Tag: New Castle County

Millennial-centric banking app

Millennial-Centric Banking App to Hire 30-50 Industry Vets to Drive Growth

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Millennial-centric banking app to hire 30-50 industry vets to drive growth

15 MARCH, 2019 | DELAWARE BUSINESS TIMES

Acorns, the company behind a simple investment application with more than 5 million account holders, will add up to 50 technology and operations jobs downtown over the next six months, expecting to find them among longtime Delaware bankers looking to return to the fast-growth days.

The Irvine, California-based company’s core product is a mobile-banking app that rounds up users’ daily purchases to the nearest dollar and automatically puts the difference into investment accounts.

New Chief Technology Officer Hugh Tamassia says the company sees Wilmington as “a powerful financial community that has been depleted over the past few years with people who can help us scale and add products,” he said.

He should know. Both Tamassia and Acorns Chief Operating Officer Manning Field worked for JPMorgan Chase in Wilmington for more than a dozen years.

The new Acorns employees will be housed in The Mill, a co-working space located a block from Rodney Square, in what is another positive piece of news this week for downtown Wilmington.

Tamassia says he’ll be looking for 20 to 30 technologists —developers, testers, program managers, and scrum masters —while the operations side will be looking for 10-20 risk managers and other operations people “with years of doing banking at scale who can bring that experience to an emerging product.”

Tamassia, who joined Acorns on Jan. 11, said he’s been charged with ensuring “that every part of our infrastructure is scaled to meet the demand of a fast-growing customer base.” He’s looking for people like himself who will be attracted by the company’s vision of being a financial wellness system that “puts the tools of wealth-making in everyone’s hands.”

Acorns, which launched in 2014,was one of Fast Company magazine’s Most Innovative Companies of 2019 and counts actor Ashton Kutcher and Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant among its investors.

Perhaps more important, NBC Universal and Comcast Ventures announced an equity investment in the startup in late January that includes a strategic partnership with Comcast-owned CNBC to produce original content with Acorns.

The investment was part of Acorns’ latest $105 million funding round, which put its valuation at $860 million. BlackRock, Bain Capital Ventures, TPG’s Rise Fund, DST and Michael Dell’s MSD Capital also took part in the Series E round. NBCUniversal, which is now Acorns’ biggest shareholder, also received a seat on the startup’s board.

According to the company, the average Acorns customer is around 32 years old with an income of $50,000 to $60,000. The CNBC partnership is designed to reach an “up-and-coming” financial audience that is younger or less financially savvy.

In addition to its retirement-investment product, Acorns users can open an IRA and obtain a checking account and debit card that link to its investment products.

 

Kurt Foreman

PRESIDENT & CEO

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Wilmington PharmaTech to Expand in Delaware; Planning New Large-Scale Manufacturing Facility

Written on . Posted in Press Releases.

Wilmington PharmaTech to expand in Delaware; planning new large-scale manufacturing facility

25 FEBRUARY, 2019

(Wilmington, Del.) – 

Wilmington PharmaTech, with locations in Newark, Delaware and Suzhou Jiangsu, China, is expanding – planning to hire up to 139 new employees and invest $18 million in a new state-of-the-science research and manufacturing facility, to be located on 2309 Sunset Lake Road in Newark, Delaware.

Wilmington PharmaTech, in operation since 2003, is a Contract Research/Manufacturing Organization that provides integrated services to pharmaceutical companies and biotech firms to expedite new pharmaceutical product development. One of their main offerings is manufacturing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API’s) and related materials under cGMP, which is an important aspect in the drug development process that is required to ensure product quality and provide consistency during formulation and manufacture.

PharmaTech currently employs 37 full-time staff in the United States in several Newark locations including a 16,000 square foot building at 229A Lake Drive, a 50,000 square foot facility on Sunset Lake Road (previously owned by DuPont) and a 40,000 square foot building at Pencader Drive.

“Wilmington PharmaTech’s expansion shows Delaware’s distinctive strength in supporting biotechnology and pharmaceutical start-up companies and builds on a foundation that began more than 200 years ago with the DuPont Company,” said Governor John Carney.  “We remain committed to supporting job growth throughout Delaware.”

