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Grotech to Deploy $12M for InvestMD
Grotech Ventures, a local venture capital firm, has been selected as the first private venture firm to receive funds to invest through the State’s $84 million InvestMaryland program. As part of the agreement, the firm will have $12 million to invest in Maryland’s promising early-stage companies and, if successful, will return 100 percent of the principal and 80 percent of the profits to the State’s general fund. The Maryland Venture Fund Authority, in partnership with DBED, selected Grotech because of its long history investing in early-stage technology companies in Maryland and overall solid record of investment. Learn more.

 

New Incubator Opens in Baltimore
Betamore, Baltimore’s newest incubator, aims to grow technology companies by day and teach the next generation of entrepreneurs by night. Located in Federal Hill, the 8,000-square-foot incubator features 48 desks for start-ups, a co-working area and two classrooms. Betamore expects to host eight tenants by the end of the month and will begin classes in practical technology and entrepreneurship skills in early 2013. Betamore now hosts tech startup Platfolio, ad technology firm AdStaq and cloud-based project management software firm Procurely.

Western MD Co. Buys Ohio Firm, Hiring
Washington County-based stair manufacturer Duvinage purchased Sharon Stairs of Akron, Ohio and is shifting all production to Hagerstown. Duvinage, one of the nation’s oldest makers of steel spiral staircases, employs 25 and plans to add nearly 50 jobs in the next five years. The company has a number of projects in its pipeline, including orders from the Javits Center in New York City, Drexel University in Philadelphia and a Hilton Garden Inn hotel in Kentucky.

Scientific Talent Grows in Balt. Co.
Pharmaceutics International, a drug development and manufacturing firm headquartered in Hunt Valley, was honored last month with the 2012 Baltimore County New Directions Award. Founded in 1994, the firm has grown from a staff of 12 to nearly 500 with the addition of 300 employees over the last three years. With five new products waiting for FDA approval, Pharmaceutics International expects to hire another 30 by the end of 2012.

MD Hotel Activity Rises
Hotel activity is picking up in Maryland, at least one new hotel is opening and several more are being upgraded. Many hotels are reporting increases in reservations well into next year and are adding jobs. Hotels and restaurants in Maryland gained about 6,000 jobs in the past year, a three percent increase over the year before, according to the latest federal labor figures. Marriott International in Bethesda saw revenues rise to $8.1 billion, up seven percent in the first nine months this year from the same period last year. Net income jumped 23 percent to $390 million.

Nonprofit Arts Generate $1 Billion for MD
Maryland’s nonprofit arts sector had a $1 billion impact on the State’s economy in FY 2011 and supports more than 11,000 jobs. The Maryland State Arts Council’s Economic Impact of the Arts in Maryland: FY 2011 report details how the State’s investments in 244 arts organizations secured a 52 percent direct return in tax revenue. According to the report, the cultural sector supports 11,434 full-time equivalent jobs and $399 million in salaries for local residents. The sector generated $37.8 million in tax revenues for Maryland’s state and local governments. And, every $1 of the arts organizations’ operating budgets spurred $3.64 in additional economic activity.