Recognition reflects 76% three-year growth
SYRACUSE, N. Y. – Critical Link, LLC experts in embedded systems, system on modules (SOMs), and imaging systems for electronic applications, has been selected as one of Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest-growing, privately-held companies in America for 2018. With 2017 revenues of $11.7 million and the company’s extraordinary 76% growth rate over the past 3 years, Critical Link has earned the No. 4366 spot on this prestigious list of North American entrepreneurs.
John Fayos, Critical Link’s president, notes, “I’m incredibly proud of the strides we’ve made in the increasingly competitive SOM market. Our reputation as a provider of high-quality, long-lifespan embedded electronics has driven growth with industrial, commercial, and medical customers around the world.”
Critical Link is one of four embedded electronics companies on the 2018 Inc. 5000 list, and the only embedded electronics company that provides off-the-shelf board level solutions. The company specializes in system on chip (SoC), image sensor integration, field-programmable gate array (FPGA) designs, vision protocols, and signal processing.
Critical Link’s remarkable growth is due, in part, to pioneering innovative embedded systems technology and products, such as the recently introduced MitySOM-A10S-DSC processor board for the next generation of embedded imaging applications.
Highly-configurable with dual-side connectors (DSC) for stack-through construction, the advanced system on module is built around the Intel®/Altera Arria® 10 SoC processor with dual core ARM. The company’s new A10S-DSC board is ideal for applications in industrial instrumentation, test and measurement, medical imaging, robotics, process automation and control and more. To learn more about Critical Link’s MitySOM-A10S-DSC, please visit: https://www.criticallink.com/product/mitysom-a10s-dual-side-connectors/.
For more information about the company’s custom imaging design, product development, and full lifecycle engineering support services, please go to: https://www.criticallink.com/services/.
While this is the first time Critical Link has made the list, it’s seen continuous growth since it was founded by four former Sensis employees in 1997. The company is poised to continue its growth with projected 2018 revenue of $13M. Critical Link’s sustained success is in large part attributed to a shift in focus—from services to products.
“For most of our history we’ve primarily been an engineering services firm,” Fayos explains. “In 2004 we made a strategic business decision to enter into the product space. It’s taken some time, but today about 75% of Critical Link’s revenue comes from our embedded board products.”
The company recently announced the launch of its latest design—the MitySOM® A10S System on Module which is built around the Intel/Altera Arria® 10 SoC processor for industrial applications. Although general availability won’t be until this fall, Critical Link is already seeing traction with customers in process automation, medical imaging, industrial robotics, and more.
ABOUT THE COMPANY:
Critical Link, LLC (Syracuse, NY www.criticallink.com), founded in 1997, develops embedded systems solutions, system on modules (SOMs) and imaging systems for a wide variety of electronic applications. As experts in image sensor technology, system on chip (SoC) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) design, signal processing, and vision protocols, we support all product development tasks, from concept to final production.
Our flexibility allows us to deliver full lifecycle support and services at any step along the product development path. From hardware, firmware, and software development, to prototyping and manufacture/assembly, Critical Link is committed to helping our OEM customers reach their project goals quickly and cost-effectively.
Privately held, Critical Link is a Platinum member of the Intel FPGA Design Services Network and Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, and a certified member of the Arrow Consulting Engineering Services (ACES) network.
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The new Arria 10 SoC board-level solution features dual-side connectors making it ideal for industrial camera designs with advanced image processing requirements.
“Our off-the-shelf development platforms assist clients in launching their products more rapidly and at lower costs. We are not industry-specific and work with dozens of unrelated industries from transportation to medical to industrial manufacturing,” says Fayos, President of Critical Link. As an embedded systems development firm, Critical Link has developed embedded solutions such as MityDSP and MitySOM that form the foundation for almost every one of their custom electronic designs. These solutions are designed for long lifetime and bolstered by tools and professional support to guarantee product success in the market.
Hard to believe, but it was twenty years ago this past summer that four young (or youngish) embedded systems engineers – John Fayos, Omar Rahim, Dave Rice, and myself – got together and founded Critical Link. And here we are, maybe not quite so young anymore, but all still together, working closely with our customers to help get their products to market faster than if they built them from scratch. I don’t know if there are stats readily available about our staying power – all of our “founding fathers” still working together – but I have to imagine that this is a rare accomplishment.
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