IBM

The Answer Man digs deep to find answers about the origins of IBM in Rochester and how a wartime friendship fits into the story.

Four facts about longtime Rochesterite David Schwartzkopf, who died earlier this year. But left a legacy.

IBM announced this week that two Rochester executives are being promoted to fill the state and local roles left open by the retirement of Senior State Executive Tory Johnson.

Crenlo Engineered Cabs sold its Emcor Enclosures division, which makes metal cabinets mostly for the computer industry, to California-based Jonathan Engineered Solutions on Oct. 5. Emcor's 50 employees will continue to work at the Rochester Technology Campus, formerly the IBM campus.

In October 2020, IBM announced that it would be splitting into two entities by the end of 2021. The second company, to be based in New York City, will go by the name of Kyndryl. While IBM in Rochester is a sliver of what it was from the late 1950s to the 1980s, it is believed to still be a major employer here. Of those remaining Big Blue teams, some will work for the classic IBM and some will be employed by Kyndryl.

A while back, it was announced that old Big Blue was going to be split into two companies. What does that mean for remaining IBMers on Rochester’s former IBM campus? Will “Mommy” or “Daddy” get custody of them?

Knutson Construction, a Twin Cities firm that built the original IBM facility in 1956, will soon start work on revamping its 15-year-old Med City office at 5985 Bandel Road NW. The plan is to make a $650,000 investment, which includes technology upgrades, to reposition the office for the post-pandemic world of work.

IBM Rochester owned a total of 583 acres.

The story of how a group of southeastern Minnesota software developers ended up creating one of the top remote cardiac monitor devices in the world starts with Rochester’s mix of cutting-edge technology and innovative health care.