The employee benefit software provider recently signed a lease at 1 Antares Dr. after spending months waiting for the Woodward Avenue office to be restored. Asbestos discovered in the building prevented that from happening, and president and founder Michael de Waal decided it was time to stop shuffling around with various subleases and sign a lease to stay put on Antares Drive.
Despite the office’s upheaval last year, many employees stuck around – working on plastic picnic tables from Canadian Tire in a small office so warm it felt like shorts weather year-round, Mr. de Waal said. They used fire-damaged computers recovered from the fire.
Now, nearly complete renovations include new servers, computer systems, cubicles and furniture. Not everyone stuck around to see the progress, however.
“We did lose some employees,” Mr. de Waal said. “But we’ve been left with a strong, core team. I think that’s been good for us. The people that are here want to be here.”
Those employees have been helping to secure recent deals including a three-year multi-million dollar contract with a prominent Canadian bank and a contract with LifeMap Assurance Co. worth more than $1 million over the next 12 months.
Global IQX didn’t see the growth it expected during 2012, choosing to focus on satisfying existing customers while dealing with its office space situation.
That meant that the company’s earnings dipped a bit, Mr. de Waal said without disclosing specifics about the private company’s finances.
“Some of the growth we thought we would have didn’t happen,” he said. “Now, we’re looking forward to the growth we should have had.”
He projects revenues will increase 50 per cent in 2013, and plans to hire an additional eight employees to the staff of 37 by the end of the company’s third quarter.
Established in 1999, Global IQX specializes in coding and rating employee benefits for insurance companies.
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