SWED

News

Wicomico and Salisbury named to "100 Best Communities for Young People" for the third consecutive year! America's Promise-The Alliance for Youth was founded by General Colin Powell. The selection was due, in part, to the launch of The Youth Leadership Academy with the guidance of Linda Hardman, Director of the Wicomico Partnership for Families and Children. Wicomico and Salisbury were the only Maryland jurisdictions chosen this year.

More info can be found at www.americaspromise.org. View press release here (pdf).

County Executive Rick Pollitt recently made his second state of the

county address. Read it here.

Hospital Billing & Collection Services, LTD (HBCS), a leader in the healthcare receivables management industry, chose

Salisbury for its new operations center. The company, leasing 28,000 s.f. in the NorthGate Business Park, anticipates 175

new jobs over the next several years. HBCS was formed to provide

a nationwide group of not-for-profit hospitals with those billing and

collection services that benefit from economies of scale, advanced

technology and specialized expertise.

SWED recently held its 39th Annual Meeting at The Fountains

Wedding & Conference Center. David Edgerley, Secretary of Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development, provided the keynote address..

See more pictures from the event here.

The Knowland Group, holder of the worlds largest database of group events, recently relocated from Washington D.C. to Salisbury / Wicomico County. Knowland, an internet-based technology company, operates within the sales and hospitality industry.

MaTech recently held its grand opening for their facility on Naylor Mill Road. They purchased and renovated the 150,000 square foot former Sealy plant in Northwood Industrial Park. The expansion includes an additional one hundred positions.

Harvard Custom Manufacturing recently began constructing a 60,000 s.f. addition to its Glen Avenue plant. The company anticipates adding an additional two hundred associates over the next two years.

David Ryan presented at the Salisbury Area

Chamber of Commerce's Economic Forecast for 2007. The

presentation can be seen here (pdf).

Rinnier Development recently celebrated a ground breaking for

its Rowen's Mill subdivision located in the City of Fruitland.

Machining Technologies, Inc. (MaTech) announced its recent purchase and scheduled renovation of the 150,000 s.f. former Sealy Furniture plant in Northwood Industrial Park. MaTech is expanding its state-of-the-art precision machine operation and anticipates adding an additional one hundred associates to its current workforce of two hundred.

SWED's 38th Annual Meeting was held October 12, 2006 at The Fountains Wedding & Conference Center. Local economic perspectives on the current and future status of our local economy were presented by Dr. Memo Diriker, BEACON at Salisbury University; Bill Satterfield, Delmarva Poultry Industry; and Dave Ryan, SWED.

More pictures can be seen here.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held July 18, 2006 for the newly renovated incubator space at the Salisbury/Ocean City:

Wicomico Regional Airport. Ameriscan, a GPS company and

a subsidiary of Euroscan (Germany), recently began operations in the incubator. SWED, in conjunction with Maryland DBED, the Airport Commission, and the Maryland Aviation Administration helped to secure funding for the necessary renovation.

Congratulations Salisbury, Maryland on being ranked 55th "Hottest Small City" according to Inc. Magazine. For "Overall Best City," Salisbury ranked 84 out of 393. The list focuses on job growth, and "small city" is determined as one with an employment base of less than 150,000. According to Inc., "For several years now, the nation's entrepreneurial hotbeds have been migrating from the major urban centers to smaller cities on the periphery...The rise of these small communities is the most important trend emerging from this year's survey of the nation's hottest places to do business." To read more and see the complete city listing, visit www.inc.com/bestcities.

SWED's General Membership Meeting was held at The Fountains Wedding & Conference Center on April 19, 2006.

Our guest speaker was the President of Delmarva Power, Mr. Gary Stockbridge. Mr. Stockbridge spoke on the topic of

"Rising Energy Costs."

More pictures can be seen here.

SWED held its 37th Annual Meeting at The Fountains

Wedding & Conference Center on October 12, 2005. Keynote speaker was Aris Melissaratos, Secretary of Maryland DBED.

See more pictures from the event here.

SWED helped Callidus, LLC begin operations and develop marketing initiatives. Callidus, a company begun by two Salisbury University students, develops and distributes

software for the sleep lab industry.

SWED was pleased to assist Machining Technologies, Inc. (MaTech) in its expansion into the former 150,000 square foot Sealy plant in Northwood Industrial Park. MaTech plans to renovate and add an office component to the facility. In

addition to site selection and assistance in permitting,

SWED, along with Maryland DBED, provided funding through

the SWED-Revolving Loan Fund and MEDAAF, respectively.

Ground breaking ceremonies were recently held for East Park Professional Center, located off of Route 50 on Belmont Ave in Salisbury.

SWED held its 36th Annual Meeting in the Comcast Executive Club at the Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. Guest speaker this

year was Chris Low, Chief Economist at FTN Financial. Chris

is widely quoted in the business press, and is a regular on Bloomberg TV, Bloomberg Radio, and NPR's Marketplace.

He regularly writes and delivers BBC Radio's U.S. business news. The meeting was a success with nearly 100 guests.

Silverton Marine recently acquired parcels 261 and 254 with plans to construct a new manufacturing plant expected to

employ approximately 200 associates.

Fruitland recently held groundbreaking ceremonies for its new Prosperity Business Park located at the intersection of US

Route 13 and Cedar Lane.

More information can be found here.

Principals and elected officials celebrate the construction of WestWood Commerce Park on April 16, 2004.

More information about WestWood can be found here.

SWED was proud to be a part of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Rural Development Center's 15th Anniversary Expo. The Expo was held on April 7, 2004 at UMES.

Click here to view partnering projects of SWED and the

UMES-RDC (pdf).

SWED, in conjunction with Salisbury University (SU) and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), planned the "Technology Partnering Showcase" at SU on

March 23, 2004. The event showcased technology initiatives

and research as well as commercialization opportunities throughout the Lower Shore and Maryland.

Click here to view photos of the Technology Showcase.

SWED, through the offices of Senator Paul Sarbanes, helps to secure venture funds for NavTrak, a growing high-tech business

in Salisbury.

On March 11, 2004, SWED held its General Membership Meeting in the Comcast Executive Club at the Arthur W.

Perdue Stadium, home of the Delmarva Shorebirds. Our

guest speakers included Tony Sarbanes, President of the Wicomico County Council; and Jeff Boyd of Cambrex Bio Science in Walkersville, Maryland.

Cambrex Bio Science announces plans to open a biotech manufacturing plant in Northwood Industrial Park. Cambrex is

a global, diversified life science company providing products

and services to accelerate drug discovery, development, and manufacturing processes for the prevention of disease.

SWED recently assisted Century Seals in the company's acquisition of Finishing Technologies, preserving jobs in Wicomico County.

Wicomico County also welcomes Filter Networks and Germane Tool Corporation to our community. Filter Networks is an electronics manufacturer while Germane Tool is an innovative, precision machine company.

SWED, in conjunction with Maryland DBED,completed the transaction whereby Silverton Marine Corporation purchased

the former Webcraft plant (66,000 sq ft) in Northwood Industrial Park. Silverton, selecting our community over several others

in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, plans to create one hundred seventy-five new manufacturing jobs over the next several years. The company is an integral part of Luhr's

Marine Group, one of the largest independent, employee-owned boat builders in the nation. Luhr's also manufactures boats under the Luhr's, Hunter, and Mainship brands.

SWED, in conjunction with the Salisbury/Ocean City: