The following news release was issued to media outlets this evening.
October 19, 2020
Media Contact:
Scott Peterson, Director of Communications, Office of Public Information, 202-277-9412
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Today, County Executive Calvin Ball joined by the Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA), announced Economic Development Week to highlight business resources, assist our thriving business community, and showcase how economic development transforms lives. This week marks the 10th annual Economic Development Week, sponsored by the Maryland Economic Development Association.
“Our business community is facing one of the most challenging economic times with the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s critical that we provide support to our businesses and keep our economy trending towards recovery,” said Ball. “With the launch of our HoCo RISE Business grants, we have focused considerably on ensuring our businesses have the resources to keep employees and customers safe moving forward, and they have the financial support to weather this storm. We must continue these efforts to foster a strong and prosperous business community for Howard County for many years to come.”
The Howard County Economic Development Authority is a public-private partnership with a primary goal of attracting, retaining, and expanding business in Howard County. In recognition of Economic Development Week, the HCEDA is highlighting five businesses that relocated or expanded in Howard County over the past few months.
Cavalier Logistics – Cavalier is a global logistics company specializing in cold room storage and transport of sensitive drugs, clinical trial supplies and vaccines for the Bio and Pharma industries. They have been located on Dorsey Run Road in Jessup since 2017 in 42,000 square feet (sqft) with 25 employees. In late spring, with the assistance of HCEDA they expanded to a second location with 87,000 sqft and 12 employees for additional cold room storage capacity. Once complete, they expect to expand to a third location in Howard County.
Cleary Packaging – In 2018, Vince Cleary left his Howard County business to begin Cleary Packaging. Setting up shop in Linthicum, the business quickly grew, expanding beyond his facility’s current capacity. When given the choice of where to grow and expand, Cleary decided to return to Howard County and bring his new business. With the assistance of the HCEDA, Cleary Packaging and their 25 employees relocated into 33,000 sqft of space in Savage where they plan to continue to grow the business.
Freshly – Freshly first connected with HCEDA to explore Howard County as a potential location in the middle of the 2016 Ellicott City flood response. In quick order, they agreed on the former site of Costal Sunbelt at 8704 Bollman Place, in Savage. After an extended upgrade of the facility estimated at $32M, they were scheduled to hire 500 employees. Freshly has quickly grown, despite the pandemic, to a staff of 821 employees since opening in the fall of 2019.
Hatch Exhibits – Hatch Exhibits designs and builds custom trade show booths and exhibits and serves clients internationally. They opened five years ago in Elkridge, Howard County. With contracts signed, Hatch Exhibits was gearing for their most successful year yet, when they were forced to close their 35,000 sqft facility on Thursday, March 19th, and furlough their 25 employees. Over the weekend on learning of the extreme lack of PPE supplies across the country, they brought a few designers in to prototype gowns and shields. By Monday, they were sending out samples, and within a week, their team of 25 people was back to work. With funding from the Maryland’s Innovation Grant, they repurposed their equipment and efficiently scaled up production. Hatch re-invested itself and today produces hundreds of thousands of pieces of PPE for large institutions and the public in general. They have also expanded their business to include digital media and streaming, utilizing in house professional expertise. So far, they have secured orders to 2022, have leased an additional 35,000 sqft to house a media production studio, and expect to hire 100 new employees within a year. Of over 400 companies in their line of business, only 14 or so are surviving - Hatch is one of them.
JJ McDonnell – JJ McDonnell is a high-quality fresh seafood distributor that had been in Howard County at the Maryland Food Center Authority for 32 years. In 2016, based on increasing demand, they moved their operations to a new 60,000 sqft facility at 7010 Brookdale Rd. in Elkridge with support from HCEDA. Originally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, they saw a reduction in staff and a need to pivot base on the limited market with their restaurant base. They entered into the prepackaged seafood market for retail and have rebounded from a reduced staff of 122 employees to a staff of 160 staff.
“The COVID-19 pandemic created an unpresented need for business support. While we have devoted much of our resources to providing this critically needed assistance, we have also continued to work to bring new businesses and jobs into the county,” said Larry Twele, CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority. “We celebrate our recent attraction and expansion success and will continue to work to bring new opportunity to the county while maintaining the highest level of support to our existing businesses.”
The Howard County Economic Development Authority has performed more than 960 COVID-19 related support cases assisting local businesses in navigating the challenges of the pandemic. Additionally, in collaboration with the Howard County Department of Finance and Department of Community Resources and Services, HCEDA administered the business grants established by County Executive Ball’s HoCo RISE initiative.
Through his HoCo RISE initiative, Ball has allocated $5.7 million in CARES Act funding to restaurants, agriculture, and retail business grants, and $1 million in grants for child care establishments and hotels. In September, Ball allocated more than $750,000 in CARES Act funding to live venues and local artists and arts nonprofits. And this month, Ball announced $1.5 million in Rise to the Challenge grants for the nonprofit community.
Howard County’s most recent unemployment rate was 5.4% for August - down from 8.1% in April of this year, and 1.6% lower than the Maryland unemployment rate of 6.9%. Howard County’s rate is one of the lowest of the 24 Maryland counties. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in February, Howard County reported a 2.7% unemployment rate.
About Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA):
The Howard County Economic Development Authority is a public-private partnership whose primary goal is to promote economic growth and stability by supporting existing businesses, targeting new businesses, and attracting corporate/regional headquarters. The Authority also maintains several programs aimed at the special needs of small, minority-owned, and agricultural businesses. Additionally, the Authority strives to preserve the distinctive quality of life in Howard County. For more information, please visit: www.hceda.org.
About the Maryland Innovation Center (MIC):
The Maryland Innovation Center is an HCEDA initiative to create a nexus for innovation, collaboration and business support on a county, regional, and global scale, as a center of excellence that fosters and supports business growth. The MIC sits at the heart of the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, bringing together Maryland’s top business and technology leaders for resource sharing, funding support, training, and mentoring. This mission of the MIC is to educate, inspire, and connect local entrepreneurs and businesses with the resources and individual guidance they need to grow successfully while making a positive impact on the community and region. To learn more, visit the MIC website at: www.mdinnovationcenter.com.