Author: Delaware Prosperity Partnership

Zoom Prospector Site Location Tool

Written on . Posted in Press Releases.

WILMINGTON, Del. – Location, location, location – it’s a key factor in a business’s decision about where to locate or grow. But it doesn’t stop with location. Companies also need information on labor force, demographics, infrastructure stats and more. Key information about the benefits of doing business in Delaware is just a few clicks away with Delaware Prosperity Partnership’s innovative Zoom Prospector site location tool.

Powered by geographic information system (GIS) technology, http://delaware.zoomprospector.com is a game-changer for site selectors representing local, national and international companies who are doing preliminary exploration online.

“With more than 97% of site selection research done online, Zoom Prospector allows developers to see aerial and street-level views of locations and offers valuable information about workforce training, community amenities and customer spending patterns,” said Becky Harrington, vice president of Business Development for Delaware Prosperity Partnership.

The tool allows site selectors and companies to scout for office and industrial space and for sites available in Delaware for both sale or lease. It provides important data on whether sites are brownfields, waiting to be redeveloped or completely undeveloped. Zoom Prospector also offers key data on:

  • Demographics and occupational data
  • Transportation network and drive times
  • Utility and broadband availability
  • Brownfields, Opportunity Zones, New Market Tax Credit areas
  • Environmental information

“The tool allows developers to compare available sites within the state and to compare Delaware sites to those elsewhere,” said Harrington. “When employers have ready access to the data and can see Delaware’s value proposition as a global magnet for leading-edge technologies, talent and investment, it makes the business of deciding to locate here a lot easier.”

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About Delaware Prosperity Partnership

Delaware Prosperity Partnership leads Delaware’s economic development efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses; to build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem; and to support employers in place marketing Delaware to potential employees, highlighting Delaware as a great place to work, live and play through its LiveLoveDelaware website. In partnership with economic development partners throughout the state, the DPP team works with site selectors, executives and developers focused on where to locate or grow a business and helps with reviewing potential sites, cost-of-living analyses and funding opportunities, including available tax credits and incentives. DPP advances a culture of innovation in Delaware, working with innovators and startups to spotlight and celebrate successes and connect them with the resources they need to succeed. DPP and its partnerships throughout Delaware support and advance the missions of companies of all sizes and sectors.

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Aqua Science Making a Global Splash

Written on . Posted in Success Stories.

In just two years, the Newark, Delaware, water and soil testing company has sent ripples around the world

The growing need for stricter environmental compliance around the world – and a desire for a more progressive workplace culture – provided the perfect foundation for the creation of Newark, Delaware-based Aqua Science LLC.

The basis of Aqua Science’s business lies in water and soil toxicity testing using bioluminescent reagents that the company manufactures and sells, along with sales of their proprietary luminometer for use alongside its reagent products.

But owner and chief executive officer Iwona Evans notes that her background isn’t in science – environmental or otherwise. It’s in finance, with her undergraduate business degree from Goldey-Beacom College, her MBA from the University of Delaware and a second master’s from Goldey-Beacom in business and management. She was, however, putting those degrees to work for biotech companies and saw, in February 2020, an opportunity to start her own venture with a few fellow employees following along.

“It’s been really sort of unexpected with my finance background,” she said. “I had to learn a lot about science, but it’s been great.”

Aqua Science’s products use a bioluminescent bacteria native to the Pacific Ocean that, during the production process, are freeze-dried to allow for storage and transportation. By reconstituting the bacteria, customers essentially bring it back to life. The healthier the environment, the more light the bacteria give off. The luminometer measures the level of light emitted, gauging the level of toxicity by how much the light output diminishes.

Among the changes Evans and her team have made to the process were to create more stable bacteria, which was a significant improvement, particularly considering the pandemic’s effects on international shipping, she said.

“Shipping suddenly took a lot longer, and the product has to be frozen and shipped in a cooler, so the transit time cannot be too long,” she said. “Our scientists did some additional work, and we were able to make it more stable so the bacteria would survive a longer transit time.”

The new venture bore some similarity to what Evans’ team had been doing at their previous employer. “We saw really great opportunities in the market,” she said, “and we felt they were unfulfilled, that there were changes that could be made.”

Those changes happened fast, and after some initial research and development, the Aqua Science team had a product to market six months after starting the business and at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Because of the scientists we have here and their knowledge, our customers told us that really this is the best thing they’ve seen in 20 years,” Evans said. “We have the highest quality of bacteria reagents in the world now.”

