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| Business Intelligence for Virginia's Entrepreneurial Economy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In This Issue... Expansions, Relocations and Launches, Who's Winning Business, Deals & Partnerships, Innovations, Partnerships & Collaborations, Research & Intellectual Property, Trends, Other, Commentary, Events Click here to forward to a friend or colleague who might like this newsletter. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Expansions, Relocations & Launches   | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ClearPoint Sets Up Shop in BioTech Research Park RICHMOND-ClearPoint Resources, a workforce solutions company based in Chalfont, Pa., has opened an office in the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park. Said Robert Skunda, CEO of the Park: "ClearPoint Resources' scientific division will be an excellent addition to the Park and help us support the growing needs of the local life science community." More. In Brief... RICHMOND-Dominion Virginia Power has applied to the Virginia State Corporation Commission for permission to build a $13.5-mile a substation and five-mile-long power line in the fast-growing Garrisonville area of Stafford County. More. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Who's Winning Business... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Northrup Grumman Wins $686 Million Modeling/Simulation Contract SUFFOLK-Northrup Grumman Corporation has won a two-year, $218 million contract, which could extend to $686 million over six years, to continue providing technology support to the Joint Warfighting Center in Suffolk. The JWFC prepares U.S. armed forces and coalition partners to fight as an integrated "joint force." The program conducts realistic, large-scale warfighting exercises through networked training sites using computer simulations, modeling, collaborative tools and other technologies linked to actual command and control systems. More. Orbital Gets Piece of Next-Generation Orion Space Vehicle DULLES--Orbital Sciences Corporation will play a significant role on the Lockheed Martin Corporation-led team selected to design and build Orion, which will succeed the Space Shuttle for transporting humans to and from the International Space Station, the Moon and, eventually, to Mars and beyond. Orbital's principal role is to design, develop, build and test a new Launch Abort System that would allow the astronaut crew to safely escape in an emergency during the launch or descent of the Orion vehicle into Earth orbit. The five-year subcontract is worth approximately $250 million. More. DaProSystems Nabs Regional Law Enforcement Initiative ROANOKE-DaProSystems, partnering with Wall, N.J.-based BIO-key International, has won a contract from the ACES Regional Data Sharing Initiative led by New Kent County. The four-county ACES initiative enables law enforcement agencies to replace outdated hardware and equipment, deploy web-based regional data sharing software and implement a state-of-the-art Crime Analysis solution. Said Sheriff J. S. Walton of King William County: "Our department is eager to deploy the mobile data solution. The field access to essential information will serve as a valuable tool for increasing officer safety and improving our agency's efficiency." More. CUBIC Lands $32.8 Million Air Training Contract NORFOLK--The Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Cubic Corporation a five-year, $32.8 million contract to provide instruction, simulator operation and curriculum support to the Naval Air Forces U.S. Atlantic Fleet. The contract expands Cubic's business at NAS Oceana, where Cubic instructors currently help Navy crews learn to fly the F/A-18 C/D Hornet and F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet. At NAS Norfolk, Cubic will continue to provide instruction services for pilots of transport helicopters and Hawkeye radar aircraft. More. Silverchair Launches AccessSurgery for McGraw-Hill CHARLOTTESVILLE-Silverchair Science+Communications, a developer of medical information technology for health care publishers, has launched AccessSurgery, the second in a series of content-rich medical websites developed on behalf of publisher McGraw-Hill. Built on the customizable platform Silverchair Content Manager, AccessSurgery integrates McGraw-Hill's surgery textbooks with surgical videos to create a complete resource for surgical training. More. In Brief... RESTON-MAXIMUS, a provider of government services, has won child-support contracts in Texas, Illinois, and Iowa totaling $33 million. More. RESTON--STG, Inc., in partnership with MELE Associates, Inc., has been awarded a contract worth $29.3 million over three years to support the Air Force Command and Control, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center. More. ARLINGTON--CACI International Inc has been awarded a prime contract potentially worth $13 million over three years and 7.5 months from the Defense Department to provide support for the acquisition of major weapon and information systems. More. HAMPTON-Measurement Specialties, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of sensors, has developed several new major private label agreements that are expected to generate $4 million to $5 million in annual revenues. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Deal Makers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Abilene Sells 49 Percent Stake to U.S. Xpress RICHMOND-Abilene Motor Express, Inc., a trucking company operating more than 170 tractor-trailers, has sold a 49 percent interest to U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc., of Chattanooga, Tenn. U.S. Xpress will maintain a minority representation on the board of directors as well as an exercisable option to purchase management's interest through 2010. The Abilene management team will remain in place, and the company will continue operating independently. Said Mark L. Fuller CEO of U.S. Express: "Abilene is a well-managed truckload carrier and we have no intention of interfering with that success. We intend to help facilitate equipment and other purchasing as well as cross-marketing opportunities where prudent." More. Homeland Security Acquires Compass Technologies ARLINGTON--Homeland Security Capital Corp. has acquired Compass Technologies, Inc., an Exton, Pa.