Tech Development at UMBC, From Both Sides

By Mark R. Smith



It can be tough to recall that, just a decade ago, business incubators in Maryland were few and far between.

Since, however, numerous jurisdictions and organizations have revved up these economic development engines, hoping that nurturing fledgling biotech and IT-related firms will eventually result in high-paying jobs that impact the local economy.

The approach at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), while not unique nationwide, is novel in the state. The university offers approximately 30,000 square feet of incubation space in its techcenter@UMBC (a former Martin Marietta site) and promotes the nearby bwtech@UMBC Research & Technology Park, which will hopefully house some incubator grads.

The two entities employ 500 workers and, combined with UMBC's research and staffing capabilities, make the university a powerful player in the Corridor tech market. The research park has yet to make much impact, but its long-term prognosis - with the economy improving and recent positive vibes from the IT market - is good.



Unusual? Yes and No

Phillip Singerman, executive director of the Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO), summarized UMBC's standing in the technology community by noting, "Providing incubator space É is tremendously important in Maryland.

"When I came to Maryland, I was surprised that there was not much going on with research parks," he continued. "The University of Maryland College Park has a large research park that is not widely recognized. But UMBC has been a pioneer in the state tech community."

Calling the UMBC incubator "very successful," Singerman noted that TEDCO has backed up his statements with plenty of green. Its board has committed $775,000 to the cause since last fall, which is targeted toward renovation of 18,000 square feet in an adjacent building and more wet lab space inside the incubator, given the scarcity of such facilities for early stage companies.

TEDCO has also provided about $21,000 in funding to the incubator for business assistance. While the incubator currently houses 16 startups, six emerging technology companies (plus several university collaborations with NASA's Goddard campus in Greenbelt) and has graduated 21 others since its founding in 1989, the success of the research park, a collaboration with D.C.-based Grosvenor, is no more than expected.

RWD Technologies (formerly based in Columbia), which moved in the fall of 2001, employs 200 workers and is the lone tenant to date. Still, the university is hoping for an eventual five-office-building complex and was optimistic enough to start construction of a new, 60,000-square-foot, multi-tenant building recently, slated for completion in September. The techcenter also attracts its share of commercial companies - and not all are incubator graduates.



A Role Model

Techcenter@UMBC is home to small concerns such as Fluorometrix Corp., Next Breath, Scientific Products & Systems and Sphere Software, but perhaps the most notable grad is In Vitro Technologies, which began its post-incubation phase in the techcenter in 1996, when the company employed 15 people and moved into 10,000 square feet of permanent space. Today, it employs more than 60 workers, has tripled its presence and will post revenues exceeding $10 million in 2004.

Company President Paul Silber recalled the early days of the project. "We moved in in July 1991, when the incubator was still in large trailers off Poplar Avenue (near the main campus)." In Vitro, which caters to pharmaceutical companies by testing drugs with cells from animals and humans, pays regular market rate for its space.

However, it's important to note that the company could have easily located elsewhere. "We relocated to UMBC as a nascent business from Texas, when there were not many incubators in Maryland," Silber said, adding that UMBC has "proven to be a great location" for several reasons.

"The road network around here is terrific and the location is ideal for our customers, with the AMTRAK and BWI Airport nearby," he said, "and our employee base spans from York County [Pennsylvania] to Northern Virginia, which is great. I think our tenure here says it all."

While noting that the proximity of the Hopkins organization, the National Institutes of Health, Aberdeen Proving Grounds and the University of Maryland network also influenced his decision, Silber said, "The most important capital we have is human capital. People in York don't want to commute to the D.C. area and people from the D.C. area would often rather commute north in the morning than head south on Route 95."



Latest Attraction

Calling In Vitro "essentially an anchor tenant," Silber said that UMBC's resources and opportunities to collaborate with professors, students and the library are also crucial. "Their artists even designed our original logo," he said.

In Vitro's success at UMBC has not been lost on the heads of other companies. Johnny Flores is the director of Techguard, an IT company that recently moved in. The company created the Great Walls of Fire firewall and brings a working relationship with NSA to the table.

"We considered several incubators, but feel that UMBC is the hub of the local industry because of its reputation first, plus its location," Flores said, also pointing to the university's vast resources.

Flores said that NSA is working toward certifying the firewall. "We are hoping that happens by the first quarter of 2006," he said. "Then more doors will open to other agencies that need workers with clearances" to work with them.

Techguard just announced a three-year government contract with options and a program ceiling of $15 billion. While the success of that deal would obviously propel the company to greater heights, Flores said it's "too early to tell if we would move into the tech park. But that would provide us with some additional benefits."

It seems that the phrase "too early to tell" is often heard in incubators, where nurturing progress is placed above all else. "Each incubator can modify policies when necessary, so companies can stay longer or shorter than originally planned," said Edward Sybert, director of the biotechnology industry program for the University of Maryland's Technology Advancement Program in College Park.



Activity Brewing

Sybert noted that the economy is "just coming out a very severe economic downturn" and predicted "a lot of movement" in the startup sector because money will be available.

Not that anyone is expecting for the coming years to be late-'90s d?jˆ vu all over again. "Business models can't be as tenuous as before," Sybert said. "The IT sector blew up, in part, because of the lack of solid businesses and has not recovered yet. We are already well into the information age and all sectors will recover, ultimately."

Indeed, it's been a rough couple of years. But Ann Lansinger, president of the Maryland Business Incubator Association (MBIA), seconded Sybert's thoughts. Lansinger, who served in management at techcenter@UMBC for several years until 1997, is especially keen about the additional wet lab space.

"There is not much available in smaller units in the Corridor, because many wet lab users need customized buildings. But that represents too much risk for developers, since the developers pay for the building and space up front, then for the customization through rent money received during the life of the lease."

But the possibility of such companies failing looms large, which is why more wet lab space at UMBC is so attractive. "That type of space is limited in Baltimore City, though more is planned by public and private concerns, and there is some within the University of Maryland's Technology Advancement Program (TAP) in College Park and in Montgomery County."

While the University of Maryland Baltimore is constructing a research park on the city's west side that is envisioned to include seven buildings, and the University of Maryland College Park may add a research park to complement TAP, Lansinger, like Singerman, called UMBC "a leader," since it was first to envision an academic research park in Maryland."

As for that park, she acknowledged that it "has been difficult getting that project off the ground. But they surely looked at the leaders across the country when considering the best designs for the buildings. I believe that it will eventually succeed."