Dr. Ke Li, PMP®, PharmaTech’s Director of Operations, presented the company’s growth plans to the Council on Development Finance (CDF) on Monday, February 25, including the plan to build a new, large-scale pharmaceutical production facility. Wilmington PharmaTech requested a $300,400 performance-based grant to support adding new jobs and a grant of $360,000 for assistance with capital costs.

“This marks the next wave of growth, positioning Wilmington PharmaTech as the leader in new drug manufacturing in the US,” Said Hui-Yin Harry Li, Ph.D., President and CEO of Wilmington PharmaTech. “This expansion scales up operations and significantly enhances offerings to our clients in API manufacturing and related services. It also expands our portfolio of research, development, and potential commercial API services. PharmaTech’s expansion plans fulfill the commitment to growth and its hallmark reputation for excellence for our employees, customers, partners and our community in the state of Delaware.”

About Wilmington PharmaTech

Wilmington PharmaTech is a fully integrated Contract Research/Manufacturing Organization (CRO/CMO) specializing in chemical process research and cGMP manufacturing, analytical method development and validation.  The soon-to-be-built Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) manufacturing will serve the growing pharmaceutical, biotech and virtual biotech startups and as a one-stop contract research and manufacturing service provider. To learn more about Wilmington PharmaTech, please visit http://www.wilmingtonpharmatech.com.

 About Delaware Prosperity Partnership

Delaware Prosperity Partnership is a nonprofit that leads the state of Delaware’s economic development efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses; to build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem; and to support private employers in identifying, recruiting and developing talent in the state of Delaware.

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Chemours New HQ

Chemours Opens New Global HQ in Renovated DuPont Building

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Chemours opens new global HQ in renovated DuPont Building

16 JANUARY, 2019

The Chemours Company, a global chemical firm, opened its renovated company headquarters on January 15 within the historic, 106-year-old DuPont Building on Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington — the former headquarters of DuPont, which spun off Chemours in 2015.

“This is a place that our team can be proud to call home,” Chemours President and CEO Mark Vergnano told the gathering of local dignitaries. “Our renovated office is a perfect metaphor for Chemours – a company grounded in its legacy, but transforming into an agile, innovative and collaborative enterprise with a bias for actions and growth.”

Now in his fourth year as leader of the new company, Vergnano expressed continued confidence about Chemours’ future growth in a time of market turmoil. In an interview with Delaware Business Times after the ceremony, Vegnano said, “People recognize that we’re the world leaders in our fields, and the market gets that,” he said, referring to the decentralized firm’s three operating units – Titanium Technologies, Fluoroproducts and Chemical Solutions.

The new headquarters will occupy 280,000 square feet in an 11-story segment of the building that is owned by the Buccini/Pollin Group (BPG), which also oversaw the 20-month renovation. Chemours’ share of construction costs was $30 million.

Vergnano said his company made a conscious decision not to change the building’s name to the Chemours Building out of respect for the company’s heritage, which dates back to the founding of DuPont on Brandywine Creek in 1802.

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, Gov. John Carney, Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki and BPG Co-President Christopher Buccini were among the speakers at the ceremony and ribbon-cutting event that took place in the ornate Nobel Room on the 11th Floor.

Buccini purchased the building, including the Hotel du Pont, from Chemours in 2017 and set about revitalizing the structure, including adding residential units.

“After having renovated the Nemours and Brandywine buildings earlier, we had the knowledge of what worked and what didn’t work,” Buccini said. “This project stressed tested our company’s capabilities.” In his prepared remarks, Buccini noted that “Chemours’ decision to be based in this historic building is a fitting tribute to their heritage, while their 21st Century workspace points boldly to their future. We are proud to have been on this journey with them.”

Approximately 850 Chemours employees and contractors will work in the headquarters, which has 125 meeting rooms, 73 conference rooms and one café per floor of the building. The structure’s open-concept design features ergonomic chairs and sit/stand desks. In addition, 500 marble panels were recovered during renovation– about 50 tons in all – and reused in the building.