In designing their new luminometer, the Aqua Science team’s goal was to take widely used but outdated technology and update it for the 21st century. “We thought we could use the cutting-edge technology that’s available right now to make this process easier and better and at the same time keep our environment – our water and soil – safer,” she said. Evans noted that her engineer husband, who doesn’t work for the company or in a related field, contributed to the design of “an incredibly simple and fully custom user interface” for the device. “It’s something I know he’s proud of, and we’re excited that we got his input.”

From its Newark headquarters, Aqua Science operates internationally. The company provides much of its product and technology to markets in Europe and Mexico, where environmental regulations are tighter than those in the U.S. and water and soil toxicity standards much more stringent.

“We see this technology as a great screening tool that could be used here in the U.S., and we really hope with our new luminometer coming out we’ll be able to reach customers in the U.S. who can use it to do a quick field test and be able to say, ‘Yes, there’s a problem,’ or ‘No, we’re good,’” Evans said. “For us, the passion is really the clean water and soil, so we would like to grow our R&D department and come up with new solutions to the problems not only here in Delaware but that people around the world are facing.”

Delaware’s strong business foundation has been integral in Aqua Science’s success, she said, not just by providing a home base and a reservoir of talent, but also through direct support like grants and through organizations like Delaware Prosperity Partnership. The company won a Delaware Division of Small Business EDGE Grant in 2021, which Evans said was a crucial turning point in the company’s success.

“It really sort of brought the team together. Everybody was working on it, and we were all excited when we won,” she said. “It was a huge help, especially for a startup company during a pandemic.”

Additionally, the Small Business Development Center helped the firm get a grant for marketing and write a grant proposal for its PFAS project. In view of the environmental challenges being faced globally related to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil and water, especially in the United States, Aqua Science will be developing a new technology to monitor these “forever chemicals.” PFAS are found in a wide array of manufactured chemicals used in the creation of nonstick coatings, stain-resistant carpets and firefighting foam, among many others, and are detrimental to human health.

Other help came from Export Delaware, which provided assistance working with trade missions to promote Aqua Science’s products globally. As she’s built the company, Evans has benefitted from an almost entirely female team, a marked departure from her other workplaces.

“It’s very important and refreshing at the same time because in my previous career it was exactly the room full of men and I was the only woman, and it wasn’t always the greatest experience,” she said. “This is different, and I like it. I think it’s a different way of thinking.”

Currently, the Aqua Science team of six includes Evans, a native of Poland, and two women who are first-generation immigrants from India and Colombia. This also adds strength to the company, she said.

“To me it’s such a valuable thing having a diverse workforce,” she said. “It’s that the ideas are coming from different perspectives, it’s the different ways we look at problems. It’s really beneficial to the business.”

The team’s structure also allows Aqua Science to break free from old-fashioned corporate practices less suited for both a 21st century and pandemic-era workplace, she said.

“We spend a lot of time at work, and we all have families, we have lives. And one thing I will always tell employees is family comes first,” Evans said. “If something’s going on at home, let me know, take some time, we’ll figure it out. Take care of whatever you need to take care of. And this is something that my employees have expressed many times, that it’s so nice to come to work not having to worry if something happens.”

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WilmU Leading in Cybersecurity

Written on . Posted in Success Stories.

Speed, Adaptability are Hallmarks of WilmU’s ‘Cream of the Crop’ Cybersecurity Programs

A recent LinkedIn search turned up 125,000 cybersecurity open jobs – with nearly 5,000 of them in Delaware alone, including remote positions.

That shouldn’t be a surprise. Regular news reports about security breaches at high-profile retailers and businesses highlight the critical need for cybersecurity professionals in corporate America, as well as in government, law enforcement, military, intelligence and nonprofits.

Over the last decade, Wilmington University’s Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity (BSC) has been approved as a National Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency (NSA).

WilmU’s College of Technology offers cybersecurity degrees at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s level, a master of science in information systems technology with a concentration in information assurance and five five-course certificate programs: Digital Evidence Discovery, Digital Evidence Investigation, Cloud Practitioner, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA). In total, over 1,500 students are enrolled in the various programs, making it one of WilmU’s biggest program areas. Students can earn their AWS and SCADA certifications in six months and their master’s degrees in two years.

The master’s program now has more than 400 students and will be adding 200 more soon, says Dr. James Fraley, chair of WilmU’s MSIST-Information Assurance program. He’s spent more than three decades in IT defense with McAfee, Northrop Grumman, DuPont and the U.S. Army Signal Corps, among other organizations, and participates in a number of NSA working groups and with the National Institute for Cyber Education.

