Windsor tech company goes international

A Red Piston sign sits outside their new office in Detroit on Friday, April 26, 2013. (Michelle Maluske / CTV Windsor)

In just three years, a group of Windsor men have gone from unemployed to employing more than a dozen workers and now they are going international.

Red Piston is doubling its Windsor office space and branching out to Detroit.

The company makes games and apps like Banzai Blowfish and MoodFood for mobile devices. The Lowes Canada website also features the work of Red Piston.

Their work has taken off so much, the staff of three is now 18.

“It’s the next chapter of our growth, to expand into other countries,” says co-founder Jakub Koter.

The new international home for Red Piston is inside the Michigan Building in downtown Detroit. When the office is ready, it will be the company’s American sales office.

“There are a lot of start-ups happening in Detroit, a lot of funding,” says Koter. “There’s a lot of smart people gathering in Detroit, we want to be a part of that.”

WEtech Alliance is working with more than 20 Windsor-Essex companies trying to break into this field. The agency trying to make Windsor into a mini Silicon Valley.

“Red Piston has certainly been our superstars all along,” says Karen Behune Plunkett, president of WEtech Alliance.

The companies in that group are making games and apps for companies such as Google and Yahoo. Red Piston is leading the way, according to Behune-Plunkett. She says they are mentoring the companies trying to follow their steps.

Even if Red Piston continues its rapid growth, Koter says he and partners will keep their development in Windsor and they won't forget their roots.