Author: Delaware Prosperity Partnership

Delaware: The Small State Big on Innovation

Written on . Posted in In the News.

Option: 1

Delaware: The Small State Big on Innovation

21 OCTOBER, 2019 | KURT FOREMAN | INDIA GLOBAL BUSINESS

Some of the world’s most transformative innovations got their start in Delaware. Centrally located on the East Coast of the US, between Boston and Washington DC, Delaware is known for its global leadership in science, tech and agriculture thanks to the track record of successful Delaware companies such as DuPont, which has operated in the First State for more than 200 years.

Thanks to Delaware Governor John Carney, two new business incentives will ensure that Delaware continues its storied legacy of business friendliness and innovation. The Angel Investor Tax Credit offers a 25 per cent tax break to individual backers who invest a minimum of $10,000 in a qualified Delaware company. Businesses eligible for the incentive must have fewer than 25 employees and engage in innovation as their primary business activity. This tax credit includes and is not limited to energy, food technology, cellulosic ethanol, materials science technology, nanotechnology, biotechnology, medical device products, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, biologicals, and chemistry.

The New Economy Jobs Tax Credit supports employers that add at least 200 new jobs in the state with an annual salary averaging $70,000, or 50 new jobs with salaries of at least $120,000.

Businesses are choosing Delaware because of its highly respected and trusted corporate law system; its enviable East Coast location, varied talent pool its commitment to diversity and ease of incorporation.

When you combine Delaware’s access to an exceptionally experienced and welcoming talent pool from some of Fortune 500’s most innovative companies, emerging entrepreneurs have the best of both worlds, as well as the wonderful quality of life Delaware has to offer.

Just ask research scientist, Sumedh Surwade, PhD. He joined Fujifilm in New Castle, Delaware after post-doctoral research at the University of Pittsburg and Oak Ridge National Lab.

He founded SAS Nanotechnologies and is developing a potentially transformative innovation – environmentally friendly, self-healing, anti-corrosive coatings. It’s not only a green idea, but it also has implications and applications for everything from aerospace to the marine industry. Industries spend billions annually on repairing or replacing corroded metallic structures; a planet-friendly, self-healing coating would revolutionise industries that use metal.

The brand name for the planet-friendly coating is Shobhation. Surwade and his wife named the coating after his mother, Shobha, a Hindi word that means Grace; they blended the name with the defining super-quality of the coatings “to inhibit corrosion” and came up with Shobhation.

SAS Nanotechnologies not only won top honours at a local chamber of commerce’s 2018 Swim with the Shark’s Entrepreneurial Summit, it also garnered one of the AkzoNobel Paint-the-Future Global Start-Up Challenge Awards in Amsterdam. The competition for this international honour is steep and just getting short-listed is an honour, let alone winning.

With several patents in the review process, Surwade could have started his new company anywhere, but he chose Delaware. Surwade thinks Delaware makes it easier to begin a business than other places he has been. Delaware’s strong talent science and tech talent base gave him the encouragement he needed.

“In my opinion, Delaware is a wonderful place to start a business. It is a welcoming and friendly state with extremely talented people willing to share and support scientists and engineers starting out on their own. The support and guidance SAS Nanotechnologies received has been essential to our success,” said Surwade.

Shobhation is now being reviewed by industry partners and potential customers for feedback. Based on their insights, the product will be further refined, inching closer to commercial launch. As a beneficiary of investment capital, Surwade says angel investor tax credits play an important role for science and tech start-ups. “Angel investment is essential in the early days of capital-intensive research. To complete the journey from innovation to bench, to prototype, to commercial scale, is labour and capital intensive. Angel investors make all the difference.”

Batta Environmental Associates found its way to Delaware through a different route. Company founder Naresh Batta arrived in the US in the mid- ‘70s from India to complete an MS degree in Chemistry at the internationally recognised program at the University of Delaware. He liked what he experienced here, and he decided to form his business Batta Environmental Associates in the university-based town of Newark, Delaware.

Since its inception, Batta has grown steadily both domestically and internationally with work in Mexico, the UAE and India. With a solid presence along the East Coast, Batta’s growth plans include expanding its Environmental Engineering and Consulting Services both state-wide and internationally.

Senior VP Neeraj K. Batta says Delaware is a great and safe place to raise a family with the opportunity to experience everything from exceptional parks, beaches, art and culture, with easy access to just about anywhere.

Although Batta Environmental Associates has not leveraged Delaware’s tax credit, incentives or strategic fund, Batta explains that some of their clients have.