“We need to find the people to fill these jobs, and the CAE designation establishes us as the cream of the crop among the over 300 schools nationwide offering cybersecurity classes,” says Fraley. “Employers are worried about new attacks – on software and supply chains – and about securing data, desktops, intellectual property and the cloud, given how business has changed during the pandemic.”

WilmU is preparing students – many already in the workforce – for higher-paying jobs in the fast-growing cyber-security sector. Many of those students are being sent to WilmU by employers like Amazon, Walmart and Disney, who provide them with free tuition and the opportunity to improve their career opportunities.

“What makes our program unique is that we teach from a practitioner’s point of view,” Fraley said. “We can walk into the classroom and talk about what’s happening in the real world.”

About half of the students in the cybersecurity program are classified as “adult learners” looking for new career challenges and who want to network directly with experts in the field. While many of WilmU’s students take classes online, Fraley says he has more than 10 sections of classes with 20-plus local students in each who want the face-to-face experience. Those classes are full – with waiting lists – for day and evening sessions.

Wilmington University’s strength in this area is nimbleness.

“Virtually all universities have academic advisory committees that include members from outside organizations who provide input on what is needed in the marketplace,” says Dr. Mark Hufe, director of cybersecurity education at WilmU. “But that’s only helpful if the university can act on it. With input from our Center for Cyber Security Education Academic Advisory Committee and our adjunct instructor subject-matter experts who work in the field and have firsthand knowledge of industry trends, our agility enables us to put these new ideas into practice quickly.”

The WilmU’s new associate of science in cybersecurity was created in less than six months – a lightning pace for most academic institutions. The U.S. Navy reached out to WilmU in early 2021, the curriculum was created and vetted through the College of Technology, the Academic Council, the Curriculum Committee, the Faculty Senate and the State of Delaware in about three months, and the new program launched last September.

“To get a new degree program on the books in this short of a time frame is by anyone’s measure truly remarkable,” Hufe said, explaining that a similar process elsewhere could take 18 to 24 months. “As fast as technology changes, having the ability to respond to emerging needs quickly is essential.”

Fraley adds that the school refreshes its cybersecurity content on a regular basis because of the constant rate of change.

“The cloud is impacting all we’re doing,” Fraley said. “I teach an operating system security class that I’m rewriting. Since the pandemic, we’ve developed a virtual desktop infrastructure class and a ‘Desktop as a Service’ class because (businesses are concerned about) all the people who are working from home.”

WilmU’s undergraduate Certified Cloud Practitioner Certificate prepares students to sit for the AWS Cloud Practitioner (CCP) Exam. People who earn this certification set themselves up for jobs that come with six-figure salaries. The idea to offer the certificate came from one of WilmU’s Academic Advisory Committee members who works for a large Delaware bank.

The university also offers an Accelerated Graduate Certificate in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Cybersecurity. In this context, “accelerated” refers to how undergraduate students in the BSC program can take the SCADA graduate courses for credit in both the undergraduate degree and the graduate SCADA certificate – and get a jump start on completing the master of science in cybersecurity, SCADA concentration,” Hufe said.

Students who complete the SCADA certificate while in the BSC program are 15 credits closer to completing their master’s degree, reducing their cost and time to graduate, he said.

“I think our early adoption of the online modality in 2020 constitutes another innovation,” Hufe said. “When the pandemic hit, we were able to deal with it seamlessly because our courses were already set up to be taught online, even when taught face to face. We basically just had to flip a switch.”

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2022 Staratup302 grant prizes awarded

12 Ventures Sharing $170K in Startup302 Funds

Written on . Posted in Press Releases.

12 Ventures With Underrepresented Founders Share More Than $170,000 in STARTUP302 Grant Prizes

May 27, 2022 – 

(WILMINGTON, Del.) – Twelve tech-enabled startups with at least one team member from an underrepresented demographic are sharing more than $170,000 in funding from Delaware’s second Startup302 competition, which was organized by Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) and local partners. 

The 12 finalists competed in four primary categories and represented multiple industries in the final pitching round on May 25. The funding contest launched in February and attracted 125 overall competitors from throughout Delaware, the Philadelphia region, the United States and countries including Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Nigeria, Uganda and Bangladesh.

As part of its mission, DPP supports Delaware’s efforts to build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem throughout the state, the region and beyond. DPP and its partners also aim to advance a culture of innovation in Delaware. 

