Biz Roundup

O'Malley Releases Clean Energy Agenda to Promote Jobs, Sustainability
Gov. Martin O'Malley has released his 2010 Energy Agenda, which is focused on increasing renewable energy production and tax credits for Maryland's families and its workforce. The package works to support Maryland's economy by increasing clean energy and green jobs in Maryland.
"In these last three years, we have made the choices that have transformed Maryland into one of the leading clean energy states in the nation," said O'Malley. "Each element of our energy agenda is structured to provide resources and incentives for our families and workforce, create jobs and fuel innovation as we continue to strive for a Maryland that is truly smart, green and growing."
Key legislation includes an acceleration of the state's solar Renewable Portfolio Standard to put more clean energy on the grid faster, as well as legislation to create an effective regulatory framework for offshore wind energy development.
Additional proposed legislation calls for extending renewable energy tax credits for businesses interested in going green, as well as tax credits for families to purchase plug-in electric vehicles as they become commercially available during the coming year.

NGC to Switch Corporate
Office to Region
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NGC) has announced its decision to move its corporate office from Los Angeles to the Washington, D.C., region by 2011. The corporation is engaged in a search to identify the new location within the region the spans from Northern Virginia to Central Maryland.
NGC plans to complete the search by spring 2010 and open the new corporate office by summer 2011. "As a global security company with a large customer base in the Washington, D.C., region, this move will enable us to better serve our nation and customers," said CEO and President Wes Bush.
NGC employs approximately 11,500 workers in Maryland, with 8,500 employees in the Electronic Systems Division at its locations in Linthicum, Annapolis, Elkridge and Sykesville. That figure includes 7,600 workers in Anne Arundel County, 500 in Carroll County and 400 in Howard County.
The remaining 3,000 employees from other NGC sectors who work in various counties and Baltimore City include some individuals (such as IT professionals) who are co-located at the corporation's other Electronic Systems sector facilities.
The new corporate office will employ approximately 300 people. The state of California will remain a significant location for NGC research, development and manufacturing with approximately 30,000 employees (a quarter of Northrop Grumman's worldwide employment). NGC has 120,000 employees worldwide.

HCGH Ranked in Top 5% in Nation
Howard County General Hospital (HCGH) has announced that a new study ranks its clinical quality among the top 5% of hospitals in the nation for the second consecutive year.
HCGH is one of only 269 hospitals in the nation that received this distinction from HealthGrades for 2010. The national study by HealthGrades, an independent health care ratings organization, analyzed patient outcomes at each of the nation's 5,000 nonfederal hospitals during the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 and named hospitals in the top 5% as HealthGrades Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence.
According to the eighth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study, HCGH and the other hospitals in the top 5% nationally demonstrated patient outcomes that were far better than those of other hospitals. Patients admitted to these hospitals had risk-adjusted mortality rates that were, on average, 29% lower than all other hospitals. Risk-adjusted complication rates were, on average, 9% lower than all other hospitals.
As a group, HCGH and those identified as being in the top 5% in the nation improved their mortality rates at a faster pace than all other hospitals. During 2006, 2007 and 2008, the HealthGrades study found that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence lowered their risk-adjusted mortality rates over the three years by an average of 14%, compared with a 10% average improvement of all other hospitals.

Laurel Mayor Threatens to
Rescind Mall TIF
Laurel Mayor Craig Moe has introduced an ordinance that would rescind nearly $16 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) incentives for the redevelopment of Laurel Commons, the former Laurel Mall. Laurel City Council members proposed the ordinance out of frustration over delays in beginning the project and a lack of communication from the mall's owner, Somera Capital Management of Santa Barbara, Calif.
At their Jan. 25 council meeting, council members decided to postpone voting on the ordinance until Feb. 22. "I feel that the council has more discussion on this matter," said Council President Gayle Snyder (Ward 1), adding that the council wanted to wait until Councilwoman Janis Robison (Ward 1), who was absent, could participate.
The city council will continue a discussion of the legislation at its Feb. 3 work session. Thomas Falatko, Somera's senior vice president, told the mayor and council members that the company plans to move forward on some interior and exterior cosmetic improvements in hopes of attracting some new tenants and demonstrating that Somera is serious about renovating the aging mall.
"It's extremely difficult finding construction funding at the moment," Falatko said, adding that the company will report back on the status of its efforts in February.

