' Technology Made Friendly '

Hometown to Innovation
Cogent Technologies is located in historic Troy, New York — hometown to innovation since the early 19th century.

Troy is situated where the Erie Canal and Hudson River were joined in 1825 to create the major artery for goods and supplies flowing between the heartland and the port of New York. As a result, Troy benefited from a flow of industry, wealth and ideas that are natural to centers of commerce.

Ideas have always been a product of Troy. It is where Herman Melville reinvented the novel and Elizabeth Cady Stanton began her campaign for women’s rights.

Even ordinary citizens of Troy have big ideas. A Troy housewife, Hannah Montague, shaped an industry when she lightened her workload by detaching the collars and cuffs of her husband’s shirts for separate washing. Her invention is the source of Troy’s nickname, the “Collar City.”

Troy is home to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation’s first and one of its greatest engineering schools. Since opening its doors in 1824, Rensselaer has produced an unbroken stream of leading thinkers and engineering innovators including George W. G. Ferris, the inventor of the Ferris wheel; Washington A. Roebling, chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge; and more recently Raymond S. Tomlinson, the father of e-mail technology.

The city has had a long manufacturing history. During the Civil War, Troy’s foundries made iron plates for the Monitor and horseshoes for the Union Army. Although the smokestacks and clothing mills are long gone, 21st century industries have taken their place. As in the past, Troy’s location, living standards and legacy of producing fresh ideas are attracting new generations of innovators.