Carney noted that “this is probably the happiest day I’ve had in my two years as governor,” crediting the work done toward keeping Chemours in Wilmington and Delaware by his predecessor, former governor Jack Markell. “The state of Delaware can’t be successful without Wilmington being successful, and Wilmington can’t be successful” without a strong business base.

Purzycki, who followed Governor Carney to the podium, said, “If John is happy, you can’t imagine how happy the mayor of Wilmington is.”

Business analysts continue to be bullish on Chemours, most rating it a “buy” or “strong buy” to potential investors. Vergnano expressed confidence in the strength of the American economy, while noting that global market volatility continued to make the company’s stock undervalued. “I was given the advice by other CEO’s when I took over not to check the stock price every day,” he said. “We can’t control market volatility, which is a reflection of the fact that the market hates uncertainty.”

He re-stated his opinion that Chemours, with its worldwide manufacturing and marketing capabilities, is positioned better than most companies to weather this uncertainty, which includes tariff wars, the slowdown of the Chinese economy and what will play out with Brexit, the UK’s planned withdrawal from the EU.

“We’re not interested in acquisitions or new business outside the three areas where we have a strong presence,” he said. “Second, we will continue to invest in ourselves [through normal business expansion]. And, we will continue to provide cash back to our stockholders.”

Chemours had annual revenue in 2017 of more than $6 billion and with 45 manufacturing and laboratory sites worldwide, serving customers in over 130 countries.

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angel investor

Angel Investor Tax Credit Puts Delaware in the Top 10 for Tech

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Angel investor tax credit puts Delaware in the top 10 for tech

3 JANUARY, 2019 | TECHNICAL.LY DELAWARE

The Milken Institute has been publishing its biannual State Technology and Science Index since 2002, a study that evaluates each state in the U.S. by several factors, including access to startup capital and startup activity.

Delaware cracked the top 10 in 2016. Now, thanks to a new tax law that allows gives startup investors a credit on investments over $10,000, the state is ranked higher than it’s ever been previously, at No. 7.

The tax credit bill, the Angel Investor Job Creation and Innovation Act for Small Technology Companies, signed into law by Governor John Carney last May, gave Delaware a big boost in the study. In the sub-index measuring the ability of tech and science companies to obtain investment, Delaware previously had a below-average rank of 29. Now, that factor is ranked 15.

In two of the study’s sub-indexes, Delaware ranked No. 5: the strength of its tech and science workforce, and its business startup rate of 53.4 per 1,000 residents.

The top four ranked states — Massachusetts (1), Colorado (2), Maryland (3) and California (4) — have all maintained the same ranking since 2016. Washington and Minnesota each dropped one place, but remain in the top 10.

Elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic, Pennsylvania is No. 13 (up from 14 in 2016), and New Jersey dropped from 17 to 21.

Kurt Foreman

PRESIDENT & CEO

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Port of Wilmington Privatization Deal Promises More Jobs, Stable Economic Future

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Port of Wilmington privatization deal promises more jobs, stable economic future

18 SEPTEMBER, 2018

Delaware officials on Tuesday signed a final agreement with Emirati port operator Gulftainer to privatize the Port of Wilmington.

Gov. John Carney and Gulftainer officials signed a document commemorating the agreement in front of a crowd of state and local government officials.

Badr Jafar, chairman of Gulftainer’s executive board, said the deal and accompanying growth in the state’s port business will “firmly establish Wilmington as the largest logistics facility on the Delaware River and the leading food gateway on the East Coast.”

Carney said the deal would secure and grow the state’s current maritime workforce and blunt Delaware’s loss of “blue-collar jobs” over recent years.

“I come here with a big smile … knowing that what we are going to do here today is to secure the jobs of the people and the families who work here at the port and those who are going to work in the years to come,” Carney said.

Under terms of the 50-year deal, a U.S. subsidiary of Gulftainer will take over operations of the existing port of Wilmington at the confluence of the Christina and Delaware rivers.

It will invest some $600 million in upgrades and build a new container-handling terminal on the Delaware at Edgemoor, officials have said.

State officials estimate the takeover could double the 5,700 port and maritime-related jobs in Delaware.

A spokesman for Carney declined to provide a copy of the agreement but said it will be made available after a legal review.

