Christchurch-owned electronics testing company Nightside Test Design has successfully hatched from the Canterbury Innovation Incubator (Cii). Nightside entered Cii in 2004 with one full-time staff member and several contractors. Two years on it emerged with a team of seven and a field sales engineer to man its new Auckland branch. Peter Brown, Nightside managing director, says expansion into Auckland is a significant step for his company and reflects the growing demand for embedded software testing and measurement services.“There’s no doubt our growth is largely due to the support Stephen Hampson, Tim Chapman and the Cii team have provided, particularly in the form of on-site mentoring and offering an objective sounding board for “what if” scenarios in the future growth of the company,” he says.“We’ve also gained invaluable contacts and access to new networks - including other companies in the incubator - and business referrals that have turned into new clients for Nightside.” Stephen Hampson, Cii CEO, says Nightside exited the incubator on a high growth path. “Perhaps most importantly Nightside has created a viable business model for future growth which is a challenge for a service-oriented company,” he says. Hampson adds that Nightside has developed a process and system that adds real value for its customers and can be duplicated into other locations in New Zealand and Australia. The company’s customer base includes major players in the embedded electronics industry such as Tait Electronics, Whispertech, Humanware and Dynamic Controls.As one of only two Certified Alliance Partners in New Zealand, Nightside uses NI LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI and TestStand - along with the NI data acquisition and control hardware to provide automated solutions for manufacturing production test applications. www.nightside.co.nz