By Beth Kassab, Sentinel Columnist
Orlando Sentinel
Copyright 2007 Sentinel Communications Co.
ORLANDO, Fla. — There’s a new, highly unusual product being manufactured right in our backyard: gunshot and explosion wounds.
Only these are the kind that don’t kill. They’re intended to save lives.
And they’re creating jobs and a new revenue stream for a local company to boot.
Virtual Reality Medical Center, based in San Diego, is joining with TeKONTROL, a growing logistics and training firm with headquarters in west Orlando’s Parramore neighborhood.
Together the companies are creating “wound kits” that can easily be used by soldiers or police and paramedics to hone their ability to assess and treat severe trauma.
The “next generation injury creation science” is an excellent case of how Orlando’s flourishing simulation industry attracted an out-of-state company to set up an office here — without nudging from state or local incentives, mind you — that is now pumping dollars into local businesses. If only we could repeat that more often.
While Parramore struggles with crime, this example shows that the encouragement of economic growth is still taking place.
TeKONTROL is a perfect partner, says VRMC’s Dr. Mark Wiederhold, because of its expertise in medical and military training. And VRMC can provide a new product and training exercises to TeKONTROL’s training curriculum.
“This is the first part in a very long-range plan to expand,” said TeKONTROL chief executive Tom Kornegay, who started the privately held firm nearly 20 years ago after he retired from the Naval Training Systems Center.
Right now the wound factory at the company’s West Amelia Street facility where VRMC is leasing space from TeKONTROL is about 2,000 square feet with room to expand.
The technology is being developed through a grant from the U.S. Army and the goal is to make the “wounds” fast and easy to apply so that soldiers or first responders in the United States can use them in the field for on-the-spot training.
“You’ll think it’s the real thing and that’s what we’re looking for,” Wiederhold told me. “I don’t like to use the word Hollywood, but . . . “
The “wounds” allow trainees to sharpen their expertise on assessing bullet entry and exit points as well as injuries caused by explosives. In addition to the technical training, the wounds help prepare soldiers and police psychologically for what they may see in combat or at crime scenes.
VRMC, which also works on rehabilitation science and other products, is planning on opening an office in the medical complex taking shape in Lake Nona alongside the University of Central Florida’s medical school.
Kornegay’s company has prospered in recent years, going from about $4 million in revenue in 1999 to $12.5 million last year. Most of its contracts come from the federal government such as one to run a post office on a Georgia military base, in addition to foreign work such as training NATO troops. He employs about 60 people, but many work abroad on U.S. government and foreign government contracts, such as one to train staff for a new hospital in Egypt.
While VRMC and TeKONTROL are not the only success stories, it’s this type of partnership that will continue to enhance the city’s reputation as a simulation hub and win new business.