as published in the Barrie Examiner

News Release
Community News - Monday, April 30, 2007 Updated @ 1:25:35 PM

Barrie businesses applaud Meric's launch

A car dealership, a construction company, an insurance brokerage... All three businesses and their owners applauded the launch of Meric Computing & Internetworking Friday afternoon.

Speaking at the official opening of meric, located in Barrie's newest professional building on Quarry Ridge Rd, all three company owners are well established Barrie businesses. All three needed sophisticated communications and data protection and retrieval. All three chose Meric for the job.

Ted Shaw, of Schmidt & Shaw; Lisa Bertram of Bertram Construction; Jeff Mitchell of J.C. Mitchell Insurance told dozens of attendees that using the broad services of Meric has streamlined their communications and data capability.

For Schmidt & Shaw, Meric built the entire data and communications backbone for their millions-dollar facility on Blake St.

For Bertram, Meric assembled systems, coordinated comprehensive protection of data and communications, making it possible to have wireless technology on every jobsite.

For J.C. Mitchell Insurance, Meric continues to install, service and oversee important data retrieval capacity.

Also on hand were M.P. Patrick Brown and M.P.P. Joe Tascona who brought congratulations certificates from both levels of government.

Michael Mowbray, owner of Meric, told his guests that he chose Barrie as his business base because of its impressive and continued growth. His extensive background in communications engineering and technology means he's a one-stop shop.

"When businesses use Meric, there's only one throat to choke!" he pointed out. "There is no finger pointing at the internet provider, or the hardware sales point, or the software supplier. Because I coordinate and install and service everything, it works together."

Mowbray brings with Meric a decade of radar technical service and land communications with the Department of National Defence. Following his DND contracts, he was a senior network analyst maintaining global networks with William Mercer, insurance, adjustment, pension funds manager in Toronto.

After completing his engineering technologist papers at Seneca, Mowbray added to his impressive list ofo skills and performed consulting services at Telus Network Operations Centre. Meric's customer base includes a blend of corporate and small business clients who require quality equipment, software, service and the ability to build and maintain communications behind the scenes. Meric regularly maintains communications technology and computer data systems for a number of sole proprietor offices as well as large companies. He recently completed re-cabling 12 floors of Mt Sinai Hospital in downtown Toronto.

"Building this very specific data and communications backbone vastly increased Sinai's ability to look after critical care units, laboratory work, inter-department communications.

"I upgraded their backbone so all computer plumbing was in place to allow them to upgrade their communications capabilities," says Mowbray.

Meric Computing & Internetworking is launching in Barrie to facilitate the powerful communications requirements needed by today's sophisticated