“In fact,” says Batta, “Delaware’s Brownfields Grant and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from Delaware State Housing Authority have enticed some of our clients to actually locate and build in Delaware.”

Delaware has something for everyone, from small-town charm to metro life, and it is one of the most affordable and accessible places to live along the East Coast of the US.

Kurt Foreman is President and CEO at Delaware Property Partnership.

This article was originally posted on the Delaware Business Times at https://indiaincgroup.com/delaware-the-small-state-big-on-innovation-india-global-business/ 

Kurt Foreman

PRESIDENT & CEO

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

Delaware Innovates to Build a Strong Talent Pipeline

Written on . Posted in Press Releases.

Option: 1

Delaware innovates to build a strong talent pipeline

Pathways program provides training and on-the-job experience for in-demand careers

(Wilmington, Del.) High school students in Delaware are getting a jump start on careers in growing fields including health care, hospitality, advanced manufacturing and biomedical science. The Delaware Pathways program is part of the national Pathways to Prosperity Network aimed at preparing students for a secondary education and careers in high-demand fields.

Formed in 2014, Delaware Pathways was created to help fulfill the Delaware Promise: By 2025, 65% of Delaware’s workforce will have a two- or four-year degrees or professional certificates to match the percentage of Delaware jobs that require them. In Delaware, because employers need middle- and high-skill employees, academic degrees and industry certificates are given equal weight. The program is quickly expanding, in part due to a $2 million, three-year grant from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and a $3.25 million, three-year grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

“Pathways couldn’t have come at a better time; talent is top of mind,” said Kurt Foreman, President and CEO of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, the nonprofit that leads the state’s economic development effort. “Pathways is allowing students to explore career paths that heretofore they may have never thought about or considered. We know that there is demand for these positions. By giving high school students the training in these fields, Delaware is positioning the students and the state for success. This makes Delaware that much more attractive to prospective businesses.”

The first pathway, advanced manufacturing, is “immersive,” said Paul Morris, associate vice president for workforce development and community education at Delaware Technical Community College. “Students come to Delaware Tech every other day,” Morris explained. “The two-year program has 600 hours of training and education.”

In allied health, students can earn credentials that will make them job-ready when they graduate high school. They can become a licensed, certified nursing assistant, a certified phlebotomist and nationally certified patient-care assistant. The program also is a bridge between high school and college. While certain pathways don’t require 600 hours, they let students explore high-demand fields.

Workplace experience is an essential part of the model. In Delaware, 85% of employers surveyed said they were likely or very likely to hire the student they had engaged with for an immersive work-based learning experience.

For more information, delawarepathways.org.

About Delaware Prosperity Partnership
Created in 2017, Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) is a nonprofit, public private partnership that leads the state of Delaware’s economic development efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses.  DPP works with site selectors, commercial developers and business executives focused on where to locate or grow a business. The DPP team’s services include working with prospects to review potential sites, cost-of-living, and funding opportunities, including available tax credits and incentives. For more information, visit www.choosedelaware.com.

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

JPMorgan Chase Awards Grant to Delaware Prosperity Partnership to Advance an Inclusive Tech Talent Pipeline

Written on . Posted in Press Releases.

Option: 1

JPMorgan Chase awards grant to Delaware Prosperity Partnership to advance an inclusive tech talent pipeline

WILMINGTON, Del. — The JPMorgan Chase Foundation has awarded a $205,000 workforce readiness grant to the Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP), the state’s lead economic development organization, to create a plan for a more inclusive tech talent pipeline.

The demand for technologists continues to grow, with national forecasters predicting that, by 2020, there will be 1.4 million open positions that require tech skills, but only 400,000 people qualified to fill them.

Delaware, with its robust business and financial services sector, is well suited to respond to the demand. Across the state, eight colleges and universities, 224 public and charter schools, and a $21 million workforce system are poised to equip residents with the skills they need.  In addition, the number of non-degree tech programs (i.e. boot camps and accelerated courses) has grown rapidly in the past few years.

However, despite these programs, there is a need to prepare more residents to enter tech roles and expand opportunities in the sector, especially amongst people of color and individuals from low-income communities.

“Creating a more inclusive tech talent pipeline is critical,” says Kurt Foreman, President and CEO of the DPP. “A diverse workforce leads to diversity of thought, which is key to innovation. We are privileged to serve as convener and connector for this project, which will ensure that Delaware continues to lead the nation as a place to do business.”