The agreement takes effect in the coming two weeks, officials said. The state will continue to own the existing port property as well as the Edgemoor property, which was once DuPont Co.’s Edge Moor chemical production facility. The state bought that property for $10 million in 2016.

Per the agreement, the state will receive concession payments from Gulftainer totaling about $10 million a year in the coming decades.

The company, based in the United Arab Emirates, opened its first U.S. container facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2015. The company has ports in the UAE, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Brazil and is a subsidiary of the Crescent Enterprises, a privately held UAE conglomerate.

“The underlying potential of the north American market has long been an aspiration for Gulftainer,” Jafar, the company chairman, said.

Jafar said the company will double the container throughout of the current port to “underpin” the development at Edgemoor.

The agreement sets a goal for a 75 percent increase in traffic for non-containerized goods like liquids and automobiles, officials have said.

Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock, who chairs the port’s operating board, said the kind of jobs created will “secure the state’s future.”

“You can still get big things done in our state,” Bullock said.

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Christiana Care Listed by U.S. News as ‘Best Hospital’

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Christiana Care listed by U.S. News as ‘Best Hospital’

16 AUGUST, 2018

For the third year in a row, Christiana Care Health System has been rated a Best Hospital by U.S. News & World Report.

Out of more than 4,500 hospitals in the U.S., New Castle-based Christiana Care was one of only 29 to achieve the highest ratings in every common condition or procedure.

Christiana Care was also recognized as the best hospital in Delaware and was ranked No. 3 among the 90-plus hospitals in the Philadelphia region, a release stated.

“At Christiana Care, we serve together to make a positive impact on the health of our community,” said Janice E. Nevin, Christiana Care president CEO. “That impact starts with the high-quality, safe care that we provide in our hospitals. This recognition by U.S. News & World Report affirms that we’re exceptional today—and we remain committed to do all that we can to be even better tomorrow.”

The conditions and procedures ranked are:

  • Colon cancer surgery
  • Lung cancer surgery
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • Heart failure
  • Heart bypass surgery
  • Aortic valve surgery
  • Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
  • Knee replacement
  • Hip replacement

These procedures and surgeries represent a high level of achievement across the board and is a testament to our organization’s culture,” said Ken L. Silverstein, chief clinical officer and executive vice president at Christiana Care.

“We know that in order to deliver the very best care, doctors, nurses and other health care professionals need to be able to experience joy in their work,” he said. “We focus on supporting and partnering with our caregivers to create that positive experience.”

U.S. News & World Report measures procedure and condition ratings based on three elements: structures, the resources devoted to patient care; process, whether the practices that help patients are woven into hospital routine; and outcomes, the results of care as measured by five years of claims data and other sources.

It ranks hospitals in nine conditions and procedures as either high performing, average or below average. The procedures and conditions measured were selected based on patient volumes, the availability of comparison data and the presence of risk or complexity.

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Ashland Moving Corporate Headquarters to Delaware by 2020

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Ashland moving corporate headquarters to Delaware by 2020

3 AUGUST, 2018

Ashland Inc.’s announcement that it is moving its headquarters and less than 100 jobs to Delaware marks an investment in a state where the company has had a convoluted and, at times, controversial history.

The new headquarters will be located at 500 Hercules Road in Brandywine Springs, where the company already has an office campus with about 235 workers. The move is expected to happen by Jan. 1 2020.

“Ashland has a long history of innovation and success, including right here in Delaware,” Gov. John Carney said via email. “We’re thrilled they have selected Delaware for their corporate headquarters. This is additional proof that Delaware remains a great place for companies of any size to put down roots, grow, and create jobs.”

The move to Delaware will follow a corporate downsizing at the 94-year-old company that recently fell out of the Fortune 500.

Ashland says it will be “significantly downsizing” its current headquarters in Covington, Kentucky, in advance of the relocation with some of the 48 jobs there being eliminated and others being moved to its facility in Dublin, Ohio.

The remainder will be brought to Delaware, along with employees from its offices in Lexington, Kentucky. About 58 people work at that office, although some of those jobs also will be eliminated or relocated to Dublin, while other employees will be asked to work remotely.