Elizabeth House Receives Grant
From Eaton Aerospace
Eaton Aerospace Group of Beltsville presented a check for $20,700 to members of Fish of Laurel Inc.'s Board of Trustees on Jan. 20. The grant will cover capital improvements to Fish's Elizabeth House meals and food pantry facility as part of its "Operation Green Machines" program.
Eaton's grant will facilitate the purchase and installation of building insulation and new, energy-efficient heating and air conditioning equipment, and refrigerator/freezers. Elizabeth House Board Member Steve Sternheimer said utilities savings resulting from the new purchases will be redirected to pantry food purchases and toward more direct aid to the rising number of Elizabeth House clients.
Since the economic downturn of 2008, Fish has seen a 37% rise in the number of needy individuals looking to the organization for assistance.
A team of Eaton employees has been supporting Fish of Laurel since 2007 with time and personal resources, making and delivering approximately 50 non-perishable lunches to Elizabeth House and expanding that commitment to 100 lunches in 2009. A group organized by Eaton Aerospace Group representative Rona Balzer also performs major interior maintenance for Elizabeth House and prepares dinners on a monthly basis.

Martek Acquires Amerifit
Brands for $200M
Columbia-based Martek Biosciences Corp. has entered into an agreement to purchase Amerifit Brands Inc., a consumer health and wellness company based in Cromwell, Conn., from Charterhouse Group in an all-cash transaction valued at $200 million.
Amerifit Brands develops, markets and distributes branded consumer health
and wellness products focused on women's and digestive health benefits. Amerifit holds leading brand positions in all of its key product categories, and its products are sold in most major mass, club, drug, grocery and specialty stores.
Amerifit's key products include Culturelle, a leading probiotic supplement; AZO, a leading over-the-counter brand addressing symptom relief, detection and prevention of urinary tract infections; and Estroven, a leading all-natural nutritional supplement brand addressing the symptoms of menopause.
"I am excited at the prospect of being able to develop consumer brands for some of the exciting new products in Martek's pipeline," said Steve Dubin, Martek CEO. "This new capability will enable Martek to move up the value chain by getting closer to the consumer and should result in increased revenue and gross profit opportunities."

New Generation Biofuels Helps Washington College to Establish a Clean Fuels Energy Path
Columbia-based renewable fuels provider New Generation Biofuels Holdings (NGBF) has announced that it successfully burned its biofuel at Washington College of Chestertown on the Eastern Shore.
The purpose of the burn was to provide first-hand data and practical information to Washington College about a biofuel that would help the college meet its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.
"Washington College has a desire to move towards cleaner fuels and reduce their overall carbon footprint, and we can help them do that," said New Generation Biofuels President and CEO Cary Claiborne. "Our biofuel has demonstrated significant overall greenhouse gas emission reductions as well as local air pollution reductions, including nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, compared to distillate fuel oil. In addition, our biofuel can be used as a 100% fuel switch with little modification to a customer's equipment."
Representatives from Tri Gas & Oil (NGBF's biofuel marketer in Maryland) were also on hand to observe the burn. Tri Gas supplies propane, diesel fuel, oil and gasoline in the mid-Atlantic area and would serve as the distributor of the biofuel for the college.

Leopold's State Legislative
Agenda Focuses on Budget Priorities
Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold's agenda for the Maryland General Assembly session makes protecting state aid to the county his top priority.
"By working collaboratively with our delegation, our most important goal will be to protect the funding that is vital to education, transportation and public safety during this difficult economy," Leopold said. "Overall, non-education related state funding to local governments is currently at 1984 levels. At this rate, we will face challenges in providing our citizens with the level of services they expect."
Since fiscal 2007, this state aid to local governments has declined by more than 60%. The funding is crucial for improving public safety and transportation, preserving open space and providing direct grants.
The administration has also requested that the county delegation support various legislation that would increase arrest information provided by law enforcement to schools to combat gangs and youth violence, create a revolving loan fund to leverage federal stimulus grants for charter schools and increase bonding and public hearing requirements for mining operations or landfills that use coal combustion byproducts for reclamation, among other bills.

GreenStone Ventures Chosen to Redevelop Clarksville's Gateway School
GreenStone Ventures II has been chosen to redevelop the Gateway School site in Clarksville. A County Council Resolution issued in 2008 authorized County Executive Ken Ulman to sell the property and mandated that redevelopment of this site result in a mixed-use, environmentally conscious, pedestrian-oriented project.
"The redevelopment of this site has been an issue for me since I was a member of the county council," said Ulman. "We were insistent that the site be redeveloped, with citizen involvement, into something dynamic, environmentally-friendly and unique; GreenStone's proposal and reputation provide just that."
Howard County worked with a broker to identify a qualified development team. In the end, five teams submitted proposals by this past Aug. 19 submission deadline; in September, both the Advisory Committee and Selection Committee held a joint meeting to hear the final presentations made by the teams.
The county has preserved the front doors of the school and plan to allow the developers to incorporate these into the new project. At present, the county is in exclusive negotiations with GreenStone for the redevelopment.