This project, funded by JPMorgan Chase, will develop a plan that positions Delaware to meet employers’ tech talent needs over the next decade with homegrown talent from diverse communities across the state, and ensure clear pathways for individuals with barriers to employment or who are historically underrepresented in tech.  The project includes two key elements:

  • A thorough analysis of the current and anticipated tech job market, the supply of qualified applicants, and the current educational and non-profit capacity to meet the demand.
  • A strategic plan to identify how Delaware can address the talent gap that exists and improve the inclusiveness of the pipeline.

“This plan will help position Delaware to retain existing businesses and attract new ones by strengthening the support system that prepares Delaware residents for the jobs of the future,” says Tom Horne, Delaware Market Director at JPMorgan Chase. “We are proud to partner with Delaware Prosperity Partnership to advance career pathways in tech and promote inclusive economic growth across the state.”

DPP will lead the process, working with a statewide advisory committee of key stakeholders and external consultants, conducting the audit of the current tech landscape, and facilitating the development of key strategies to address the identified gaps.

About Delaware Prosperity Partnership
Created in 2017, Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) is a nonprofit, public private partnership that leads the state of Delaware’s economic development efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses.  DPP works with site selectors, commercial developers and business executives focused on where to locate or grow a business. The DPP team’s services include working with prospects to review potential sites, cost-of-living, and funding opportunities, including available tax credits and incentives. For more information, visit www.choosedelaware.com.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.7 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of customers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

Agribusiness: An Up-Close Look at Delaware’s Farms

Written on . Posted in Success Stories.

Agribusiness: An up-close look at Delaware’s farms

7 OCTOBER, 2019

In September, the Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) led its second ag tour, connecting local entrepreneurs and researchers to farmers and other agtech stakeholders to learn from one another and problem solve.

The group started at the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA), where they were greeted by Ag Secretary Michael Scuse, then they visited Fifer Orchards in Camden. Bobby Fifer, one of the owner/operators of the farm addressed the group, shared challenges that the farm faces in terms of business and technology and fielded questions from the group. Ed Kee, DPP Board member and former Ag Secretary, also answered questions and spurred on the discussion.

Sec. Kee then led the group to visit farmer Brandon Bonk, who took a break from harvesting corn in one of his fields outside of Frederica to answer questions from the group, ranging from the breadth of technology inside the cab of his combine harvester, to the types of cover crops he uses to seed his fields when not in primary use. Bonk, who farms nearly 5,000 acres with only a modest staff, uses a sophisticated operation to handle the breadth of acreage.

Entrepreneurs and researchers were able to have direct access to farmers and relevant stakeholders to gather information. This is the second farm tour led by DPP, and is part of our organization’s commitment to the AgTech and Ag community in Delaware.

For more information and/or to participate in the next tour (Likely in Spring 2020) email scoulby@choosedelaware.com.

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

Q&A with Christina Pellicane, I-Corps Program Administrator

Written on . Posted in Success Stories.

Q&A with Christina Pellicane, I-Corps Program Administrator

7 OCTOBER, 2019

Why do you think the NSF I-Corps is valuable to starts-up in the science and engineering space?

The University of Delaware’s NSF I-Corps Sites provides grants of up to $3,000 and training to support team-based customer discovery research aimed at investigating the commercial viability and societal impact of a novel STEM technology or process.

Typically, academic researchers who begin down the path of commercialization never stop to ask themselves, “Does anyone care about my technology?” or, even more insightfully, “How does my technology solve a real problem in the world today?”

The I-Corps Site program provides a low-risk environment and a structured process to systematically validate (or invalidate!) components of a business model and ultimately determine whether the business has product-market fit.

Not only that, but the I-Corps site program also provides $3,000 in non-dilutive funding to get out of the building and talk to potential customers. This is an opportunity that didn’t exist for entrepreneurs even 10 years ago. If you wanted to start a startup, you had to bootstrap it or find an investor who believed in you. Academics are great at explaining how a technology works but I-Corps teaches them to learn why it’s valuable to customers.

How many train-the-trainer sessions have you conducted so far?

This cohort is our 15th and it’s the first we’ve done in partnership with the NYC Regional Innovation Node (NYCRIN). NYCRIN runs all of their regional programs as a train-the-trainer, which makes this collaboration very exciting. We’ve been able to train 12 fantastic adjuncts who all have experience as startup founders, CEOs, intrapreneurs or investors! Our bench of potential I-Corps Site instructors has dramatically increased this fall.

Having a larger bench of instructors is important for diversity and inclusion (67% of our current adjuncts-in-training are women or underrepresented minorities) as well as our capacity to train even more I-Corps Site teams going forward with highly-qualified entrepreneurship practitioners.

How do we measure the success of I-Corps?