The downsizing is part of a plan Ashland CEO William Wulfsohn announced in May to cut $120 million in expenses. Workers at the two Kentucky offices affected by the move were told of the downsizing on Tuesday.

Ashland saw its stock price jump to a 10-year high of $85.60 per share after the announcement, which coincided with a third-quarter earnings report that showed sales up 12 percent and a $66 million positive swing in net revenue compared to last year.

Founded in Kentucky 94 years ago, Ashland first became a household name here when the company purchased former Hercules Inc. for $3.3 billion in 2008.

Hercules was broken out of the DuPont Co. and once employed 1,800 people at the global headquarters it built in downtown Wilmington. But the company began to falter in the early 2000s after a series of questionable business decisions, leading to its eventual sale.

Ashland later moved its new acquisition out of the city, leaving 125,600 square feet of space vacant in Wilmington’s Hercules Plaza.

Despite the move, Delaware agreed in 2012 to provide Ashland with $10 million worth of taxpayer grants in exchange for the company’s promise to add 300 jobs in five years, bringing its total local workforce to more than 800. The deal was one of the largest economic development incentive packages approved under former Gov. Jack Markell.

But just two years later, Ashland sold its Delaware-based water technologies business to a private investment firm, which renamed the new standalone company Solenis. That business is now headquartered at the 21st Century Plaza in Brandywine Hundred.

The remaining company failed to reach its hiring goal and in 2015 was forced to repay nearly $335,000 of the state grant money it had received up to that point.

The same year, the now-defunct Delaware Economic Development Office helped Solenis win a $1.1 million taxpayer grant to help the company add 122 additional jobs by 2017 – a deal that would have brought its total Delaware workforce to 336. The company exceeded that goal by 31 jobs, state officials said Thursday.

No financial incentives have been offered to Ashland in connection with its impending move to New Castle County, according to the Delaware Prosperity Partnership.

The DPP was created by the General Assembly last summer when DEDO was dissolved and its responsibilities split between the new public-private partnership and the Division of Small Business.

Ashland’s impending relocation marks the first major accomplishment for the new organization since its new CEO Kurt Foreman took the helm in April.

“There wasn’t a lot of selling involved because they already were familiar with Delaware,” Foreman said. “It was more about being ready with the information they were looking for to help them make their decision.”

While Foreman said he is happy to have helped Ashland, he stressed that attracting new companies will not be the sole focus of the partnership.

“We want that to be only one part of our strategy,” he said. “There is nothing better than for those companies we want to bring here to see existing companies in the state grow and thrive. That’s a big part of where our focus is.”

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Agribusiness from Europe Establishes U.S. Headquarters in Delaware

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Agribusiness from Europe Establishes U.S. Headquarters in Delaware

16 JULY, 2018

When it came time for Belchim Crop Protection to decide on the home for its United States headquarters, the European company looked at the Research Triangle in North Carolina. It looked in Kansas City and it looked in Dallas.

So, naturally the agribusiness has set up HQ in a business park on Centerville Road where Prices Corner meets Greenville.

Now, the company with a growing portfolio of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and other biological products is poised to take a larger market share in the U.S.

Last year, Belchim, which reported $600 million in sales in 2017, acquired Prescott, Arizona-based Engage Agro USA, laying the groundwork for major U.S. expansion.

The U.S. arm of Belchim plans $50 million in growth over the next three years. U.S. general manager Tom Wood said the growth will be aimed at expanding from niche fruit and vegetable crops into large row crops like corn.

Most of Belchim’s U.S. customers are on the west coast. The expansion into row crops will open up east coast markets like Delaware, where corn and soy crops are aplenty. Wood said Belchim is going to bring a unique herbicide to the U.S. market that is not there today.

Setting up in Delaware, of course, puts Belchim in the backyard of DuPont, which will live in on Delaware with its Corteva Acgriscience spinoff. Chemical giant FMC also makes Philadelphia its home. Belchim and FMC worked together in 2013, when Belchim granted FMC exclusive rights to develop, register, manufacture and sell Belchim’s proprietary fungicide valifenalate, in North America, Latin America and elsewhere.

Belchim later bought back FMC’s stake in the company after FMC acquired Cheminova.

