The technology industry is a dominant force in Northern Colorado, with several companies ranking among the region's top private-sector employers.

Northern Colorado is home to companies that specialize in everything from hardware manufacturing, computer programming and chip design to data mapping, Internet service and software development. Fort Collins alone boasts about 425 software companies, according to the Northern Economic Development Corp.

One of the region's largest tech companies is Woodward, a publicly traded company that moved its corporate headquarters to Fort Collins from Rockford, Ill., in late 2006. The company, which manufactures energy-control systems, employs about 1,200 workers in Fort Collins and Loveland.

The region also is home to some of the world's top high-tech manufacturers, including Intel Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Agilent Technologies Inc. and Avago Technologies.

Avago, which makes semiconductors, employs nearly 700 people in Fort Collins, its largest manufacturing facility. The company is considering an expansion that could add another 136 jobs in the city.

Hewlett-Packard also boasts a sizeable workforce, with an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 employees,