Sweetwater buys ZipSpider
By Doug LeDuc | Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly
Fort Wayne-based Sweetwater Sound has purchased a broadband provider serving eight counties in northeast Indiana, northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan from an Angola headquarters.
Employees of ZipSpider were retained when Sweetwater closed on its purchase May 17 and the ownership transition has taken place without billing or service disruption, according to a Sweetwater statement.
Sweetwater’s founder, Chuck Surack, already was familiar with the broadband business when his company made the purchase.
He founded Lakeland Internet several years ago out of frustration with the lack of broadband access at his lake home and the statement said he has continued those earlier efforts to improve connectivity in the tri-state area.
ZipSpider’s acquisition will accelerate the growth and expand the reach of streaming quality broadband there and throughout northeast Indiana, it said.
Surack founded Sweetwater 40 years ago to provide easy access to music technology and the statement said he has followed a similar business model for his Sweet Family of Companies.
SweetCars, Sweet Aviation, All Pro Integrated Systems, Longe Optical and Lakeland Internet all resulted from efforts to solve a problem or meet a need for quality service in the region while retaining northeast Indiana jobs, the statement said.
“The high standards of business ethics and principles we strive for at ZipSpider are the same high standards that Chuck Surack has and instills in his team,” said ZipSpider’s former owner, Steven Swick.
“It just made good business sense to hand the company off to him and to continue the growth and expansion of rural broadband throughout northern Indiana and the greater Tri-State area.”
“We are excited about the opportunity to expand our wireless internet footprint in the Tri-State area,” said Surack. “We believe Sweetwater’s track record of technological expertise and exceptional service will be an asset to the company as we look for ways to improve connectivity in the lake and rural areas.”