Fail fast. Fail often. Failing isn’t something we usually celebrate at a university but, when it comes to entrepreneurship education, we do.

It’s important that success is measured by learning and not by validating what you thought might be true about your business model. From that lens, success is measured by talking to many potential customers about their pain points, pivoting and iterating and finally building a solution to a problem that the entrepreneur knows exists because they heard it repeatedly and directly from the voice of the customer.

In addition to measuring the number of customer interviews and strength of the business model, success is measured by the number of teams who received follow-on funding. A few of these funding sources are the NSF I-Corps Teams program, VentureWell’s E-Teams program, our Blue Hen Proof of Concept Program and our Summer Founders pre-accelerator program.

We strongly encourage I-Corps Site teams to apply for the national NSF I-Corps Teams grant, which provides a $50,000 grant and a longer, more intense Lean LaunchPad program.

Tell us more about Horn Entrepreneurship & I-Corps:

Horn Entrepreneurship serves as the University of Delaware’s creative engine for entrepreneurship education and advancement. Built and actively supported by successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders, Horn Entrepreneurship empowers aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs as they pursue new ideas for a better world.

Horn Entrepreneurship became an NSF I-Corps site in 2014 with the central aim of serving as an “Ecosystem Catalyst” for the university and the broader region. In the 4+ years post-award, the impacts and outcomes associated with the site suggest that this aim has been accomplished.

The National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps) site program provides specialized training and mini grants of up to $3,000 to help teams bridge the gap between academic research and product commercialization, University intellectual property, or any STEM-related technology. This program provides real-world, hands-on learning experience that improve the odds for successful products and processes that benefit society.

The entire Team will engage with industry stakeholders – including customers, partners and competitors. The team will also experience first-hand, the chaos and uncertainty of commercializing innovations and creating ventures.

This course will not teach you how to write a research paper, business plan or NSF grant proposal. It is also not an exercise to prove how smart you are in a lab / classroom, how well you use the research library, or if you can publish a paper. Rather, this course is about “getting out of the building.” You will spend a significant amount of time talking to customers and testing your hypotheses. You should not participate in the I-Corps program if you cannot commit the time to talk to customers.

Referenced webpages:

Blue Hen Proof of Concept Program: https://www.udel.edu/research-innovation/horn/venture-support/blue-hen-poc/

UD I-Corps Site: https://www.udel.edu/research-innovation/horn/venture-support/nsf-i-corps-sites/

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

sustainable fish feed

White Dog Labs and Cargill Team up to Offer Sustainable Fish Feed

Written on . Posted in In the News.

White Dog Labs and Cargill team up to offer sustainable fish feed

30 SEPTEMBER, 2019 | DELAWARE BUSINESS TIMES

September 5, 2019 – Cargill, the global agricultural supply company, has entered an agreement with Newark-based White Dog Labs to develop sustainable alternatives to fishmeal in aqua feed.

The deal gives Cargill access to ProTyton, a patented single-cell protein developed by White Dog Labs that is produced by fermentation with corn feedstock.

The protein is set to ship out from White Dog Labs’ demo facility in Sutherland, Nebraska in 2020.

“This agreement underlines our commitment to sustainable aquaculture and discovering new and strategic ingredients that will help feed the world in a safe and responsible way,” said Adriano Marcon, president of Cargill’s aqua nutrition business. “ProTyton offers a good source of protein for fish and shrimp, an affordable feed ingredient for farmers and a sustainable option for the planet that lessens our reliance on fishmeal—which we know to be a finite resource.”

Starting off Cargill will offer ProTyton in salmon feed, with shrimp and other species on the horizon. In trials, salmon fed a diet containing ProTyton™ achieved a growth performance comparable to salmon on a conventional diet.

“We’re honored to partner with Cargill to lead the industry in the application of highly scalable, alternative proteins for aquaculture,” said Bryan Tracy, chief executive officer, White Dog Labs.

The agreement follows another collaboration for White Dog Labs. This summer the firm announced a strategic partnership with InnovaFeed to scale up and jointly market fish feed made with insect protein.

This article was originally posted on the Delaware Business Times at: https://www.delawarebusinesstimes.com/white-dog-labs-sustainable-fish-feed/

Kurt Foreman

PRESIDENT & CEO

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

American Airlines’ in-flight magazine, American Way

Delaware Gets Major Push Through American Airlines In-Flight Magazine

Written on . Posted in In the News.

Option: 1

Delaware gets major push through American Airlines in-flight magazine

30 SEPTEMBER, 2019 | DELAWARE BUSINESS TIMES

September 26, 2019 – Delaware is about to lose its status as one of the country’s best-kept secrets.

The October issue of American Airlines’ in-flight magazine, American Way, hits seatbacks on Oct. 1, with a 16-page, 4,000-word special section on six topics with a range of local leaders extolling the virtues of the First State.

The magazine chooses the subjects of its section using five criteria, said Carsten Morgan, vice president of special projects for Ink Global, which publishes 25 magazines with clients including United Airlines and Amtrak:

  • Is the community misunderstood and does it have a great story to tell?
  • Is the community ignored? Morgan said this will be one of the largest articles on Delaware to be printed by a major publisher.
  • Is it about to go through an economic renaissance? Morgan says the article will be “forward-looking.”
  • Is the timing right? “The question is whether we have the opportunity to tell the story before others do,” he said.
  • Does American Airlines have a major presence in the subject of the article?

On that last question, Morgan said American handled 69.3% of the passengers boarding flights originating in Philadelphia in 2018. That represents nearly 10.6 million of the 15.2 million enplanements the airport had last year.

But the visibility is potentially much larger.  American flies about 17 million passengers per month, with about 70% of those domestic passengers.  Morgan said American Way has an audited readership of 5.4 million domestic flyers and an additional 30% for international passengers for a total of 7.1 million anticipated readers. All seats throughout the system globally have American Way in the seatback pocket.

“It’s the first time we’ve covered the state of Delaware in any kind of detail since the American Airlines-US Airways merger” in 2013, Morgan said, adding that the section includes stories on such topics as:

  • Welcome to Delaware, featuring a Q&A with Gov. John Carney and timelines and factoids about the state.
  • The Trailblazers, with a focus on innovation and interviews with Delaware State University Provost (and future President) Tony Allen; CSC CEO Rod Ward; and FMC CTO Kathleen Shelton.
  • Changing the World, a story about health care in Delaware, featuring interviews with Christiana Care CEO Janice Nevin and Nemours CEO R. Lawrence Moss.
  • Global Impact, a 1,500-word story about key industry clusters that includes Delaware Prosperity Partnership President and CEO Kurt Foreman; Incyte CEO Herve Hoppenot; Adesis President Andrew Cottone; Delaware Tourism Office Director Liz Keller; GT USA Port of Wilmington CEO Eric Casey; and presidents Dennis Assanis and LaVerne Harmon from the University of Delaware and Wilmington University, respectively.
  • Guide to Delaware, which provides information on Sussex, Kent and New Castle counties.
  • State Tour, a lifestyle section that highlights arts and culture; the beaches, outdoor recreation; and the DuPont mansions.

“Part of DPP’s strategy is to build greater awareness and understanding of Delaware’s value proposition locally, regionally, nationally and internationally,” Foreman said.  “Having our governor and major business leaders share their vision in a major publication is a powerful way to let others know why Delaware is an ideal place for business location and growth.”

Delaware is a great place to do business, and we are competing every day with states across the country for good-paying jobs.” “This was a chance to showcase Delaware to folks who may not be aware of what our state has to offer. We continue to look at opportunities to highlight Delaware’s strong economy and quality of life to attract businesses and visitors to the First State.”   – Gov. John Carney

DSU’s Allen is excited about the additional visibility that his university will get over the next month.

“I fly a lot, and when I get the chance to visit the cockpit I look to see if there’s a pilot of color sitting in one of the seats. When I find one, I ask them where they trained. Five times out of six in the last year, the answer is ‘Delaware State University.’ As the No. 1 provider of professional pilots of color in the United States, getting covered by American Airlines is a beautiful fit,” he said. “Delaware State University is the most diverse, contemporary historically black college/university in America. Our challenge is telling our story to as many people as possible, and American Airlines is the perfect vehicle to spread the word as far as possible to a huge readership.”

Ink Global’s Morgan said, “Delaware: Why the First State Wants to Be First to Mind for Businesses, Workers, and Visitors” is an editorial-first publication and not sponsored content, meaning you did not have to advertise in the issue to be featured in it.  But Delaware State has a two-page ad in the publication (plus a free smaller ad that Allen negotiated); full-page ads for Nemours, the Delaware Prosperity Partnership and Christiana Care; and half-page ads for CSC and FMC.

This article was originally posted on the Delaware Business Times at: https://www.delawarebusinesstimes.com/american-way-delaware-focus/

Kurt Foreman

PRESIDENT & CEO

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

Christina Care Health System

Written on . Posted in Success Stories.