Working with innovators and startups, DPP spotlights and celebrates their successes and connects them with the resources they need to succeed. According to DPP Director of Innovation Noah Olson, who coordinated the competition, Startup302 was created to do all of those things while focusing attention and funding toward groups typically underrepresented and underfunded in the startup arena. 

2022 Winners of Startup302 Grant Prizes

New this year, all of the finalists in each category received a monetary award. These winning ventures are as follows:

  • ChemTech (Sponsored by The Innovation Space, DuPont and Delaware Prosperity Partnership)
    • 1st: Carbon Reform of Wilmington, Delaware – $15,000 plus Delaware Innovator Bonus of $11,250
    • 2nd: Globally Unified Air Quality (GUAQ) of Washington, D.C. – $10,000
    • 3rd: Muse Engine of New Orleans – $5,000
  • Open Innovation (Sponsored by Discover and JPMorgan Chase & Co.)
    • 1st: BestFit Inc. of New York City – $20,000
    • 2nd: OmniPotential Energy of Wilmington, Delaware – $10,000 plus Delaware Innovator Bonus of $7,500
    • 3rd: PodPal of Atlanta – $5,000
  • Early Stage (Sponsored by First Founders, Delaware State University, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Delaware Prosperity Partnership)
    • 1st: Feather Health of Cambridge, Massachusetts – $8,500
    • 2nd: Tylmen Tech of Chicago – $4,000
    • 3rd: Empact Data Solutions of Philadelphia – $2,500
  • Life Sciences (Sponsored by FMC, Highmark Delaware, Labware, Delaware BioScience Association and ChristianaCare)
    • 1st: Resonate Forward of Newark, Delaware – $25,000 plus Delaware Innovator Bonus of $18,250
    • 2nd: PopCheck Technologies of Memphis, Tennessee – $10,000
    • 3rd: BioCurie of Wilmington, Delaware – $5,000 plus Delaware Innovator Bonus of $3,750

 All finalists with University of Delaware-affiliated founders also were considered for the Blue Hen Prize, which was sponsored by Horn Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware. Winners were as follows:

    • 1st: Carbon Reform – $12,500
    • 2nd: Resonate Forward – $7,500
    • 3rd: OmniPotential Energy – $5,000

“These founders, while ‘underrepresented’ statistically, are poised to be another generation of business leaders, both in Delaware and beyond,” Olson said. “It’s an honor to play a small role in supporting their growth along the way.”

Joining Olson as principal coordinators of the event were Garry Johnson III, founder and executive director of First Founders Inc., and Mike Rinkunas, associate director, Commercialization Programs, at Horn Entrepreneurship.

The Startup302 finals were conducted virtually. Dr. Michael Casson, dean of the Delaware State University College of Business, delivered the event keynote, and Johnson and Mac Conwell, managing partner at RareBreed Ventures, held a fireside chat.

Also part of the program were educational sessions for the competitors. These included “Prospecting for Investors,” led by Andrew Ackerman of Dreamit Ventures; “Team Building,” led by Troy C. Farmer of the Garage Maker Space at Delaware State University; “IP Considerations from a Business Perspective,” led by Gordon McGregor of Horn Entrepreneurship; and “Value Pricing,” led by Dora Cheatham of the Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance. 

In addition to Rinkunas, judges for Startup302 included Crystal Callahan, venture capitalist and mentor; Myungee Geerts, Geerts Advisory; Ariel Gruswitz, Facility Logix; Denita Henderson, Delaware Small Business Development Center; Dina Hollingsworth, Highmark Delaware; Frank Klemmens, Big Idea Ventures; James Massaquoi, Osage Venture Partners; Regina Mitchell, Delaware Division of Small Business; Pedro Moore, entrepreneur and venture capital analyst and advisor; Sara Olson, FMC Ventures; Peter Payne, Labware; Jac Rivers, JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Jae Sly, investor and Delaware Bioscience Association Board; Dr. Rani Singh-Patel, ChristianaCare; Tamara Smith, JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Deb Travers, The Innovation Space; Amy Walls, Discover; Shavonne White, Delaware Office of Supplier Diversity; and Joe Zilcosky, Delaware Division of Small Business.

Additional Startup302 organizers and supporters included Alysse Bortolotto and the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, Lillie Crawford and DSU’s Delaware Center for Enterprise Development, Dan Freeman of Horn Entrepreneurship, the Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance, the Delaware Small Business Development Center, the State of Delaware, the Delaware Division of Small Business and the Office of New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer. 

