Annie D'Agostino, Author at NJEDA

By Andrew Kitchenman/NJBIZ
April 12, 2012

Michael J. Van Wagner, vice of president of legislative affairs for New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co., has been named by Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno to serve as acting executive director of the New Jersey Business Action Center, NJBIZ has learned.

Van Wagner will replace Linda Kellner, who has served as the acting executive director for nearly two years. The center is the state office charged with helping businesses stay and grow in New Jersey, serving as a “one-stop” shop for businesses seeking assistance.

By Katie Eder/NJBIZ
April 12, 2012

With dwindling resources and greater demand for transparency from the Internal Revenue Service and funding sources, nonprofits in New Jersey will need to invest in strategic planning and outsource accounting and technology operations to improve their financial performance in 2012, a nonprofit services executive with The Mercadien Group said.

“One of the things we remind our nonprofit clients of is that nonprofit is a tax status, not a business model, and they need to be making sure that donors and funding sources understand that even though they are a charity, they are still a business,” said Sherise D. Ritter, managing director of Mercadien, who chairs the firm’s nonprofit services group. “No one wants to fund general and administrative expenses, but you can’t have a business without them. A donor to Habitat for Humanity wants to see the whole dollar of every dollar going to building houses, but Habitat for Humanity can’t function without those general departments.”

Bridgewater-based developer of wavelength selective switches to network equipment manufacturers will operate as a Fujikura subsidiary

PRINCETON, N.J., April 9, 2012 – Fujikura Ltd., a global supplier of optical fibers and fiber-optic components, announced today it intends to acquire Nistica, Inc., which supplies wavelength selective switches (WSS) to network equipment manufacturers. Fujikura has been Nistica’s strategic investor, a joint developer of R&D, a manufacturing partner and a sales channel for the Japan market since 2007.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bridgewater, N.J.-based Nistica will operate post-acquisition as a Fujikura subsidiary with its founders and key employees continuing the company’s development of innovative optical products in the Garden State. Fujikura’s support, said Nistica CEO Ashish Vengsarkar, “will enable the company to scale its infrastructure and add new employees as the business expands it operations.”

Nistica has been a Battelle Ventures portfolio company since 2008 when the venture firm and its affiliate fund, Innovation Valley Partners, led the company’s Series B funding round. The two funds subsequently led two additional financing rounds.

Vengsarkar pointed out that Battelle Ventures General Partner Ralph Taylor-Smith, who has been an active board member for more than three years, “provided valuable insight right from the initial investment, through the growth stages and into the deal development, as he had experience in facilitating similar cross-border M&A transactions.”

“We’ve enjoyed taking a leadership role in growing a promising optical products innovator into an important player in the worldwide WSS market,” said Taylor-Smith, who is based in Battelle Ventures’ Washington, D.C. office. “Nistica has a bright future and Battelle Ventures achieved a good financial exit,” he continued, although he declined to provide specifics.

Founded in 2005, Nistica raised more than $30M in equity investment and received a $1-million Edison Innovation Fund investment from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

“As we enter a new stage in our company’s life,” said Vengsarkar, “Fujikura will provide the financial and R&D resources to speed development and bring new agile optical products to a resurgent WSS market, which is expected to grow between 15 and 20 percent annually during the next few years.”

For more information, see Fujikura’s press release: Fujikura Announces Intent to Acquire Nistica

Note: Battelle Ventures and Innovation Valley Partners are registered trademarks of BVP Partners, LLC. The names of other organizations, companies, products or services mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

By Katie Eder/NJBIZ
April 9, 2012

Though nearly 90 percent of CEOs at New Jersey’s small businesses have learned to make their businesses more productive with fewer employees, more than half expect to increase staffing by the first quarter of 2013, according to the state’s results from a national confidence index by Vistage International Inc.

Fifty-one percent of the 96 New Jersey survey responders said they plan to hire more staff in 2012, representing the highest percentage since 2007, though an increase of only 1 percentage point from the first quarter of 2011. To support their projected modest employment growth, nearly three-quarters of those responders anticipate increased sales revenues and profitability — a jump from 54 percent in the first quarter of 2011 — and more than half expect the costs of their products or services to rise.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s next public Board Meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 36 West State St., Trenton, NJ 08625. A copy of the proposed agenda can be found prior to the meeting at www.njeda.gov/Board. Following the Board Meeting, minutes and the full agenda will also be available at www.njeda.gov/Board.

By Jason Method/Asbury Park Press
April 3, 2012

Two measurements taken by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia shows an improving economy for New Jersey and the region.

The Philly Fed’s coincident index for New Jersey rose .3 percent in February and has jumped by 3.1 percent in the last 12 months. The index is designed to track long-term growth in gross domestic product.

Pennsylvania’s index has risen 2.9 percent in the last 12 months. Delaware’s is up, but barely, .8 percent in the last 12 months.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Financial Pledge Quadruples State Investment to Bring Grocery Stores to Underserved Communities Throughout the Garden State

TRENTON, NJ – Furthering the Christie Administration’s commitment to increasing healthy food options in underserved communities, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno today was on hand to formally launch an expanded New Jersey Food Access Initiative (NJFAI) at the site of New Brunswick’s first full service supermarket in two decades. Joining her were The Reinvestment Fund (TRF), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), The Food Trust and the New Jersey Food Marketing Task Force. The event marked the release of the Expanding New Jersey’s Supermarkets special report, and the announcement of a major philanthropic investment in the NJFAI.

“By aligning economic and social objectives, the Christie Administration is helping revitalize communities throughout New Jersey,” said Lt. Governor Guadagno. “Ensuring that all New Jersey families and children have access to healthy food is among our most important goals, and through the New Jersey Food Access Initiative, we will not only improve access to healthy food, but also provide new jobs and business opportunities for local residents.”

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) first seeded the NJFAI with a $3 million investment in 2009. The RWJF today formally announced a $12 million investment in the NJFAI, quadrupling the state’s investment.

“The Foundation is proud to be part of this collaboration of diverse community partners working together to ensure that all New Jersey families have access to affordable healthy foods. Our investment in this effort supports our long-term goal of reversing the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015,” said RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA. “We are committed to investing resources in community-based solutions that improve the health of all Americans. Our hope is that this model will spur similar partnerships in communities around the country.”

Managed by TRF, the NJFAI seeks to increase the supply of affordable, fresh food in underserved areas, while improving health outcomes and spurring economic development. The Fund provides low-cost loans and grants to supermarket operators and developers statewide, with an emphasis on serving ten priority cities, including Atlantic City, Camden, East Orange, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, Paterson, Trenton and Vineland.

High start-up costs or limited access to credit often prevent grocery owners from opening new outlets in underserved communities, limiting access to healthy food for local residents.

“Time and again, we have seen how low-cost capital can help supermarket operators and developers overcome the challenges associated with opening new stores or expanding existing stores in underserved communities,” stated Don Hinkle-Brown, President and CEO of The Reinvestment Fund, which managed the highly successful Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative and provides its expertise to similar programs across the country. “Supermarkets not only increase access to affordable, healthy food but also serve as critical economic anchors and job creators in low-income communities.”

EDA has also worked with The Food Trust to educate the public and policymakers about the need for fresh food access in New Jersey. This collaboration led to the formation of the New Jersey Food Marketing Task Force, a diverse group of stakeholders that met over the last year to craft a comprehensive plan for supermarket development in New Jersey. The Expanding New Jersey’s Supermarkets: A New Day for the Garden State special report released today represents their findings and policy recommendations for the state, which include:

Reducing regulatory barriers that impede the development of supermarkets, and expediting permits and licenses for new stores in high-need areas;
Creating a one-stop shop for supermarket operators to interface with state government agencies;
Leveraging existing economic development programs to support supermarket development; and,
Utilizing workforce development programs to ensure that supermarkets develop a qualified staff.

“The recommendations of the New Jersey Food Marketing Task Force, in combination with the investment in New Jersey’s Food Access Initiative, will ensure that women throughout the state are able to obtain healthy and nutritious food to feed their families,” said Michele Tuck-Ponder, co-chair of the New Jersey Food Marketing Task Force, and Executive Director of the Women’s Fund of New Jersey.

Yael Lehmann, Executive Director of The Food Trust, added, “Research has shown that access to grocery stores matter when it comes to preventing childhood obesity. This enhanced initiative will create jobs, and increase access to healthy, affordable food in the areas most in need in New Jersey.”

The NJFAI partners recognized the significance of hosting today’s event at The Fresh Grocer site in New Brunswick. The new store is part of the New Brunswick Wellness Plaza, an innovative project spearheaded by the New Brunswick Development Corp. (DEVCO) in partnership with the City of New Brunswick, the New Brunswick Parking Authority, and the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. The Wellness Plaza project and larger Transit Village development was supported by the State through the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program.

“The Wellness Plaza is the kind of development we are hoping to encourage through the New Jersey Food Access Initiative,” continued Lt. Governor Guadagno. “I thank all of the partners involved and encourage other foundations and private entities to heed our call and help this initiative make a difference in the lives of families across New Jersey.”

A copy of Expanding New Jersey’s Supermarkets: A New Day for the Garden State special report can be found here.

For more information visit www.trfund.com.

By Katie Eder/NJBIZ
March 27, 2012

Amid reports that growth in the number of women-owned businesses in New Jersey is slowing, state agencies are working in concert to increase awareness of funding, training and incentive opportunities among female entrepreneurs.

“Women small-business owners are having a hard time getting funding, because they don’t know where to look for resources. But it’s not for the lack of them being there,” said Mary Adelman, president-elect of NJAWBO, the state’s largest association for female business owners.

By Ken Tarbous/NJBIZ
March 26, 2012

Sun National Bank has taken further steps in its calculated expansion into northern and central New Jersey, in what the bank promises will be an ongoing effort to capture market share in the Garden State.

In the last two months, Sun announced the opening of a Florham Park office led by mortgage bankers, and signed a new lease tripling the size of its Edison commercial lending production office.