerce event in the UK.
The duo related that at some point BLOC was interested in expanding in the US. The MITI contingent told them what Mentor had to offer and asked that they consider visiting when they were ready to make a move.
Cox and Hotham were convinced that a “look around” was warranted so they hopped on a plane shortly thereafter. By the time they left, they knew that Mentor was where they needed to be.
So why did they choose Mentor as the location of their North American headquarters? That’s simple. This is where the customers are.
BLOC had a choice of moving to Silicon Valley and being surrounded by their competitors in a tech environment or being surrounded by their customers in an engineering and industrial environment. According to Cox, the decision was a no-brainer.
And, they have hit the ground running. With the start-up crew in, they have already secured their first US contracts with a Northeast Ohio native leading the team.
Business Manager Mckenna Walker has a background in mechanical engineering and has worked on a variety of projects across the US and in Europe after getting her degree from Syracuse University. She is happy to be back home to lead the team as they grow their US operations. The Mentor office will staff up to 20 people over the next 18 months and they already have an eye on expansion. Cox is confident that the US operation will rival that of their UK office which currently hosts over 60 employees.
The city of Mentor thanks BLOC Digital for their investment in our community and we wish them future success.
Learn more about them at www.bloc.digital.