“It’s a David and Goliath story,” Wood said. “We’re up against giants.

“Our strategy is not to go head-to-head with the basics like Corteva and not to go head-to-head in national distribution… Our strategy is to provide something for those types of companies from a life cycle management perspective. We fill the gaps particularly on weeds that escape their products.

“So it’s something they can add to their portfolio that is cost effective for them, for the grower and allows us to participate in market and take a market share without threatening the giants in any way.”

Belchim currently has just 12 employees in the U.S., up from seven at the beginning of the year. Some of those are out in the field working in regional sales positions across the country.

Four employees work full-time out of Delaware. Wood, a Chester native, said Belchim could have around a dozen or so employees in Delaware in two years.

“We will bring a unique herbicide to the U.S. market that is not there today,” he said. “So it will be a new innovation that the growers will appreciate. They’re already using it in mint crops as an emergency use approved by the EPA. It just gets the really tough weeds that no one else can get and it works well with every major herbicide out in the market.

“A lot of companies will enter the United States and come in with a, ‘Me, too.’ We will have something new that hasn’t been seen in the United States for years or they’ve never seen before.

“Once people start seeing our portfolio, they invite us back.”

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Feds Say no Further Review Necessary for Port of Wilmington Takeover by Emirati Company

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Feds say no further review necessary for Port of Wilmington takeover by Emirati company

28 JUNE, 2018

The terms of the pending 50-year deal would see the state continue to own the land under the nearly 100-year-old Wilmington port while Gulftainer would take over operations of the facility, which sits at the confluence of the Christina and Delaware rivers. The federal sign-off means the final terms must now be ratified by the Diamond State Port Corp., the port’s quasi-public operating board. 

BACKGROUND

General Assembly endorses port privatization plan

Gulftainer chief promises jobs as board gives blessing to port privatization effort

“This is a significant step forward in finalizing our agreement with Gulftainer, which will protect and create good-paying, blue collar jobs at one of Delaware’s most important employment centers,” Carney said in a written statement. 

State officials say the deal could double the 5,700 port and maritime-related jobs in Delaware.

The General Assembly signed off on the deal earlier this year, leaving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) as the only approval outside the port necessary, officials said. 

 

That committee is tasked with reviewing transactions that could result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person in order to determine the effect of such transactions on national security. The panel is comprised of military, homeland security, federal law enforcement officials and others. 

Wilmington would be Gulftainer’s second U.S. port. The company, based in the United Arab Emirates, opened a container facility in Canaveral, Florida, in 2015. The company has ports in the UAE, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Brazil and is a subsidiary of the Crescent Enterprises, a privately held UAE conglomerate. 

Earlier this week, Thomas P. Feddo, deputy assistant secretary of Investment Security for the Department of Treasury informed an attorney representing the state that the deal is not covered under the Defense Protection Act. That act gives the president authority to review certain transactions involving foreign entities. 

 

Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock said having the dozens or so federal agencies review the deal and declare no further review is necessary is the “best response we could have received” and clears the way for finalization of the deal. 

The board already signed off on the basic terms of the agreement earlier this year. 

Gulftrainer CEO Peter Richards has said Gulftainer plans to pour $73 million into the existing port through the next decade to modernize operations. 

 

The deal also calls for the development of a new container facility on state-owned land that was home to DuPont Co.’s Edge Moor chemical production facility to be finished by the first of 2024. Richards called it a $400 million investment. The state bought the 114-acre property from Chemours for $10 million in 2016.  

This article was originally posted on the Delaware News Joural at: https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2018/06/28/feds-sign-off-port-wilmington-takeover/739984002/

 

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Uber for Packages: Delaware’s DeliveryCircle will Remain in State

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Uber for packages: Delaware’s DeliveryCircle will remain in state

20 JUNE, 2018

When it came time to search for funding, Delaware-based DeliveryCircle faced a dilemma: Let investors on the West Coast move their operation across the country or find money that would enable the delivery service company to stay where it’s rooted.

“I personally always wanted to stay in Delaware,” said CEO and founder Vijaya Rao. “I had been pushing back.”

