News Articles Archives - Page 63 of 74

By Joshua Burd/NJBIZ
May 29, 2012

Business groups, government agencies and other organizations in New Jersey can apply for federal funding under a new $26 million program that aims to build clusters in advanced manufacturing industries.

The funding program was announced today as part of an effort to “foster innovation-fueled job creation through public-private partnerships” across the country, according to a news release from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Under the program, applicants can receive grants if they demonstrate a plan to grow a regional industry cluster, in part by building ties between “local economic development opportunities and advanced manufacturing assets.”

Such a program would likely resonate in New Jersey, where state officials have sought to promote clustering of industries, including manufacturing, as part of a new statewide strategic plan for economic development. The idea has been embraced by business leaders in some of the state’s key development regions.

A special EDA board meeting will be held on Friday, June 1, 2012 at 1 p.m., at the EDA Headquarters, 36 West State Street, 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 Katie Eder/NJBIZ
May 23, 2012

When the New Jersey Business Incubation Network lost incubator seed grants and $1.2 million in annual public-sector funding — funneled through the now-defunct state Commission on Science and Technology — in 2010, President Suzanne Zammit had to be resourceful to fill a crucial financing gap and get the incubator sponsored by Rutgers University’s Camden campus back to a self-sustaining model.

“At one time, this was going to be a two-tier incubator, with a high-tech center on the second floor and a wet lab on the fifth floor,” said Zammit, who is also the director of Rutgers Camden Technology Campus Inc. “But then the recession hit and we lost our funding, and it kicked off a lot of struggles. We had to restructure the entire focus of this incubator and reduce its size. We used to be on the entire second floor, but now we only have half that office space.”

By Juliet Fletcher/The Record
May 22, 2012

Trying to counter April’s picture of rising state unemployment, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno told lawmakers Monday the administration’s job-creation efforts were aiding the New Jersey comeback touted by her boss, Gov. Christie.

Testifying before the Assembly Budget Committee on state funding for business, Guadagno said last month’s rise in state unemployment to 9.1 percent after leveling out at 9 percent in March reflects that “people have begun to look again.”

“That means they believe there are jobs for them again,” Guadagno said.

New Jersey’s efforts last year to provide innovative job-creation supported 13,000 new and 26,942 existing private-sector jobs, according to state figures.

Matheus brings private-sector experience to firms seeking EDA aid

By Cheryl Sarfaty/NJBIZ
May 21, 2012

Sometimes, the climb up the ladder to success can get too far away from the ground floor.

Such was the case for Lori Matheus, a New Jersey native whose affinity for crunching numbers led to her first job out of Rider University in 1990 as a financial analyst with Chemical Bank New Jersey. When the bank merged with PNC Bank six years later, Matheus found herself reaching new heights with a variety of roles that included government banking, community development, and finance and administration responsibilities.

Associated Press
May 18, 2012

The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce says business leaders apparently are more optimistic about the state’s economy than they were a year ago.

A survey conducted by the organization found two-thirds of members expect their revenues to improve in the coming year, compared with 57 percent last year, and more than half anticipate more profits. But most members expect their workforce to be steady, similar to last year’s survey findings.

Nearly two-thirds believe Gov. Chris Christie’s national prominence is good for economic development in the Garden State. More than two-thirds said the state’s business climate has improved since Christie took office in 2009.

Tri-Boro Patch
May 14, 2012

The United Way of Northern New Jersey raised an estimated $110,000 for the capital improvement needs of area nonprofits through the help of the real estate industry at its 13th annual Commercial Real Estate Network Legacy Luncheon.

About 300 professionals from the industry attended the luncheon to support area nonprofits while celebrating the positive impact of several key real estate transactions of the past year.

One of those belonged to SHI International Corp. The company received the United Way’s 2012 Commercial Real Estate Impact Award for undertaking one of the largest commercial renovations in the northern region and keeping energy efficiency and conservation a focal point of the project.

A meeting of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority has been scheduled for May 16, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the Eatontown Municipal Building, 47 Broad Street, Eatontown, NJ. Formal action may be taken at this meeting. A copy of the proposed agenda can be found 48 hours prior to the meeting at the websites of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority: www.nj.gov/fmera, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority: www.njeda.gov.

By Michael Diamond and Alesha Williams Boyd/USA Today
May 7, 2012

North Brunswick-based manufacturer XPAK USA has developed machinery that can, among other things, help PepsiCo robotically bundle different flavors of Gatorade into one package.

The company is taking off; sales in the first quarter are 10 times higher than they were in all of 2007.

Who knows how much faster it could grow if it could find the skilled workers it needs to keep up with its expansion.

“It seems like we are growing, it seems like the economy is coming along, which makes us very happy,” owner Tami Minond said. “But it seems like a machinist is a rare bird in New Jersey.”