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| Business Intelligence for Virginia's Entrepreneurial Economy | ||||||||||||||||||
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In This Issue... Entrepreneurial Dominion, Who's Hot, Who's Not, Who's Winning Business, Deals & Partnerships, Innovations, Partnerships & Collaborations, R&D / Intellectual Property, People, Trends, Other News, Commentary, Events Click here to forward to a friend or colleague who might like this newsletter. | ||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Entrepreneurial Dominion  | |||||||||||||||||
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Sponsors: 
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The Eye(brow)s Have It RICHMOND-NuBrow is promoting its synthetic eyebrows as a solution for women with sparse, over-plucked or thinning eyebrows. The ersatz eyebrows, which adhere to the skin with a reusable adhesive, achieve a "classic natural-looking brow" without penciling, stenciling or tattooing. The faux brows, says President Marlynne Roberts, are increasingly popular with brides and bridesmaids, as well as women enduring chemo-therapy. Said Roberts, a veteran of the beauty industry: "My Mom was my inspiration in the creation of NuBrow. My Mom lost her lovely arched brows to chemotherapy in her fight against cancer. Somehow, the loss of her hair paled to the loss of those lovely brows. She inspired me to produce a false eyebrow." More. | ||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Expansions, Relocations & Launches | |||||||||||||||||
Investment banking  Email Marketing Experts Partners:  The Boomer Project 
Virginia FREE 
National Association of Women Business Owners 
Searchable Business Database 
Virginia Technology Alliance
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Command Information to Accelerate Next-Generation Internet Deployment HERNDON-As the nation transitions from the current Internet protocol to IPv6, a more robust, secure and flexible way to communicate over the Internet, Command Information hopes to lead the way. Backed by start-up capital from the Carlyle Group and Novak Biddle Venture Partners, the company plans to help government organizations and Fortune 100 companies with their IPv6 migrations. Shortly upon its creation, the company merged with Digital Focus, a Herndon-based software developer and IT consultant with 75 employees. "IPv6 is vital to the future competitiveness of industry and Government," said Charles Rossotti, senior partner at Carlyle. "We have invested in Command Information to help organizations realize the benefits that come from this next generation technology." More. Beta Systems Crosses Potomac to Herndon HERNDON--Beta Systems Software AG, a German supplier of mass management solutions, has relocated its North American headquarters from Greenbelt, Md., to larger facilities in Northern Virginia's tech corridor. Said Managing Director Kevin Scully: "The move to Northern Virginia was based on three driving forces: one, to support our expanding North American client base; two, to attract experienced enterprise sales and support professionals; and three, to reflect our corporate commitment to the North America market." More. Reline America to Invest $4.9 Million in Smyth County SALTVILLE--Reline America, Inc. will invest $4.9 million to build a new manufacturing headquarters facility in Saltville. The company, whose technology repairs utility pipes without excavation of the infrastructure, will create 25 new jobs, including engineers and skilled manufacturing positions, with an average annual salary of $38,000. Reline America, Inc. has a North American license to market and manufacture pipe liners that adhere to and rehabilitate deteriorating pipe. More. Roam Secure Expands to Six New Regions ARLINGTON--Roam Secure Inc., a developer of text-based emergency communications, has expanded operations into six new regions across the United States. Said CEO David Drescher: "Text-based emergency communications works, and the need continues growing in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the London bombings, 9/11, and the looming threats of pandemic influenza and the 2006 Hurricane Season. … "Time and time again text is the only reliable means of providing mass notification to the public, as well as interoperable communications among emergency responders." More. BlackHawk Boots: For When You Really, Really Need to Kick Ass NORFOLK-BlackHawk Products Group has announced a new division, BlackHawk Warrior Wear, providing apparel and footwear to military and law-enforcement personnel. The first products available from Warrior Wear include four boot models; the Light Assault Boot, the Tactical Response Boot, the Black Ops Boot, and the Desert Ops Boot. The boots employ a variety of special materials. The Light Assault Boot, for instance, is water friendly, with a sticky rubber compound that prevents slipping on wet surfaces, breathable nylon mesh and a quick-dry synthetic micro-fiber. Quick-close, injection-molded lace holders feature a hidden lace perforated pocket for quick closure of the boot with one