Success Story: ChristianaCare™

[chevron-down]

ChristianaCare™ Health System

A national leader in quality, safety and health care innovation

Christiana Care is one of the country’s most dynamic health systems, focused on improving health outcomes, making high-quality care more accessible and lowering health care costs.

A Leader in Innovation

Christiana Care is driving health care innovation in Delaware. Its unique care coordination program, Carelink CareNow, uses predictive analytics and machine learning to identify at-risk patients and focus attention on medical and socio-behavioral issues before they escalate. The program integrates real-time information about hospital admissions, doctor visits, lab results – even patients’ daily vital checks that they perform at home – to coordinate care.

With more than 100,000 program members, Carelink CareNow has earned national attention, including the 2017 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award, the nation’s preeminent recognition for quality and safety in health care.

Christiana Care’s Health & Technology Innovation Center is another force for innovation. It brings together IT experts, caregivers and the community to create solutions that connect people with their health and well-being through data and technology. For example, in one initiative that gained national media attention and earned the 2018 Magnet Prize from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the Health & Technology Innovation Center partnered with nurses at Christiana Care’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute to make the experience of chemotherapy easier for patients through the use of virtual reality technology.

First in the First State

Christiana Care is home to the world-renowned Gene Editing Institute, the only research institution of its kind embedded in a clinical cancer center. Here, scientists are at the forefront of CRISPR research, a gene editing technology lauded as one of the most significant scientific discoveries of our time.

In another first, a unique partnership between the Gene Editing Institute and Delaware Technical Community College delivers a gene editing curriculum to community college students—one of many examples of Christiana Care’s efforts to nurture a vibrant biotechnology and healthcare workforce in Delaware.

Nationally Recognized for High-Quality Care

Christiana Care has been consistently honored with the highest designations in quality and safety from leading independent health care quality rating systems, including Healthgrades, U.S. News & World Report and CareChex Quality Rating System.

Christiana Care includes an extensive network of outpatient services, home health care, medical aid units, two hospitals (1,227 beds), a Level I trauma center and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit. It also includes a comprehensive stroke center and regional centers of excellence in heart and vascular care, cancer care and women’s health.

Christiana Care is also a teaching health system with more than 260 residents and fellows. Its 11,856 employees make it Delaware’s largest private employer and among the top 10 largest employers in the Philadelphia region.

Finally, Christiana Care’s new Center for Women & Children’s Health, opening in 2020, will transform the care of women and children. Designed for the whole family, the center will feature private patient rooms, spacious labor and delivery suites and an innovative neonatal intensive care unit that will be among the most advanced in the nation.

Quick Facts

  • 11,856

    DELAWARE EMPLOYEES

  • 1,227

    HOSPITAL BEDS

  • #1

    LARGEST PRIVATE EMPLOYER

  • 5

    DELAWARE CAMPUSES

Becky Harrington

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

Continue reading

Miller

Miller Metal Fabrication

Written on . Posted in Success Stories.

Success Story: Miller Metal Fabrication

[chevron-down]

Miller Metal Fabrication

Delaware manufacturer embraces technology to bring LEAN manufacturing to reality

A leader in Delaware’s manufacturing industry, Miller Metal of Bridgeville, has been specializing in the fabrication industry for more than 30 years. The company’s founder, Martin Miller Jr., began his career as a food processing equipment inventor. At its founding, the Company was located in a small backyard shop spanning 2,500 square feet.

Today, Miller Metal has nearly 100 employees and offers a full array of manufacturing services for its diversified client base. The Company provides state of art (CAD) design, laser cutting, bending, machining, welding and assembly services. Despite its size, Miller Metal has a substantive manufacturing presence in the Mid-Atlantic, where it services local, regional, national and several international clients in a variety of industries.

Combining Creativity and Technology

The Company strictly adheres to a commitment of embracing the latest available technologies, combined with continuous adaptation to modern manufacturing practices, such as LEAN and “just-in-time” principles. Adherence to strict quality standards is another overriding principle at Miller Metal.

Currently, the Company has more than 60 advanced pieces of equipment, including lasers, waterjets, stamping presses, pipe cutters, press brakes, milling machines and robotic welders. Incidentally, Miler Metal also has one of the largest press brakes on the East Coast.

Expanding Presence in Delaware

Over the years, the company has experienced a series of expansions. In 1993, Miller left his original backyard shop for a larger space in Harrington. Soon after, Miller Metal teamed up with Delaware-based material handling solutions company, O.A. Newton & Son., to co-exist at Newton’s headquarters site in Bridgeville in Sussex County.

