Student venture turns into thriving business for engineering alumnus
For electrical engineering graduate and product development entrepreneur Tom Krol ’02, the origins of his post-graduate success can be traced to, of all places, a TCNJ rhetoric class.
Tom Krol founded IMET while still a student. Today, his company boasts a client list in the hundreds and works on everything from hand-held brain scanners to home entertainment devices to soap dispensers.
For electrical engineering graduate and product development entrepreneur Tom Krol ’02, the origins of his post-graduate success can be traced to, of all places, a TCNJ rhetoric class.
That’s where he and Joseph Petrella ’02, randomly paired for an assignment in 1999, discovered they both had a passion for engineering. As undergraduates, they formed IMET Corporation. The day after graduating in May 2002, the co-owners went to work for IMET—located in Joe’s parents’ basement in Ringoes, NJ.
Eight years later as IMET’s president, Tom—who bought out Joe in 2006—heads a staff of 16 and boasts a client list in the hundreds. Currently headquartered in Bristol, PA, in no one’s basement, IMET Corporation works on everything from hand-held brain scanners to home entertainment devices to soap dispensers. As a full-service product development company, IMET—either on its own or through its partners—handles any part of a product’s creation. This includes industrial design, mechanical and electrical engineering, prototyping, and manufacturing.
Tom is considering moving IMET to a larger facility, with the ultimate goal of having every aspect of product development under one roof. “You never know what you’re going to work on next,” says Tom, 35, who also runs DesignNotes.com, an online store for electronic design engineers and enthusiasts.
Before attending TCNJ, that uncertainty wasn’t so glamorous. An aspiring rock guitarist, Tom was in Penn State’s associate’s degree program solely out of obligation. His adviser wasn’t so casual. Tom has forgotten her name, but remembers what she said one day in 1994: “You have to pick a major today, Mr. Krol.”
Aware of his music background—Tom’s band, Empty Stares, had signed a record deal and toured with notable acts such as Anthrax—she suggested electrical engineering. “Maybe you can do something behind the scenes,” she said. Tom was indifferent at best toward his assigned career path. “I always had faith that he’d go somewhere,” says Tom’s mom, Betty Krol, “but this is just amazing to me.”
Academic desperation provided a revelation: Tom liked electrical engineering. After graduating Penn State, he attended Temple University’s engineering school for just two semesters until realizing “it just wasn’t for me.” Tom decided he had to work in engineering to determine if it was his calling. He sent out 100 resumes before becoming a production technician at Aydin Telemetry.
“Ironically enough, they put me in the engineering building,” Tom says. “Then I met all these really cool engineers, and these guys convinced me I should go back to school. I liked what I was doing. That’s where I discovered The College of New Jersey.”
The discovery was initially based on convenience: The campus was a 30-minute drive from Aydin’s Newtown, PA, offices so Tom could take night classes after work.
“When I got to TCNJ, I felt at home,” he says. “I enjoyed the campus, I felt comfortable there. The teachers in the engineering department really pushed me to excel—I was already an overachiever as it is. I felt like the curriculum was challenging. The equipment and the opportunities in class were of an excellent quality. To this day, I still go back and talk to most of the professors.”
Tom, however, is happy to talk to anyone. “I encourage those reading this article to reach out to me,” he says. “It sometimes goes without saying, but networking has been one key to our growth and success.”
Posted on February 23, 2011