-based provider of access control and security management systems. Compass is expected to generate more than $2 million in revenue in 2006. Said CEO Joel Konicek: "Compass is a leader in the design and manufacturing of access control systems, especially as it relates to the educational market including K-12 and university. We believe this acquisition will enable us to be on the cutting edge of electronic security by integrating our RFID and digital video capabilities with Compass' access control technology." More. ScholarOne Sold to Thompson Corp. CHARLOTTESVILLE-ScholarOne, developer of workflow management systems for scholarly publishers, has been purchased by The Thomson Corporation, of Stamford, Conn. ScholarOne provides subscription-based software for authoring, evaluating and publishing research to more than two million users. The software enables publishers of scholarly research to produce journals, meeting abstracts and conference proceedings faster and more easily. The management team and employees will become part of Thomson Scientific. More. Electronic Systems Sells Training Unit to Infotec VIRGINIA BEACH--Electronic Systems, a provider of IT solutions and office-automation systems, has sold its training division to Virginia Beach-based Infotec, LLC, an affiliate of the privately owned ECPI College of Technology. The training division had accounted for less than two percent of the company's annual revenue. Said President Dan Cooper: "This move is part of our strategic plan to focus on our core competencies and on the IT solutions-based divisions of our company." More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Innovations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First It Was Geeks on Call. Then the Geek Squad. Now It's Firedog! RICHMOND--Circuit City Stores, Inc., a national electronics retailer, has launched the "firedog" brand to provide personal computer services, home theater installations and integration of home electronics. Said executive Marc Sieger: "Americans are living a 'digital life.' Some people are comfortable using and integrating digital technologies, but it is not second nature for many consumers. Our mission with firedog is to provide a one-stop offering to help people solve problems and optimize their experience with the electronic devices they use every day." Firedog-branded branded fixtures, vehicles and uniformed personnel will begin appearing at Circuit City Superstores across the country in September. More. Cinea Introduces Technology to Combat Video Piracy RESTON--Cinea, Inc., a subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories, Inc., has launched a video forensic watermarking technology, Running Marks, which runs on a wide range of consumer video devices, including PCs, portable media players and mobile phones. Said General Manager Rob Schumann: "Until now, watermarking was a desirable -- but impractical -- security tool for the consumer environment. With Running Marks, content owners and system operators can trace leaks back to specific devices, providing a strong deterrent to unauthorized distribution." More. PARI Respiratory to Manufacture, Distribute Nasal Aerosol MIDLOTHIAN--PARI Respiratory Equipment, Inc. is embarking on a program to make nasal aerosol delivery systems available nationwide. Pharmacies have been requesting the nasal aerosol delivery system in response to physician and patient requests for prescribed treatments for upper respiratory conditions such as chronic sinusitis, asthma, and severe allergies. PARI developed the technology, sold it to SinusPharmacy, re-licensed it and is now manufacturing and distributing it. More. Basett Builds Brand with Catalog Marketing BASSETT--Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. has launched its first-ever catalog targeted directly toward consumers, shipping an 84-page book to 1.2 million households across 21 markets in the United States. The primary purpose of the catalog is to drive shoppers to stores, with secondary goals of improving the company's brand image, brand preference and website traffic. Said Michael Satterfield, vice president-marketing: "By developing this direct-to-consumer catalog, we believe we will be able to reach out more easily not only to our existing customers, but introduce Bassett to a whole new generation of consumers." More Fauquier Bank Launches Product Line for Non-Profits WARRENTON--The Fauquier Bank has introduced new products for non-profit organizations. The Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS) program enables non-profits to receive FDIC insurance on deposits greater than $100,000. Funds are deposited through the bank, and member banks of the CDARS network issue CDs in denominations under $100,000, making the entire investment eligible for FDIC insurance. But the customer receives one monthly account statement. More | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Partnerships and Collaborations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wine, Ferrari and a Four-Star Suite MCLEAN-Capital Dream Cars, an "exotic car" rental company based in McLean, has partnered with Prince Michel Vineyards and Winery, of Madison, to promote weekend retreats to Virginia wine country. The Prince Michel Package includes rental of a Capital Dream Car Bentley or Ferrari, overnight accommodations with continental breakfast in one of Prince Michel's four-star private suites, and a VIP tour of the winery with a private tasting in the exclusive Wine Library. More. SuperCom to Provide Verification Technologies for Guardsman MCLEAN--SuperCom, Inc., the Northern Virginia-based subsidiary of SuperCom, Ltd., has inked an agreement Defense Solutions, LLC, of Exton, Pa., making it the provider of smart-card and biometric identity-verification technology for Defense Solutions' Guardsman line of secure access systems. In addition, SuperCom will provide incident site management, access control, communications interoperability, and electronic-ID solutions for Defense Solutions' clients. More The Analysis Corporation Partners with Infoglide MCLEAN--The Analysis Corporation (TAC) has formed a strategic alliance with Austin, Tex.