In 2014, Miller Metal added a machine shop to its operation, where it has several high-tech milling machines. That same year, the Company started a rubber and hose division, the Delmarva Rubber Company, at its Bridgeville location. Delmarva Rubber provides specialty rubber, gasket and hose products to the agriculture, manufacturing, public safety, chemical and food processing industries.

“You pay for the product, not the name”

Despite its success, Miller Metal stays true to its roots, remaining a family owned business with the owner’s three sons―Martin III, Dave and Paul―each retaining management roles within the Company.

As one of Delaware’s premier homegrown manufacturing companies, it’s clear that Miller Metal puts innovation at the forefront of its business model. As Miller often tells his employees, “you pay for the product, not the name.”

Quick Facts

  • 100

    APPROX. EMPLOYEES

  • 60+

    EQUIPMENT PARTS

  • 30+

    YEARS IN BUSINESS

  • 2014

    EST. DELMARVA RUBBER CO.

Becky Harrington

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

Continue reading

Adesis

Written on . Posted in Success Stories.

Success Story: Adesis, Inc.

[chevron-down]

Adesis, Inc.

A world-leading life sciences company with Delaware roots

In 1991, Adesis, Inc. was founded as CB Research and Development in Newport, Delaware: one of the first boutique chemistry Contract Research Organizations (CROs) in North America.

Fast forward nearly three decades, Adesis is now one of the fastest-growing life science companies in America. As a leading custom organic synthesis CRO, Adesis specializes in organic and organometallic synthesis to support the pharmaceuticals, biomaterials and catalyst industries. Today, its clients include seven of the top 10 Big Pharma companies as well as more than 100 companies in biotech, material science, agriculture, ophthalmology and virtual reality.

Delaware Expansions and National Acquisition

Back in 1991, Adesis occupied a mere 2,000 square feet of space. In 2000, the company relocated to New Castle to grow its business. With 25,000 square feet―twelve times the size of its original space―Adesis began to build its business from the ground up, from laboratories in a warehouse environment, to broadening its commercial horizons into diverse industries.

By mid-2016, the Adesis success story attained an even greater level of recognition when it was acquired by Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq: OLED), a global leader in the OLED ecosystem. Nearly a year later, with plans of increasing critical mass and expanding its CRO offerings, Adesis purchased another New Castle building, essentially doubling its square footage to almost 50,000 square feet.

In October 2018, Adesis celebrated the grand opening of its new, state-of-the-art chemistry laboratories, where Adesis scientists perform leading-edge discovery, development, and commercialization services. Along with state and local Delaware officials, the Delaware Prosperity Partnership supported the expansion, awarding Adesis a $445,224 grant to help facilitate its growth, resulting in the creation of more high-tech jobs in Delaware.

Bringing International Talent to Delaware

Adesis’ leadership team believes in hiring talented chemists with exceptional work ethics, integrity, versatility and a commitment to deliver the best results. Today, the company has 103 employees, approximately 80 percent of which are PhD chemists from around the world.

That talent mindset has paid off. Currently, 73 percent of the company’s employees are located in New Castle, while the other 27 percent operate out of Adesis’ Wilmington office. Its workers have an average of five years of industry experience and the company enjoys a rare 93 percent employee retention rate. Adesis is also a sponsor of Delaware Innovation Space and has lab space at the DuPont Experimental Station in Wilmington.

“Benefitting Generations to Come”

When asked about the company’s latest expansion in Delaware, Senator Tom Carper summed up Adesis’ success story and its future impact on society perfectly: “We are thrilled that Adesis chose to make Delaware its home, and we are rooting for the company’s continued success and growth. This expansion not only means job growth here and now in Delaware, but a level of innovation that can benefit generations to come.”

Quick Facts

  • 103

    DELAWARE EMPLOYEES

  • 68

    PHD EMPLOYEES

  • 85

    CHEMISTS

  • 93%

    EMPLOYEE RETENTION RATE

  • 7

    TOP 10 BIG PHARMA CLIENTS

Becky Harrington

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

Continue reading

Fair Square Financial

Written on . Posted in Success Stories.

Success Story: Fair Square Financial

[chevron-down]

Fair Square Financial

Fintech startup is new leader in the Delaware lending industry

With Wilmington’s nickname as the “credit card capital of the world,” it’s no surprise that the Delaware city is home to the nation’s new up-and-coming startups in banking and finance. In fact, our legacy of high-tech entrepreneurs and financially-savvy talent are taking advantage of this robust industry cluster, helping bring the next wave of fintech innovation to Delaware.