hand. More. Columbia Gas Transmission Plans Mid-Atlantic Expansion FAIRFAX--Columbia Gas Transmission Corp., will expand its pipeline, compression and storage networks to provide an incremental 97,050 dekatherms per day of storage deliverability and pipeline transportation capacity to four local gas distribution company customers in the Mid-Atlantic states of Virginia and Pennsylvania. Said President Christopher A. Helms: "Incremental firm storage deliverability in the Eastern and Mid-Atlantic markets is needed to meet the robust growth demands of the region." More. In Brief... ROANOKE-Virginia Prosthetics, Inc., a custom fabricator of braces and artificial limbs, has opened an office, its fifth in Charlottesville. More. | ||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Hot... | |||||||||||||||||
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CIT Invests in Tau Therapeutics CHARLOTTESVILLE-Tau Therapeutics, LLC, a University of Virginia spin-out focused on the chronic treatment of cancer, has received a $100,000 investment from the Center for Innovative Technology GAP Fund. The company's goal is to develop simple, low-dose drugs that stop cancer cells from growing. A Tau Therapeutics compound for treatment of ovarian cancer will enter Phase II clinical trials within the next year. More. AMC Technology Doubles Revenues in 2005 RICHMOND--AMC Technology, LLC, a provider of multi-channel integration solutions for contact centers, has reported a 108 percent growth in revenue over 2004, along with continued profitability. The company received new and add-on orders from more than 30 large enterprise customers last year. Said President Anthony X. Uliano: "We successfully expanded our market reach through new product offerings and new partner relationships, and our sales and marketing results through new leadership and increased program investment." More. In Brief... BLACKSBURG-Airak, Inc., a Virginia Tech spin-out developing optical sensing technology for medium voltage power distribution, has received a $50,000 investment from The Center for Innovative Technology GAP Fund. More. NORFOLK--Commonwealth Bankshares, Inc., has reported record earnings of $6.6 million for fiscal 2005, an increase of 114 percent of the previous year. More. MCLEAN--Managed Objects, a provider of Business Service Management solutions, achieved 54 percent year-over-year revenue growth for 2005. More. | |||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Not... | |||||||||||||||||
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Tredgar to Close Film Plant in Georgia RICHMOND--Tredegar Corporation, a manufacturer of specialty films and aluminum extrusions, will close its plant in LaGrange, Ga., taking charges of $3.8 million in the process. The facility had sales of commodity blown films of approximately $20 million in 2005 and was operating around the break-even level. More. | |||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Winning Business... | |||||||||||||||||
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Monster Builds Online Job Search for Indiana MCLEAN--Monster Government Solutions, a subsidiary of Monster Worldwide, has won a $2.8 million contract to build a statewide online job search and recruitment system for the state of Indiana. The system will provide job seekers a centralized location to view career opportunities available in Indiana. It also will provide employers seeking qualified employees with a suite of new tools to find candidates. Job seekers and firms will be able to utilize the core functions of the new system at no cost. More. TranTech to Upgrade Police Video Records ALEXANDRIA--TranTech, Inc., a developer of Digital Asset Management solutions, has won a contract with DC's police department for its Video Interrogation Rooms Technology Upgrade. TranTech's technology will maintain accurate and complete records of all interrogations, providing chain-of-custody accountability and collar-to-conviction integrity. More. NASA Selects Support for Langley Simulation Facilities HAMPTON/RESTON--NASA has awarded Unisys Corporation a five-year, $49 million contract to support the Simulation and Software Branch of the Flight Research Services Directorate at NASA's Langley Research Center. Unisys will provide analysis, design, development, verification, and other services for the center's flight simulation facilities. Work will be performed at Langley. More. In Brief... FAIRFAX--Analex Corporation, a professional services company, has been awarded $32.7 million in new tasks to its Expendable Launch Vehicle Integrated Support contract with NASA's Kennedy Space Center. More. | |||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Deals & Partnerships | |||||||||||||||||
