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Division of Business Development Accomplishments - 2007

DBED’s Business Development Team helped bring about a number of significant Maryland “wins” during the past year. They include:

  • With grant assistance from DBED, Allen Family Foods committed to expand operations and add 750 new jobs in Talbot and Dorchester counties. The deal, which will support one of the most important industries on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, was heralded as an outstanding example of the types of successful partnerships that can occur when State and local governments leverage their resources and work together to better the community. As part of the expansion, the company plans a $5 million renovation of its processing facility in Cordova, which will help retain its current 570 employees and add a projected 400 new positions by 2009. The company is also planning a $6 million expansion of its Hurlock processing facility, which will help retain its current 700 employees and add a projected 350 new positions by next year.

  • Leading financial services firm Morgan Stanley signed a lease for 137,000 square feet of Class A office space in Harbor Point, a new $700 million, mixed-use waterfront project located between Harbor East and Fells Point. Building on an already established presence of 450 employees at its Business Services and Technology facility (which opened in 2002 with assistance from the State and the City of Baltimore), Morgan Stanley projects to add up to 900 new jobs over the next decade. DBED provided site selection assistance in the very early stages of this project, including the identification of the required highly skilled workforce, and also in conjunction with Baltimore City provided a performance based incentives package.

  • Comcast Cable signed a lease for 92,000 square feet of office space in Largo. The facility will serve as a technical support center for customers of Comcast's new "Triple Play" offering of cable television, high speed internet and telephone. DBED and the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation provided $550,000 in conditional loans to be used for project costs associated with Comcast’s new Advanced Service Center, which is expected to bring up to 500 new permanent, full-time jobs to Prince George’s County. An additional workforce grant of up to $200,000 will be made available from DBED to assist with training needs, and the company will also be eligible for local and state property tax credits.

  • Cinetic Landis Grinding Corp., a global manufacturer of precision grinding systems, announced the relocation of its manufacturing/assembly facility to Washington County from Pennsylvania. The new state-of-the-art facility is being built on 28 acres in the Newgate Industrial Park and will include 85,000 square feet of manufacturing space and a two-story, 24,000 square foot office complex. This estimated $10.5 million project will bring approximately 150 higher paying jobs to Washington County. 

In 2007, DBED created three very successful Foreign Direct Investment missions to grow Maryland companies abroad and attract foreign companies here:

  • DBED accompanied Lt. Governor Anthony Brown and a delegation of Maryland businessmen and economic development officials on a first-of-its kind foreign direct investment mission to China. Highlights of the trip included the first ever signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, in which an American state, Maryland, is designated as a preferred location for Chinese companies to establish their physical operations in the U.S. market. The MOU signing was followed by meetings with senior-most level decision makers with a dozen large Chinese companies, including Fosun Pharma and Asia Pulp and Paper, strong, multi-million dollar FDI candidates which DBED continues to actively pursue.

  • DBED accompanied six Maryland companies to the The Paris Airshow in 2007, which resulted in several significant economic opportunities for Marylanders. As a result, a Dutch company is establishing its first US office in Bethesda and a foreign aircraft manufacturer is considering Maryland for a major east coast expansion

  • DBED joined forces with the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development on a successful mission to India. The 30-member delegation included 18 private sector Montgomery County-based businesses and 5 representatives from Montgomery College - as well as county and State representatives. Targeted meetings and roundtable discussions were held over 10 days with close to 200 Indian life sciences and advanced technology companies. As a result of the Nov 2007 mission, several Indian pharma, drug discovery and advanced technology companies are planning exploratory visits to Maryland this year; and two Indian companies will set up operations in Montgomery County’s Rockville Innovation Center this spring. Further discussions with a major India-based airline company, seeking a North American hub for its first direct US-India flight will continue in 2008.

  • DBED attended BioKorea 2007, BioJapan 2007 and BIO Europe 2007 to promote the benefits of Maryland’s Biotech industry and location, as well as to conduct business partnering meetings with foreign biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. More than 30 direct scheduled meetings were conducted, resulting in the identification of more than a dozen prospects and numerous leads.

In 2007, DBED helped design and put into service the State’s first Life Sciences Advisory Board, a 15-member body tasked with developing a comprehensive strategic plan for Maryland’s life sciences industry. Chairman Tom Watkins convened the inaugural public meeting of the LSAB on October 17, 2007. The creation of a comprehensive State Strategic Plan for Bioscience is the first and foremost task before the Board. Seven areas of focus were identified and six working groups have been formed to develop recommendations for the plan. The Board met again in December to here initial working group reports. The first quarter of 2008 will consist of working group meetings and another series of reports to the Board in early March. It is the intent of the Board to deliver an approved strategic plan to the Governor and General Assembly before December 15, 2008.