That’s the story behind Fair Square Financial, a Wilmington-based company led by CEO Rob Habgood, a long-time veteran of the credit card industry, who spent more than two decades at corporate firms like Bank of America and Capital One. Incorporated in 2016, the company is best known for its competitive brand of transparent and low-fee Ollo credit card products that are aimed at Americans not adequately served by major financial brands.

Bringing Innovation to Consumer Lending

To differentiate itself in the existing credit card market, Fair Square leverages big data and machine-learning algorithms to incorporate hundreds of data points to assess individual customer credit risk. That’s great news for people with historically low credit scores, as the company doesn’t believe a financial credit score is always an accurate gauge of the ability to qualify for credit. Instead, Fair Square believes that its model offers a more comprehensive and technologically-advanced assessment of credit risk.

As of 2018, Fair Square has lent MasterCard holders more than $400 million, welcoming customers to the market with clear and simple products that grow with them as well as streamlined digital services, including online credit education.

High-Value Investment and Talent in Delaware

Fair Square is a prime example of the wealth of investment opportunities in Delaware. In 2018, Fair Square received a $100 million investment from Vikram Pandit, former CEO of Citigroup, and his investment firm, the Orogen Group, which saw enormous potential in the company. Prior to that, the company secured a $200 million investment from financial services-focused private equity firm Pine Brook as well as an $800,000 grant from the State of Delaware.

Today, the company operates in a downtown Wilmington co-working space, not far from the city’s longstanding financial industry giants, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclay, Capital One, Discover and more. With increased funding under its belt, the company hopes to increase its workforce to more than 100 employees in the next two years, effectively doubling its current employee count. Ultimately, that’s a good sign for Fair Square’s growth trajectory, considering Habgood believes his staff’s expertise will continue to drive the company’s innovation. For instance, Fair Square’s executive team has several decades of diverse credit card experience combined.

The Future of Fintech in Delaware

Based on his success, Habgood also believes that more industry executives and entrepreneurs will continue to turn to new ventures like Fair Square, in part thanks to the innovation opportunities and energetic feeling emerging enterprises offer compared to large, traditional corporate banks.

That’s a positive outlook for the industry overall. With Delaware’s financial services industry serving as our state’s largest generator of economic activity, it’s clear that Fair Square and its band of revolutionary new financial services ventures will continue to be positioned for success in the First State.

Quick Facts

  • $100

    MILLION RECENT INVESTMENT

  • 50

    EMPLOYEES

  • $400

    MILLION LENT

Featured Stories

See all stories

Becky Harrington

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware

Continue reading

Marlette Funding

Written on . Posted in Success Stories.

Success Story: Marlette Funding

Marlette Funding

Top ranking Fintech company brings 232 new jobs to Delaware by the end of 2023

FinTech is one of the fastest-growing, disruptive innovations in the country. Delaware’s bench strength in the business and finance sectors makes it an attractive choice for FinTech sector. During the past five years, employment in Delaware’s finance industry grew by an annual average of 2.4%, twice the national rate and much faster than neighboring states. Delaware has been a magnet for out-of-state direct investment by financial services firms in recent years, with $725 million invested since 2010. Wilmington is the leading destination in our region for this investment.

Marlette Funding, LLC, a Delaware-based FinTech that runs an online lending platform called Best Egg for a traditional bank lender, leverages technology to create a distinctive customer-centric focus delivering a faster, easier and more personalized experience. Its technology platform speeds and improves the customer experience, using machine learning and artificial intelligence to remove friction, reduce credit and fraud losses and create a hassle-free consumer experience. Users of the Best Egg loan platform can instantly view loan offers within seconds and with no impact to their credit score, and qualified applicants receive funds in as little as one business day.

Its user-friendly approach has resulted in being named the 2018 Consumer Choice award winner from Best Company. The company maintains an A+ Rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

In a short time, Marlette Funding has developed a reputation for its commitment to a positive and creative employee culture, as reflected in its employee engagement score, which ranks in the top 10 percent of thousands of companies using OfficeVibe, a leading online employee engagement platform, across 90 countries and recognition in 2018 by the American Banker as one of the Top Fintech Places to Work

In November 2018, Delaware Prosperity Partnership awarded Marlette Funding a $2.73M grant for the creation of 232 new jobs in Delaware before the end of 2023. Currently, there are over 30 open positions. A full list can be found here.

Quick Facts

  • 232

    NEW JOBS IN DELAWARE BY END OF 2023

  • TOP

    FINTECH PLACES TO WORK, AMERICAN BANKER

  • TOP

    WORKPLACES, DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

  • A+

    RATING, BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU

Becky Harrington

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Newsletter Sign Up

Stay Up To Date With Delaware