Classic Sleep Products Restructures With $10 Million in New Capital
Jessup-based Classic Sleep Products has filed a Chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, seeking approval of the sale of assets of the company. With the approval of the court, a new company, Classic Brands LLC, would own the assets and will be backed with an infusion of $10 million in new financing.
Classic's long-time Chinese manufacturing partner will have an equity stake in the new company. The company said there will be no disruption of service to its customers, vendors or suppliers, and that it expected to exit the Chapter 11 process expeditiously.
Under the business plan, the current management team, led by CEO Mike Zippelli, will increase its majority ownership stake in the business with funding provided by JMX Capital Partners and Classic's senior lender, CIT Financial.
Zippelli said that the Chapter 11 process was a necessary step for Classic to separate itself from its parent company, Dormia Inc., which had operated more than 30 stores until shortly after its Chapter 11 filing 18 months ago.
"We have worked closely with our Chinese supplier for many years. We are designing mattresses and they are building beds to the same specifications we use in our Jessup facility, but at pricing that delivers greater value to the consumer," he said. "The cost differential gives us a unique strategic advantage by enabling us to include features at the under $1,500 price point at quality levels that are impossible to produce domestically."

GP Strategies Acquires PerformTech
Elkridge-based GP Strategies Corp. has announced that its principal operating subsidiary, global performance improvement solutions provider General Physics Corp., has acquired PerformTech, a provider of custom courseware development and other training services primarily for the U.S. government.
GP Strategies anticipates that Perform-Tech had revenue of approximately $15 million for the year ending Dec. 31, 2009, and that the acquired business will be accretive to earnings-per-share in 2010. GP utilized a portion of the net proceeds of the $20 million private placement by Sagard Capital Partners that closed on Dec. 30, 2009.
PerformTech, located in Alexandria, Va., has a significant presence supporting federal government priorities including border security, anti-terrorism and highway engineering.
GP Strategies believes that the combination of PerformTech with GP's current federal government services, such as the GoLearn program and first responder training, offers the combined company significant opportunities to provide services beyond the scope of work that each could provide separately.

Staples Unveils State's Largest Rooftop Solar Power Installation in Hanover
Office products company Staples recently hosted a dedication ceremony to unveil the largest single rooftop solar power installation in Maryland at its 200,200-square-foot fulfillment center in Hanover. The 1.01-megawatt solar installation covers nearly 175,000 square feet of roof space.
The environmental savings associated with the system will offset more than 43 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) over 20 years, equivalent to removing CO2 produced by more than 4,200 automobiles driving 12,000 miles per year.
The zero-emission, silent photovoltaic system will generate approximately 1.2 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year and 21 million kWh during the initial 20 years of the project. The project was financed, built and maintained under a power purchase agreement with SunEdison that calls for Staples to purchase the electricity produced for the term of the contract.
"Through our relationship with solar services provider SunEdison, we are able to purchase solar energy from our rooftop at a rate below or equal to the cost of electricity from the grid," said Mark Buckley, vice president of environmental affairs for Staples. "This reduces our operating costs while freeing up more electricity during peak times for use by local homes and businesses."

TCS: Was on Pace to Power Nearly 700 Billion Text Messages in '09
Annapolis-based TeleCommunication Systems (TCS) announced that the company's Short Message Service Center application running on platforms in wireless carriers' networks was set to process close to 700 billion text messages by the end of 2009.
TCS's messaging software had powered approximately 480 billion messages through the third quarter of 2009, surpassing the expected 2 billion messages per day mark. The company expanded its deployed messaging platform base by nearly 30% in 2009.
According to a recent report from Frost and Sullivan, the text messaging demand is estimated to increase by more than 50% in 2010. Based on latest growth trends, TCS messaging software in carrier customers' networks was expected to power well over two-and-a-half times the volume it handled in 2008 by the end of 2009.
Additionally, TCS has signed another multi-quarter capacity agreement with its largest commercial customer to extend support for the continued rapid rate of text messaging growth.