EAI Corp., a national defense contractor based in Abingdon, Md., is one company that specializes in “all hazards” solutions for military and civilian government customers.

In September, the company revealed an expansion project, which will double its headquarters by the time the project is completed this year.

Once the 20,343 square foot addition is finished, EAI’s office space will total 45,530 square feet.

EAI’s impressive rate of employment growth, exceeding 25 percent each year for the past three years, has been largely driven by the current emphasis on homeland security and domestic preparedness.

Currently, EAI Corp. employs 140 people in Abingdon and 350 nationwide. Based in Abingdon since 1981, the company is just one of several technology companies, including Battelle, SAIC, SafeNet and CCL Laboratories, that have located or expanded recently in Harford County.

“It has been a very good location for us,” said Barney Michel, president of EAI. “Harford County is the reason why we have been able to expand our work force. People are happy to live and work here and that has made recruitment easy.”

Elsewhere in Maryland, the nation’s first business incubator specializing in the development of homeland security technology companies was unveiled in Anne Arundel County in October.

Based in Annapolis and strategically located in proximity to government agencies, and defense and security corporations, the Chesapeake Innovation Center (CIC) is already 80 percent leased with early-stage business ventures offering homeland security technology solutions.

The facility’s seven client-companies — Global Wireless Network Inc., ICUC, Lighthouse Communications, LLC, PharmAthene Inc., Realinterface Expert Systems, Real User Corp. and Secured Processing Inc. — were introduced at the October grand opening.

They were competitively selected from more than 100 applicants. Collectively, the companies’ industry experience includes, but is not limited to, biodefense, communication and information technology solutions.

Poster Companies for High Tech

Maryland has traditionally been a favored location for high-tech companies involved in a wide spectrum of industries.

From life sciences to information technology, the state is a high-tech breeding ground thanks to educated workers, solid infrastructure on many levels and industry advocates on the state and local level.

In October, United Therapeutics Corp. began the newest biotech expansion project in Silver Spring. The company plans to build a 40,000 square foot, state-of-the-art ovarian cancer laboratory in near its world headquarters.

“We are proud to follow the path blazed by MedImmune as a Montgomery County-based biotech leader, and are especially proud to be growing in re-energized Silver Spring,” said Paul Mahon, senior vice president of United Therapeutics.

Other high-tech projects unveiled include Qovia Inc., which received a $500,000 investment from the state of Maryland to help the company continue its development of hardware and software technologies and products relative to Internet telephony.

The Frederick-based company was founded in 2002 and creates products that monitor and manage voice quality, ensure network reliability and enhance operations in enterprise Internet telephone systems.

“Getting a new company off the ground is never easy,” said Richard Tworek, founder and CEO of Qovia. “Having started several successful companies, I know how difficult it can be. That’s why the guidance, counsel and funding from the State of Maryland’s Department of Business and Economic Development was so valuable.

“Today, thanks in part to the involvement of the Investment Financing Group at the state of Maryland, Qovia has added nearly 40 new jobs to the Frederick County economy,” he added. “And with our technology portfolio rapidly expanding, our product sales increasing rapidly and the Internet telephony industry taking off, we are well-positioned to continue to be a poster company for the Maryland technology economy.”

Support Operations Flourish

A variety of support business operations have cropped up in Maryland during the past several months and FedEx Ground, an operating unit of FedEx Corp., was behind a substantial customer service facility project.

North America’s largest small-package ground carrier tapped Hunter’s Green Business Center II near Hagerstown for its new Mid-Atlantic Processing Center.

The facility is the first of 10 planned new package processing and sorting centers and should be operational by 2006. Nearly 400 people will initially be employed at the facility, which will process 45,000 packages per hour when it reaches full capacity.

Maryland’s strategic location was a key factor in the company’s decision.

“The Mid-Atlantic region is home to a large concentration of manufacturers and is critical to our continued success,” said Daniel J. Sullivan, president and CEO of FedEx Ground. “The new facility will complement our Harrisburg (Pa.) operation in better meeting the needs of a strong and growing customer base and will serve as a consolidation and distribution point for shipments destined to and from other parts of the country.”

Another well-known company, Sears, Roebuck and Co., said in recent months that it planned to create 69 new jobs in Howard County with its new customer service routing center.

In November, ground was broken in Aberdeen for a $12 million, 300,000 square foot medical product processing and distribution center for Medline Industries.

The customer service facility will be home to 40 people who currently work for Medline locally, and eventually 60 additional workers as business develops. The Illinois-based company has 22 other distribution sites, five manufacturing plants and six customers service centers around the country.

“We chose Harford County for its strategic location between Baltimore and Philadelphia,” said Robert M. Waller, senior vice president of operations for Medline Industries. “The location creates the opportunity to service the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia markets easily.”

— Rachael Hedgcoth

Facts & Contacts

DEMOGRAPHY AND ECONOMY

Population: 5.5 million

Capital: Annapolis

Three Largest Cities: Baltimore, 632,681; Frederick, 48,710; Gaithersburg, 48,395

GSP: $165 billion

Per Capita Income: $32,465

Percentage of Private Manufacturing

Labor Force Organized: 20.9%

Right to Work State: No

Unemployment Rate: 4.2% (Nov. 2003)

Average Hourly Manufacturing Wage: $14.80

Population Age 25 and Over With a Bachelor’s Degree or More: Baltimore, 15.5%; Frederick, 24.0%; Gaithersburg, 39.6%

Corporate Income Tax Rate: 7.0%

Primary Industries: Manufacturing, agriculture, services, tourism

Targeted Industries: Life sciences/biotechnology, telecommunications, information technologies, manufacturing (technology driven), aerospace, health services, financial and professional services, minority business, international trade

BUSINESS ASSISTANCE

Worker Training Programs: Maryland Industrial Training Program, Partnership

for Workforce Quality

Enterprise Zones: 34

Foreign Trade Zones: 3

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

Aris Melissaratos, Secretary

Maryland Department of Business

and Economic Development

217 East Redwood St.

Baltimore, MD 21202

(410) 767-6300, fax: (410) 333-8628

Web: http://www.choosemaryland.org