DeliveryCircle works in a similar way as tech transportation companies such as Uber and Lyft, except it deals in packages instead of people. Drivers on the platform run the gamut from professional couriers, stay-at-home moms, seniors and part-time contractors.

The business that launched in February 2014 got the best of both worlds when it came to new financing. DeliveryCircle announced last week it had raised a “significant minority investment” from financial and strategic supply chain investors, led by Cambridge Capital, NFI and other strategic investors.

Now based at the Christiana Corporate Center after graduating from the incubator at New Castle County’s Emerging Enterprise Center, DeliveryCircle will continue its rapid expansion in the ever-growing delivery service space.

Rao said the strategic partnership is “not just somebody giving us a checkbook.” The supply chain investors, she said, will better position DeliveryCircle to continue to grow as “last mile delivery” from businesses to consumers becomes more critical, especially in same-day service, which DeliveryCircle now provides in 19 states and more than 5,000 zip codes.

For perspective, the startup opened service with five drivers and 20 zip codes. There are now more than 900 drivers – all are contractors – on the platform, Rao said.

The company has just eight employees but some funding will go toward hiring back office management and finance positions in Delaware, Rao said.

Staying in Delaware was more than just staying where the company has been rooted. The space between New York and D.C. has proved to be a good location so far.

“We have kind of saturated that belt,” Rao said. “Of course, there is still room to grow. For us it makes sense.”

The company has national aspirations, though.

Rao said the company has grown 300 percent year-over-year during the last three years.

DeliveryCircle’s software and mobile application enable clients to match package sizes with a pool of professional, safe drivers and a variety of vehicle types.

“It’s no longer a hypothesis of a model,” Rao said. “It’s very much a working model.”

Originally, Rao said DeliveryCircle focused on being a business-to-business company. But as activity in the retail space increased, the demand to adapt into a business-to-consumer model increased.

On its website, DeliveryCircle says it works with brands such as Zoe’s Kitchen, Honeybaked Ham, Philly Foodworks and other food companies. Rao said DeliveryCircle also has contracts signed with larger brands and retailers for delivery services.

Most of the small companies DeliveryCircle works with come from referrals, Rao said. The company has not spent any money on marketing.

Rao said money from last week’s Series A funding announcement will go to hiring more full-time employees, business development and the continued geographical growth.

Moving west, it appears, was inevitable anyway.

Contact reporter Jeff Neiburg at (302) 983-6772, jneiburg@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @Jeff_Neiburg.

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Adesis Grows Business and Expands its Fundamental Chemistry Capabilities in Delaware

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Adesis Grows Business and Expands its Fundamental Chemistry Capabilities in Delaware

Partnering with Delaware Innovation Space, Inc.

11 DECEMBER, 2017

New Castle, Delaware – 

Adesis, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq: OLED), today announced that it will open a new suite of state-of-the-art laboratories in Delaware and expand its organic chemistry team and R&D programs. This additional footprint is expected to help drive growth opportunities in areas including next-generation OLED (organic light emitting diode) emitter and host materials and meet the growing demand for the Company’s custom organic synthesis, research & development, and specialty manufacturing services. Adesis also announced that it became a sponsor of Delaware Innovation Space (DISI) and joined its entrepreneurial innovation community. Working with DISI, Adesis signed an agreement for approximately 7,000 square feet of laboratory space at the Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware. The new suite of laboratories, which includes additional ancillary work and meeting space, is expected to augment Adesis’ on-going operations and recently-purchased 47,500 square feet headquarter building in New Castle.

“Delaware is home to a number of great chemical and manufacturing companies like Adesis, who are committed to making a world-class product with a great local workforce,” said U.S. Senator Christopher Coons (D-Del.). “I am delighted to see Adesis and their parent company UDC grow in Delaware as they expand their market reach and product offerings to more users around the world.”

“We are pleased to announce our expanding footprint and increased investment to further boost research, innovation and job opportunities in Delaware,” said Andrew Cottone, President of Adesis, Inc. “As a leading organic synthesis CRO (contract research organization), we are adding to and extending our discovery services and process development capacity for customers across the pharmaceutical, chemical, biomaterials, and catalysts industries. We are enhancing our productivity and effectiveness by streamlining the technology transfer and optimizing the workflow from basic research to specialty manufacturing. Furthermore, by co- locating in our New Castle headquarters and the Experimental Station, we believe that we are building a world-class technology and manufacturing hub to support our customers from innovation to commercialization.”

“Adesis continues to invest in Delaware, and we are thrilled that the company will bring its long track record of innovation to the Delaware Innovation Space,” said Governor John Carney. “We partnered with DuPont and the University of Delaware to create the Innovation Space to foster growth of early-stage scientific- based companies, and encourage collaboration among Delaware’s most talented innovators. The addition of Adesis will support that mission, and we’re thankful for the company’s continued partnership.”

This recent expansion by Adesis was rapidly enabled by the seamless cooperation of the Delaware government and business leaders who have fostered a robust scientific ecosystem.

“The Delaware Innovation Space is pleased to be able to support the growing needs of Adesis and accelerate its business forward right here in Delaware,” said Bill Provine, CEO of the Delaware Innovation Space. “Adesis will be a great new member of our science-based innovation community, and we look forward to working with them to further capitalize on the strengths of our new entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

Adesis has also been assisted by the newly formed Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP). The DPP was recently created by Delaware as a public/private partnership to accelerate economic development efforts.

“It has been a pleasure working with Andrew Cottone and Adesis to help facilitate their Delaware expansion, both in New Castle and at the Delaware Innovation Space,” said John Riley, Interim CEO of the DPP. “This would have been difficult to accomplish had the State, DuPont, and the University of Delaware not set the foundation for success with the formation of the Delaware Innovation Space earlier this year.”

About Adesis, Inc.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Universal Display Corporation, Adesis, Inc. is a contract research organization (CRO) supporting the pharma, biotech, catalysis and a number of other industries. The CRO specializes in organic and organometallic synthesis, in milligrams to multi-kilogram quantities. Adesis has a business model of providing clients with organic chemistry services in three areas: early stage research, scale up and development, and specialty manufacturing. With over 20 years of success and approximately 60 chemists with extensive industry and professional experience, Adesis supports companies in various industries with small molecule organic chemistry expertise. Adesis provides a range of services that can supplement research and development efforts. It can also act as a specialty manufacturer to reinforce supply chains. To learn more about Adesis, please visit http://adesisinc.com/.

About Universal Display Corporation

Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq: OLED) is a leader in developing and delivering state-of-the-art, organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies, materials and services to the display and lighting industries. To learn more about Universal Display Corporation, please visit http://www.oled.com.

About Delaware Innovation Space, Inc.

As home to one of the nation’s first and most successful entrepreneurial ventures founded by Eleuthére Irenée du Pont in 1802, Delaware’s legacy of transformational scientific innovation continues with the establishment of the Delaware Innovation Space, Inc. in 2017. The organization is a vital resource in the scientific startup ecosystem and is a non-profit, public-private partnership that offers multi-dimensional, resource-rich support for scientific entrepreneurs at the Experimental Station campus in Wilmington, Delaware. Delaware Innovation Space offers a centric location and proximity to world-renowned research institutions, global multi-national corporations and a thriving scientific innovation community. More information is available at https://deinnovates.org.

About Delaware Prosperity Partnership

The Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) was formed in 2017 as a private entity to lead the state of Delaware’s economic development efforts. Establishment of this private entity was a critical step to enhance the state’s ability to attract, grow and retain companies; to build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem; and to support private employers in identifying, recruiting and developing talent.

This initiative brings together the resources, commitment, and energy of both public and private sectors and is charged with certain tasks related to economic development. As Delaware faces a more competitive environment and intense global competition for businesses, the DPP will provide the strategic direction for the state’s economic development activity by tapping private sector expertise and resources to work in conjunction with the state.

All statements in this document that are not historical, such as those relating to the Company’s technologies and potential applications of those technologies, the Company’s expected results and future declaration of dividends, as well as the growth of the OLED and CRO market and the Company’s opportunities in that market, are forward-looking financial statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward- looking statements in this document, as they reflect the Company’s current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in greater detail in Universal Display Corporation’s periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, in particular, the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Universal Display Corporation’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. Universal Display Corporation disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained in this document.

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