-based Infoglide Software Corporation. Under the agreement, TAC will integrate its Fuzzy Finder, Russian Name Search and Arabic Name Search technologies with Infoglide's Bladeworks software, used by the intelligence/counter-terrorism community to discover similarities and non-obvious relationships in data. More In Brief... RESTON-NII Holdings, a provider of mobile communications services in Latin America, has partnered with Research in Motion, of Waterloo, Ont., to make BlackBerry 7100i service available to Nextel customers in Mexico and Peru. More. CHARLOTTESVILLE--ADI Engineering, Inc., a provider of semi-custom industrial Wi-Fi and wireless ISP infrastructure products, is partnering with RoamAD, of Auckland, N.Z., to address the rapidly growing demand for metro wireless hardware running RoamAD's software platform. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | R&D / Intellectual Property | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LifeNet Assigns Allograft I.P. to Zimmer VIRGINIA BEACH-LifeNet, a biomedical banking system, will provide its Allowash technology for tissue and allograft bone cleaning and sterilization to Zimmer, an Indiana-based orthopedics company. LifeNet holds seven U.S. patents related to its Allowash Process. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Trends | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Chmura Economics & Analytics |
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 Virginia employment growth. The pace of employment growth in Virginia has exceeded the United States since the last recession, but growth has slowed to a pace similar to the nation's. For the year ending July 2006, Virginia employment increased 1.4 percent, ranking 26th among the states for the pace of job growth. Employment in the United States rose at a slightly slower 1.3 percent year-over-year rate in July. The monthly periodicity of employment data makes it the most timely and encompassing measure of regional economic growth. For details and forecasts of economic conditions across Virginia, as well as a list of Chmura Economics & Analytics (CEA) products and services, click here or call 804-649-1107. Real ID Spending to Reach $2.5 Billion through 2012 RESTON--State and local government spending on federally mandated Real ID initiatives is estimated to be $2.5 billion through 2012, according to a report released today by INPUT, a provider of business intelligence for government markets. States must comply with new standards for issuing driver's licenses and identification cards. Failure to comply would require citizens of non-complying states to carry passports to gain entry into courts, airports and other federal locations because their licenses would no longer be accepted as valid identification. More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Other News | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A New Tune at Hohner Harmonicas GLEN ALLEN-Hohner, Inc., a distributor of harmonicas and other musical products, has dropped "HSS" from its corporate name. A subsidiary of Trossingen, Germany-based Matth. Hohner A.G., the company deleted the acronym to clarify the Hohner name and brand in the US marketplace. For many years the HSS acronym was used to highlight the company's harmonica and percussion products. But Hohner now distributes guitars, drums, amplifiers, accordions, ukeleles and other products as well. More. Spectrum Sciences Changes Name to Horne Engineering FALLS CHURCH--Spectrum Sciences & Software Holdings Corp. has changed its name to Horne International, Inc. The company's board of directors proposed the switch to eliminate lingering confusion resulting from the company's three acquisitions last year, the largest of which was the May 2005 merger of Horne Engineering Services LLC and Spectrum Holdings Corp. The new company name leverages the reputation built by Horne Engineering LLC in the U.S. government market. More. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Commentary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Someone Has to Pay Virginia's transportation system needs more money, but not all fund-raising schemes are created equal. Some perpetuate the status quo while others encourage innovation. More. |
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Sportsmanship Matters In politics, as in baseball, there is a way to play the game. At one level it was a routine major league game in the heat of August, both teams going nowhere, one a little faster than the other. At another level it was a chance to trade stories with a Northern Virginia elected official and a technology executive about the way things are going - jobs, transportation, who is saying what about whom. Play ball! More. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back To Top | Events | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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VA Newswire is a free, email-based weekly newsletter that covers news and events from around the state. If you have any news, events, job openings, or office space availability that you would like to include in next week's newswire, email jabacon@baconsrebellion.com. Click here for a free subscription. Click here to unsubscribe. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
