GeoProductions, a 3-D animation and mapping company specializing in "virtual" 3-D imaging for major companies including the PGA and network TV, has relocated from Cary to a former textile plant in Gastonia.

Formed in 1993 by partners Devlin Reynolds and Dan Bergeson, the company has upfit and installed new equipment in a 2,400-square-foot office at 1029 S. Marietta St. They quickly increased their staff from nine to 16, mainly graphic artists, animators, image specialists and web designers.

The company chose Gastonia after looking at Charlotte and Greensboro, as well as six counties surrounding Mecklenburg.

"We wanted to be centralized," Reynolds said. "We travel a great deal, so we had to have access to the highways and a major airport. We also had to be in a county with high-speed Internet access. And probably most importantly, we felt wanted here."

Reynolds said groups such as the PGA Tour, USGA, ESPN and Electronic Arts Sports have contracted his company to produce virtual tours of golf courses for TV broadcasts, video games and architectural design. Different angles of fairways, sloping greens, bunkers and water hazards are visible in simulated three dimensions on-screen.

"We began mapping in 1995 and going to golf courses that didn’t know their square footage, acreage, hole yardage, and we did it by hand," said Reynolds, 35, who has worked with Bergeson, 35, in the golf business since they graduated from Iowa State.

Since delving into computer design, GeoProductions has done work for construction companies, golf superintendents and course designers. In recent months, the firm has concentrated on virtual tours of real estate developments, which they see as their largest and fastest growing market. Their expanding markets have led them to create several product/service names: GeoGolf (the original company name), GeoSports, 3-D Real Estate and 3-D Venues.

Reynolds said EDC Executive Director Donny Hicks and Project Administrator Marc Bolick were instrumental in selling them on Gastonia. "The way Marc and Donny treated us was the biggest draw to Gaston. We're people and we buy from people."

"I was intrigued by the real estate development potential," Hicks said. "You could take that and do a lot of other things with higher-end projects such as malls and office developments. Marc and I paid a lot of attention to them because we felt they're the kind of company we need to attract to Gaston County. This could also help us attract other high-tech companies."

"Gastonia is a great place to do business," Reynolds said. "It has excellent internet service, great utilities, and office space for a fraction of what we'd have to pay in Charlotte. My partner and I bought some nice homes in town, and we have some staff members who commute in from Charlotte, but going against the traffic it's no problem."

GeoProduction's broadcast work has included creating course graphics for the 1999 U.S. Open and the 2000 Mercedes Championship.

In working with the PGA, GeoProductions helped design "Shot Link," the tour’s new scoring system that marks players’ shots with a laser. With a program called "Play Against the Pros," Internet users are able to hook up with a live feed to "play" in tournaments with Tiger Woods, David Duval and others via an on-screen cartoon golfer.

"We’re also focusing on sports where cameras don’t lend themselves," Reynolds said. "We’re looking at downhill skiing, rafting, some of the adventure sports."

The company said it is exploring possibilities with NBA teams and arenas. "With such a program, a customer can see what seats are available, go to that seat, and see what their view is like and how good or bad their seat is," Reynolds said.