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Payerpath Sold to Misys Healthcare for $49 Million RICHMOND-Payerpath Inc., a developer of Internet-based solutions for processing health claims, has been acquired by Misys Healthcare Systems, a market leader in healthcare IT, for $49 million. Payerpath operations, which process about 50 million claims a year, will be combined with those of Misys, headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., which processes more than 420 million per year. Payerpath will continue to operate under its own name. Said CEO Jim Brady: "Misys Healthcare Systems enables Payerpath's solutions to compete in the market on a wider scale than before. By utilizing Misys' extensive sales channels, the Payerpath offerings will be able to help more healthcare professionals than we could have reached alone." More. Instant Technologies Acc-Quires Accu-Stat Diagnostics NORFOLK--Instant Technologies, Inc., a developer of rapid-test devices, Accu-Stat Diagnostics, Inc. of Lake Forest, Calif. Accu-Stat had recently obtained FDA clearances to sell its line of home-testing products for drugs of abuse, breath alcohol, cholesterol, and fecal occult blood tests over-the-counter. Said Jeff Konecke, director of business development: "The acquisition … is strategic to the advancement of Instant's goal to expand our product portfolio and enter the consumer products market. More. MCR Acquires Terradigm MCLEAN--Management Consulting & Research, LLC, a consulting firm serving the Department of Defense and other federal agencies, has purchased Terradigm, Inc., an Albuquerque, N.M.-based company providing program and information management services to government and commercial clients. Said CEO Neil F. Albert: "The acquisition of Terradigm will allow us to expand beyond project and program management to include IT and environmental services." More. | |||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Innovations | |||||||||||||||||
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Siber Systems Introduces Data Synchronization Software FAIRFAX--Siber Systems, Inc., makers of the RoboForm form filler and password management software, has unveiled its data synchronization application, GoodSync. "As anyone knows who has tried data synchronization, the task isn't as easy as it's made out to be," said Andrew Finkle, vice president of marketing. "Our approach was to 'fix' the multiple steps and confusing controls [that] other synchronization products use. More. BlackHawk Unveils Pistol Light NORFOLK--BlackHawk Products Group, in partnership with Insight Technology Inc., is introducing the Xiphos, a new pistol light. Named after a double-edged sword used by the ancient Greeks, the Xiphos delivers 80 Lumens of blinding white light; a digitally managed circuit allows a run time of 60 minutes at peak output. More. | |||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Partnerships & Collaborations | |||||||||||||||||
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DoD and IT Federation Connect Identity Systems HERNDON--A federation of leading IT companies has agreed with the Department of Defense to connect identity systems and establish an interoperable authentication network. The agreement formalizes the relationship between the Federation for Identity and Cross-Credentialing Systems, Inc. and the Defense Manpower Data Center, which have been working together since 2003 to develop a secure means of authenticating one another's employees while protecting their personal information. More. | |||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | R&D / Intellectual Property | |||||||||||||||||
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GMU Team to Model 5,000 Years of Inner Asian Politics FAIRFAX--Scientists at George Mason University's Center for Social Complexity are collaborating with researchers at the Smithsonian Institution on a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct computer simulation modeling research on long-term interactions between societal and environmental dynamics affecting polities in Inner Asia over the past 5,000 years. The main computer modeling effort will simulate human patterns such as population movements, land-usage, road and trade networks, and alliances and conflicts. Said Claudio Cioffi-Revilla, principal investigator: "It is our goal that by studying the Mongol Empire - the largest territorial polity in human history - we will be rewarded with a wealth of data previously undiscovered." More. Hokies Dissects Genes of Broccoli-Killing Fungus BLACKSBURG--Researchers at the Virginia Tech have helped develop a new method to determine gene function on a genome-wide scale in Alternaria brassicicola, a destructive fungus that causes mayhem in cabbage, broccoli and other crops. Said project director Christopher Lawrence: "The development of this protocol is timely as the genome sequence of A. brassicicola is scheduled for completion in 2006. We now have in our hands a versatile method that will allow us to dissect the pathogen's nucleotide sequence information and establish the function of many of the individual genes in this filamentous fungus." More. BAE SYSTEMS Computer Pilots Stardust on Comet Collection MANASSAS--BAE Systems' RAD6000 computer, developed with the support of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and U.S. Air Force research Laboratory, played a key role in the recently completed Stardust spacecraft mission, which returned to Earth with a collection of dust and carbon-based samples from Comet Wild 2. The RAD6000 computer, designed to operate in a heavily radiated space environment, processed key navigational data during the spacecraft's nearly seven-year journey. More. | |||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | People | |||||||||||||||||
