NuTech's new new thing

Matt Michalewicz doesn't waste time. Two years after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, he is at the helm of a 103-employee technology company and plans to take it public by next summer.

NuTech Solutions Inc., nestled in a business park in the University area, is the creation of 24-year-old Matt and his father, Zbigniew.

The company already boasts such Fortune 500 clients as Ford Motor Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., providing data analysis and optimization systems that help those corporate customers shift operations quickly, based on changes in their markets. That rapidly emerging technology has built NuTech revenue to an estimated $10 million this year, with the company anticipating a boost to $30 million next year.

And the father-and-son team has even bigger plans for the next five to 10 years, seeking to make NuTech a leader in the field of adaptive technologies.

Under that approach, a computer system can process information from market conditions and change its output accordingly. For example, a car manufacturer could use adaptive technology to figure out how to adjust its production, shipping and resale practices on a day-to-day basis, rather than making adjustments after compiling research on a quarterly or yearly basis.

To cite another example, a computer code could be embedded in consumer products, so that a new pair of shoes, for instance, would instantly meld to fit the individual.

"Business is moving too fast for the implementation of these information technology systems," Matt says. "Let's make computer systems that can change like water."

With such technology, a system's...