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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: |
CONTACTS: |
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December 5, 2006 |
Abby Ottenhoff
312/814.3158
Rebecca Rausch 217/782.7355
Gerardo Cardenas 312/814.3158
Andrew Ross 312/814.8193 (DCEO)
Mica Matsoff 312/814.8199 (DCEO)
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GOV.
BLAGOJEVICH ANNOUNCES $516,000 TO FIVE CHICAGOLAND
MANUFACTURING COMPANIES ON THE VERGE OF RAPID GROWTH
IN THE $45 BILLION DOLLAR HOMELAND SECURITY INDUSTRY
Innovative
Product Grants Will Help Create 54 New Jobs and Advance
the Production of Groundbreaking New Technologies
Developed in Illinois
CHICAGO – Gov. Rod R.
Blagojevich today announced $516,000 in Opportunity
Returns funding to five Chicagoland advanced electronic
and equipment manufacturing companies to increase
commercialization efforts and enhance homeland security
product offerings, while helping to create 54 new jobs
over the next two years. This funding is being provided
through the Innovative Product Grant (IPG) Program
administered by Illinois Department of Commerce and
Economic Opportunity's (DCEO) Homeland Security Market
Development (HSMD) bureau. IPG is the nation's first
state-funded grant program focused on developing
products to meet homeland security needs.
"It is vital for Illinois to be at the forefront of the
homeland security industry and supporting the
development of new and existing technologies that will
create a safer, cleaner, healthier and more efficient
world. The investment in these five manufacturing
companies makes it possible for Illinois companies to
supply the nation with products that help protect our
country, while putting even more people to work," Gov.
Blagojevich said.
The following companies are receiving grants:
Amitex Corporation, a video surveillance
manufacturer based in Chicago, will use the $150,000 IPG
award to develop an Amitex video enhancement plug-in
module that will provide greater and more accurate image
clarity at longer ranges for defense, homeland security
and law enforcement purposes. The technology Amitex has
developed makes it easier to identify critical
information by doubling the transmission range for
unmanned aerial vehicles by sending streaming video data
to ground stations with less power consumption and at
lower cost than current methods. Amitex is currently
working with the US Army and US Navy on aerial
surveillance from unmanned platforms. Contact: Bill
McSweeney at 773/714.4944.
GO! Products, an
equipment manufacturer based in Elmhurst, will use the
$126,000 IPG award to enhance production, assembly and
product engineering capabilities and fully commercialize
the Mbox ® product for homeland security and first
responder users. GO! Products will create seven
different homeland security versions of the Mbox ®, an
industrial metal container that can be affixed to a
chassis to allow users to outfit their vehicles to
respond to the needs of specific incidents, which
include incident command, mobile power, confined space
rescue, field crime scene investigations, incident
lighting towers, video base search and rescue, and
controlled burns. Contact: Mark Dronen at
630/941.7900.
HC Materials, an advanced fabrication
manufacturer located in Bolingbrook and Urbana, will use
the $50,000 IPG award to expand its piezoelectric PMN-PT
crystal manufacturing capacity through the purchase of a
new electrode coating machine and a new ventilation
system. HC Materials' crystals and related fabrication
and manufacturing techniques were developed with grant
support from the US Department of Defense's Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Office
of Naval Research. The US Navy and Phillips Medical
Systems are currently using the crystals in acoustic
transduction devices, such as sonar transducers,
actuators, sensor and ultrasonic transducers. Contact:
Pengdi Han at 630/226.9080.
MPC Containment Systems, an advanced systems
manufacturer based in Chicago, will use the $140,000 IPG
award to redesign its flexible storage tank to safely
store both portable water and fuel with a compact
secondary storage option. The tank can be folded down to
a fraction of its full size for storage, which will
allow the tank to be deployed to disaster sites quickly
while ensuring continuity of supply. The tank can also
be integrated into broader disaster recovery equipment
to improve response time, particularly in the first
three days after a major disaster. A military version of
the MPC tank is currently in use by the US Department of
Defense, and the redesigned commercial version of the
tank will expand its homeland security uses to include
humanitarian aid and hurricane preparedness. Contact:
Kevin Murdock at 312/515.7286.