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kSero Hires Best-Selling Author to Run Clinical Services GLEN ALLEN-kSero Corporation, Inc., an operator of cognitive development centers, has hired psychologist David Stein, author of best-selling books on attention deficit disorder and parenting, as director of clinical services. He will direct and provide counseling service for clients. More. In Brief... RESTON--Approva Corporation, a developer of enterprise controls management software, has appointed Richard M. Cobb as COO. More. | |||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Trends | |||||||||||||||||
 Chmura Economics & Analytics |
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 Northern Virginia wages. Workers in Northern Virginia have historically earned higher wages than workers in other parts of the state. For the year ending with the second quarter 2005, annual average wages per worker were $54,239 in Northern Virginia compared to $41,421 in Virginia overall. Despite the discrepancy in average wage figures, wage growth was similar in Northern Virginia and the state over that period. Annual average wages increased by 5.1 percent in Northern Virginia for the year ending with the second quarter of 2005 compared to 5.0 percent growth in the state. For the latest analytics on labor market and workforce trends across Virginia, click here, or call (804) 649-1107. Car Salesmen Wanted MCLEAN--Ford and General Motors may be laying off workers, but the automobile dealership industry has nearly 105,000 jobs available - about 40 percent of them in sales -- according to Automotive Retailing Today (ART), a coalition of major auto manufacturers and dealer organizations. The South Atlantic Region, a nine-state region that includes Virginia, is showing the greatest employment demand, with more than 26,400 openings. More. Wi Fi Fo Fum, I Smell the Blood of a Vir-gin-i-an CHARLOTTESVILLE-Charlottesville, home to the University of Virginia, ranks as the No. 5 college town in the country for free access to Wi-Fi hotspots, according to new figures released by MetroFreeFi.com. As of Feb. 1, Hoo-ville, a city of 45,000, had 13 hotspots. Blacksburg, home to Virginia Tech, ranked No. 19, with six hotspots serving a population of 40,000. The college town with the greatest density of hot spots in the country is Boulder, Colo. More. | ||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Other News | |||||||||||||||||
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Hall Automotive Doubles Call Center Productivity NEWPORT NEWS-The Hall Automotive corporate call center has nearly doubled its productivity through the use of new on-demand contact-handling software. Opened in 2005 with 12 people, the call center averaged 1,700 inbound calls monthly and 11,000 outbound calls over the first five months. With the new system, productivity has increased to 6,500 inbound and 21,000 outbound calls. The center plans to expand its service from nine to all 16 dealerships by April. More. Telecom Co-op Sued for $200 Million FAIRFAX-- The Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative has been sued by Innovative Communication Corporation, a St. Croix-based telecommunications company serving Caribbean markets, for more than $200 million. The suit accuses the cooperative of maliciously using the courts for improper purposes with an agenda of destroying one of its borrowers in good standing and current on all loan payment obligations. Said Holland L. Redfield II, vice president of corporate affairs: "The RTFC has turned from being our major lender to a predator seeking to destroy us. The RTFC has loaned Innovative more than $650 million. Until they filed their baseless case against us and seized $61 million of our equity without justification, we always made every payment." More. | |||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Commentary | |||||||||||||||||
 Transportation Hold 'em Most of the cards on the General Assembly's transportation table are lying face up. But it's still too early to know who's got the winning hand. More. |
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How to Fund Transportation without Really Trying These six strategies will stretch Virginia transportation dollars by billions of dollars -- and put off the need for tax increases for years. The General Assembly is locked in another fight over taxes and fees. This time is it centered on transportation. I am not blind to the need for taxes, but I believe that increases in taxes and fees should be at the bottom of the list for funding options. There ought to be other ways to find the necessary funding to confront our transportation problem. Here are some suggestions for our elected leaders to consider: More. | ||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Events | |||||||||||||||||
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