Baltimore County : Innovation + Job News

Baltimore County has announced that its 2011 Restaurant Week  will take place Jan. 14 through Jan. 28. The dates, revealed last week, came with an open invitation to Baltimore County restaurateurs to participate in the event.

"We have so many wonderful restaurants in Baltimore County and this promotion will make it easy for residents and visitors to enjoy our local flavor," says County Executive Jim Smith. "I am looking forward to two delicious and affordable weeks of dining in Baltimore County."

The county hopes a wide variety of eateries throughout the area will participate. The Baltimore County Department of Economic Development office has sent out more than 500 letters to County restaurants outlining the promotion and inviting participation.

"It's easy and affordable for restaurants to participate," says Jill Feinberg, conference and tourism director for Baltimore County. "We expect to appeal to all palettes and price points." Participating restaurants will offer 1, 2, and 3-course lunch and dinner menus from $10.11 to $35.11 at five-dollar increments.

More information can be found at www.baltimorecountyrestaurantweek.com.

Source: Baltimore County DBED
Writer: Walaika Haskins

General Motors announced last week that it will invest $23.5 million for additional production of vehicle electrification components on the site of the Baltimore Transmission Plant, site of the first electric motor manufacturing facility in the U.S. to be operated by a major automaker.

The new investment will create 11 job openings to be filled in accordance with the UAW-GM National Agreement.

"This will allow us to strengthen our core electrification components expertise," says GM Manufacturing Manager Arvin Jones. "We'll have more to say about specific products later."

The investments in the White Marsh facility will be made with the assistance from the Recovery Act funding announced in August 2009 by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The newly announced investment is in addition to the $246 million investment announced in January to build a high-volume electric drive production facility for GM's next-generation rear-wheel drive Two-mode Hybrid system. The addition of electric motor production, to begin in 2013, will take place in a separate facility to be built on the same site as the Baltimore plant. The January investment will create about 200 jobs in three states, including Maryland.

Designing and manufacturing electric motors at Baltimore Transmission allows GM to more efficiently control the design, materials and production processes as well as reduce costs and improve performance, quality, reliability and manufacturability.

Source: General Motors
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Oculis Labs, a cyber security firm based in Hunt Valley, MD, won the American Security Challenge Award for its Private Eye 3.0 software last week. The prestigious national contest offers security technology companies with market-ready products an opportunity to showcase them for an audience of government and corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists.

"It's an invitation only event with sponsors like Northrup Grumman and other big defense-related players. They chose us from among 150 applicants," says Bill Anderson, Oculis Labs CEO.

The company received a trophy to commemorate the win, however, the true prize is the chance to lure potential investors, partners and customers. According to Anderson, Oculis has received inquiries from a number of firms interested in possibly partnering with the company on future projects.

"What's nice about this one is it's the largest form of recognition we've gotten so far and it gets a lot of attention from potential government customers," Anderson says. "The event is all about bringing together companies with technologies useful for solving government security problems. It's one of those events that get us attention and its nice to get the recognition."

"The products we have look relevant and real, according to feedback from judges," he continues. "They want something they can use right now, not something that works only in someone's basement. They were also looking for something really powerful. There are many companies who are making different versions of the same thing. The judges were looking for companies solving problems that have been around for awhile, and that's what we're doing."

Source: Bill Anderson, Oculis Labs
Writer: Walaika Haskins