“Our community coming together to organize, fund and host an event like Startup302,” Olson said, “is a testament to the nature of doing business in Delaware.”

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About Delaware Prosperity Partnership

Delaware Prosperity Partnership leads Delaware’s economic development efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses; to build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem, and to support employers in place marketing Delaware to potential employees via livelovedelaware.com. The DPP team works with site selectors, executives and developers focused on where to locate or grow a business and helps with reviewing potential sites, cost-of-living analyses and funding opportunities, including available tax credits and incentives. DPP advances a culture of innovation in Delaware, working with innovators and startups to spotlight and celebrate successes and connect them with the resources they need to succeed. DPP and its partnerships throughout Delaware support and advance the missions of companies of all sizes and sectors.

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Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program

Written on . Posted in In the News.

NEW CASTLE (May 4, 2022) – The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) has launched a state-sponsored Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program (HCPLRP). Under the new loan repayment program, eligible clinicians may receive up to $50,000 per year in loan repayment for a maximum of four years of employment in Delaware.

Governor John Carney signed House Bill 48 with House Amendment 1 on Aug. 10, 2021, establishing the loan repayment program administered by the Delaware Health Care Commission (DHCC). The program is a valuable tool to incentivize providers to practice in Delaware, in addition to attracting more providers to the state’s primary care workforce.

“We are grateful to Governor Carney and to the General Assembly for their support of the Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program,” said DHSS Secretary Molly Magarik. “It’s clear that we need to find ways to attract more primary care providers to practice in Delaware, and this state-sponsored program is a strategic way to do that.”

“When it comes to health care, Delawareans deserve to be treated by highly trained professionals at medical facilities statewide,” said Rep. David Bentz, the lead sponsor of House Bill 48. “However, we are facing a shortage of doctors as the demand for them grows. That’s why we passed HB 48, which offers an attractive incentive to Delaware students in residency programs here, as well as establishes an education loan repayment program for medical professionals who currently work in Delaware. With this law, we can work toward recruiting and retaining top primary care doctors. I’m grateful to the Delaware Health Care Commission for taking a leadership role in running the grant program and ensuring that we have more health care workers throughout the state, including in underserved communities.”

In Fiscal Year 2022, the General Assembly allocated $1 million in state funds to support the loan repayment program. The Delaware Health Care Commission also received, in December 2021, a $1 million one-time contribution from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware. For Fiscal Year 2023, beginning July 1, 2022, the Governor’s Recommended Budget has proposed an additional $1 million in state funds to support the program.

“The Delaware Health Care Commission is excited to be able to implement HB48 and offer health care providers, who are interested in practicing in Delaware, worked to address this crisis through the development of the Health Care Workforce Subcommittee; supporting education through Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research (DIMER) and (Delaware Institute of Dental Education and Research (DIDER); providing practice sustainability through the Primary Care Reform Collaborative; and now incentivizing providers to practice in Delaware with the State Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program,” said Dr. Nancy Fan, Chair of the Delaware Health Care Commission and a practicing OB/GYN. “We are excited to be able to implement HB48 and offer primary care providers, who will be practicing in Delaware, meaningful financial relief, so they can build a sustainable practice and increase access for our patients to quality, affordable care.”

Qualifying clinicians must be a new primary care provider in an ambulatory or outpatient setting and completed graduate education within six months of the application for HCPLRP being submitted. Eligible health care providers include physicians practicing family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, geriatrics, and psychiatry as well as Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse-Midwives, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and Physicians Assistants practicing adult medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry/mental health, geriatrics, and women’s health.

Employers may apply on behalf of their affiliated, qualifying clinicians for education loan repayment grants. These sites may include:

  • Hospital primary care practices
  • Private practices
  • Federally Qualified Health Centers
  • Community outpatient facilities
  • Community mental health facilities
  • Free medical clinics

For awards issued to practitioners employed by Delaware health care facilities, hospitals and health systems must provide a 50% match for loan repayment awards.

Priority consideration will be given to Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research (DIMER)-participating students and participants in Delaware based residency programs. Delaware is one of four states that does not have its own medical school. To accommodate the growing demand for primary care physicians across the state, the General Assembly created DIMER to support affiliated agreements with two medical schools in Philadelphia: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) and Thomas Jefferson, Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC). A minimum of 120 academic seats are reserved annually (80 at Sidney Kimmel and 40 at PCOM) for Delaware residents applying to an allopathic or osteopathic degree program. New DIMER graduates are eligible for HCPLRP.