Quickset, a high performance parts manufacturer
based in Northbrook, will use this $50,000 IPG award to
develop and manufacture the GeminEye pan/tilt unit and
controller for expanded homeland security and military
uses. The GeminEye is designed to be less expensive and
handle lighter loads (10 pounds or less) than the
current models, which are currently being used by NASA,
the US Military and Border patrol for homeland security
related surveillance. Pan/tilt/controllers have a
variety of applications including use on military drones
and border and port surveillance. Contact: Donald
Zeilenga at 847/498.7000 x 556.
DCEO's Innovative Product Grant (IPG) Program was
created to accelerate the commercialization,
improvement, and production of goods and services with
an application in homeland security and other sectors.
IPG funds are intended to help create jobs and increase
economic activity in Illinois, while strengthening the
state's competitive position as a leader in science and
technology innovation.
"By investing in these emerging companies, we can
successfully respond to the security needs of the
nation, and continue to contribute to the region's
economic growth by creating the high-tech and high
paying jobs of today and tomorrow," said State Senator
Terry Link (D-Lake Bluff).
"Gov. Blagojevich is providing the critical resources to
these manufacturing companies that will help them
accomplish the three most important goals – to reach new
customers, create more jobs and help make our country
safer," said State Senator Antonio Munoz (D-Chicago).
"We must continue to look for
innovative ways to expand our economy and put more
people to work. Gov. Blagojevich's commitment to
expanding the local homeland security market is evidence
of our state's ability to be proactive on an extremely
important issue such as homeland security," said State
Senator A.J. Wilhelmi (D-Joliet).
"This funding represents an investment in our local
economy that will create jobs and keep our communities
safer. It is also because of these types of innovative
programs that Illinois has been positioned to spur even
more technological innovation and homeland security
product development," said State Representative Susana
Mendoza (D-Chicago).
"In order to continue boosting the economy, we must help
our growing companies identify new markets and
opportunities for advancing ideas and technologies which
create successful products in the market place. I am
pleased that the Governor is making investments like
these that help make us secure and create more good
jobs," said State Representative Naomi D. Jakobsson
(D-Urbana).
"Illinois continues to extend its leadership position in
the homeland security industry, in large part because of
Gov. Blagojevich's vision for companies to meet the
ongoing challenges and opportunities within this growth
sector. Quickset is at the forefront of developing
security technology, and this investment is another
example of our efforts to support innovation that will
result in more good jobs," said State Representative
Kathleen Ryg (D-Vernon Hills).
"Gov. Blagojevich's IPG Program has already made an
immediate and lasting contribution to the homeland
security industry by investing more than $4 million in
working capital in businesses that are accelerating the
commercialization of new and innovative technologies and
bringing new homeland security products to market. This
is leveraging nearly $12 million in additional public
and private capital, which will create more than 440 new
jobs over the next 24 months," DCEO Director Jack Lavin
said. "No other state in the country is better equipped
than Illinois to be a leader in the homeland security
industry. From manufacturing and biotechnology to
aerospace and finance, we have an unmatched level of
diversity in our state's economy."
DCEO's Homeland Security Market Development bureau is
focused on supporting businesses engaged in the homeland
security industry, and the bureau offers a variety of
investment tools designed to help existing Illinois
companies expand operations and utilize available state
and federal programs and services. For more information
on HSMD, visit
www.hsmd.illinois.gov.
Illinois led the nation in monthly job growth this year
in both April and July, which has never happened twice
before in one year in recorded history. The total number
of new jobs created this year is 77,300, which is the
best start to a year since 1999 and best in the Midwest.
Since January 2004, Illinois has gained more than
152,000 new jobs, which is also best in the Midwest.
In October, the Illinois unemployment rate dropped to
4.1 percent, which is its lowest level in recorded
history. It has remained at or below the national rate
for six consecutive months, which is the first time this
has happened in seven years. The state has dropped below
the national unemployment rate for the fourth time this
year, which is the first time this has occurred in eight
years. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the
Illinois Department of Employment Security compiled
these statistics.
Site Selection Magazine also ranked the Chicagoland area
the top metro region for new and expanded corporate
facilities in 2005, while Illinois was ranked third in
the nation. Business Facilities Magazine named Illinois
the top state for biotech growth last year.
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