Highlander Technologies History

Highlander Technologies was founded in Michigan in 1995. The primary business focus for Highlander Technologies was embedded systems development, with a specialization in vehicle networking technology. Highlander Technologies obtained several contract engineering assignments with Ford Motor Company, while concurrently developing its first proprietary product for vehicle networking, the VNIC. The first VNIC supported ISO-9141 and CAN vehicle protocols, with J1850 and GM-ALDL added in the ensuing months. The EZ-Link Windows® application was created to support the VNIC products.

In support of its own products, Highlander Technologies created an in-house surface-mount assembly operation in 1996. Highlander Technologies acquired contract manufacturing projects to maximize the use of these facilities. When a partnership was created with an external manufacturer, the in-house assembly operation was discontinued. Highlander Technologies maintains its low-volume surface-mount assembly capabilities.

As Highlander Technologies continued its evolution, the company began forming alliances with many engineering support companies. Highlander Technologies became the Michigan representative for Emulation Technology, and became a distributor for ChipTools® and Systems and Software, Inc. embedded development tools.

In continuing growth, Highlander Technologies became authorized as a Microsoft® Solution Provider, and an IBM® business partner. Highlander Technologies also was an authorized IBM value-added reseller, authorized ACER Computer and Peripheral dealer, and ACER Open component dealer. With these alliances in place, Highlander Technologies began its migration to computer systems integration, networking, and Internet development, which including web design and hosting activities.