Delaware’s Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program application is available online.

Applications are now accepted on a rolling basis and will be reviewed on the following schedule:

  • June 1, 2022*
  • August 1, 2022*
  • October 1, 2022

* Applicants in the June 1 and August 1 review cycles must have completed their graduate medical education by July 2021 or sometime thereafter. Applicants in the October 1 review cycle must complete their graduate education by 2022 or sometime thereafter.

In addition to the state-sponsored Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program, Delaware has operated a federal state loan repayment program (SLRP) supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SLRP offers similar incentives: up to $200,000 for four-year contractual agreements to provide services in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas. Where SLRP differs from HCPLRP is in designated areas of need, eligible professional disciplines, types of health care employment facilities that qualify, and date of graduation in respective disciplines.

To learn more about Health Care Provider Loan Repayment Program and the federal state loan repayment program, visit the Health Care Commission’s website.

This article was originally posted on the Delaware Government website at: https://news.delaware.gov/2022/05/05/dhss-launches-state-health-care-provider-loan-repayment-program/

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Agilent Technologies Expands in Delaware

Written on . Posted in Press Releases.

Agilent Technologies Chooses Delaware for $7 Million Investment

May 24, 2022 – 

(WILMINGTON, Del.) – Agilent Technologies Inc., a global analytical instrumentation development, life sciences and manufacturing company and one of Delaware’s largest private-sector employers, has chosen to modernize and expand its existing Little Falls office and lab campus in response to growing worldwide demand for the company’s analytical laboratory consumables products.

Agilent plans to invest more than $7 million to upgrade the functionality of its Little Falls R&D and applications development labs at the three-level, 354,000-square-foot Wilmington-area site. The company’s investment will go toward the complete redesign, demolition, construction and outfitting of the existing laboratories.

“We are excited for Agilent Technologies’ expansion and modernization of their lab space, bringing new jobs to their facilities in New Castle County,” said Governor John Carney. “Delaware has a long tradition of expertise in the field of chemistry. This investment shows that Delaware remains a leader in innovative development.” 

Agilent – a world leader in the life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets – has been a vital part of Delaware’s economy for more than 20 years. The company’s decision to update its existing facility reflects its confidence in Delaware’s dynamic business environment and large pool of regional talent. 

Agilent currently employs more than 800 workers at Little Falls, located in unincorporated New Castle County, and additional employees at its manufacturing location in Newport. The Little Falls renovation and expansion will result in the company further expanding its workforce amid strong demand for its biopharmaceutical laboratory consumables. 

“This another great example of investment in New Castle County where businesses have the access to talent and an incredible life sciences ecosystem,” said County Executive Matt Meyer. “We applaud Agilent Technologies on its commitment to New Castle County and the job creation that will result.”

Agilent officials presented today to Delaware’s Council on Development Finance their application for a Jobs Performance Grant of $93,330 and a Capital Expenditures Grant of $210,000 from the Delaware Strategic Fund to supplement the company’s $7 million investment. Distribution of grants from the Delaware Strategic Fund are dependent on the company meeting commitments as outlined to the CDF, which reviewed and approved Agilent’s request for up to $303,330 in total grant funding. 

“Agilent has a long and successful history in the State of Delaware, and this investment in our laboratories will enable world-class R&D for the fast-growing biopharma market, while expanding and supporting our Delaware-based team,” said John Gavenonis, vice president and general manager of Agilent’s Chemistries and Supplies Division. “Delaware is the right place for this R&D investment.” 

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 About Delaware Prosperity Partnership

Delaware Prosperity Partnership leads Delaware’s economic development efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses; to build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem; and to support employers in place marketing Delaware to potential employees via livelovedelaware.com. The DPP team works with site selectors, executives and developers focused on where to locate or grow a business and helps with reviewing potential sites, cost-of-living analyses and funding opportunities, including available tax credits and incentives. DPP advances a culture of innovation in Delaware, working with innovators and startups to spotlight and celebrate successes and connect them with the resources they need to succeed. DPP and its partnerships throughout Delaware support and advance the missions of companies of all sizes and sectors.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global leader in the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets, delivering insight and innovation that advance the quality of life. Agilent’s full range of solutions includes instruments, software, services, and expertise that provide trusted answers to our customers’ most challenging questions. The company generated revenue of $6.32 billion in fiscal 2021 and employs 17,000 people worldwide. Information about Agilent is available at agilent.com. To receive the latest Agilent news, subscribe to the Agilent Newsroom. Follow Agilent on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

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