Some of the New Hampshire companies attending the BIOMEDevice trade show in Boston last week included New England Catheter; New England Wire Technologies; J-Pac Medical; Sunrise Labs, Vaupell; Cirtronics; MedeFab; Resonetics
Life sciences is one of New Hampshire’s key industries and it’s growing. About 6,800 people are employed in this sector, 10 percent above the national average and the average annual earnings are over $100,000.
That is great data, but behind the data are the companies that are fueling our economy and making our lives easier and safer with the products they make. Last week at the BIOMEDevice trade show in Boston, I was pleased to see and talk to so many New Hampshire companies at this event and I am sure to see them again next month.
That’s when one of the industry’s biggest medtech trade shows, MD&M East (booth 1156), gets underway in New York City June 13-15 and we’ll be there to promote the strengths of our life sciences sector and why New Hampshire is great place for companies considering expansion or relocation.
With such a strong and growing sector now, the New Hampshire High Technology Council established a BioTech/MedTech cluster to bring together these companies to ensure the industry continues its robust growth.
Register today for the inaugural BioTech/Medtech event May 18 in Portsmouth.
It kicks off its first networking event in Portsmouth at Medtronic on May 18 with guest panelists:
• Suzanne Foster, vice president and general manager of the Advanced Energy Business Unit at Medtronic, a global leader in medical device technology.
• Herve Berdou, site head of Lonza, a global supplier to the pharmaceutical, biotech and specialty ingredients markets.
• Tom Burns, CEO of Resonetics, a leader in laser micro manufacturing for life sciences.
• Christina Ferrari, attorney for Bernstein Shur, a Manchester-based law firm that specializes in regulatory, privacy and cybersecurity.
Please register on the link above; I hope to see you at this inaugural event.
Director Carmen Lorentz, left, and business development manager Cynthia Harrington join Stefan Schurter, senior vice president at the groundbreaking in Nashua for Prudential Overall Supply’s newest facility.
When California-based Prudential Overall Supply went looking for a place to expand its business, it chose Nashua to build its newest facility and at its groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 28, company officials said it will be a source of pride for the city.
POS is the leader in cleanroom laundry services, which is important to industries such as aerospace and life sciences that need 21st century cleanliness in their processes.
“This will be the largest cleanroom laundry in the United States,” said Stefan Schurter, senior vice president.
Business development manager Cynthia Harrington here at the Division of Economic Development, assisted the company in its expansion to Nashua. Schurter said that in the search for a location, Nashua became an obvious choice because of its infrastructure.
Ceremonial groundbreaking on Simon Street
“The city has put in sewer, water, gas and electric right at the site and that is foresight that we are benefitting from,” he said. “We found the infrastructure here that was really attractive and allowed us to build very quickly – that’s a big thing.”
The new building, located on Simon Street, will be built in three phases; 70,000 square-feet in the first phase; 45,000 square-feet in the second phase and concluded with 16,280-square feet.
“It will bring some really great jobs,” Schurter said. “They are all full-time jobs with benefits. We truly believe that if you invest in people, people will invest with you.”
Jeffrey Rose, commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development, said he joins city officials in welcoming POS to New Hampshire.
“The capabilities it provides are vital to the many companies whose advanced manufacturing processes require high tech industrial laundry services,” he said. “We looking forward to watching this company grow and prosper in New Hampshire.”
Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
Division of Economic Development
About 7,000 people are employed in bio-medical manufacturing and research here in New Hampshire, and that’s 14 percent higher than the national average in this industry. Projections indicate the number of jobs will grow by 10 percent in the next five years. We’re talking today with Cynthia Harrington, business development manager at the Division of Economic Development about the growing life sciences sector and what makes the Granite State appealing for companies expanding or relocating here.
Cynthia Harrington
1.Why does the life sciences industry continue to grow? What’s contributing to the demand?
These are exciting times when it comes to research, technology and innovation. Health is such an important aspect of our lives and it drives a need to make sure we and our families take care of ourselves. Science is evolving quickly, as researchers strive to find cures for the maladies of the world.
For example, the FDA last year approved 44 drugs, which is an all-time record, and that speaks to the work being done in bio-pharmacy, bio-technology, medical device manufacturing and all the other industries that come under life sciences.
Here in New Hampshire, we are literally in the backyard of Boston/Cambridge, one of the top life science clusters in the nation. It’s home to facilities like Harvard, MIT and Tufts, so there is research and a lot of innovation happening, literally within less than an hour of New Hampshire. We are fortunate to also have Dartmouth College, which has a renowned medical school, and the Dartmouth Regional Technology Center in Lebanon. Both are great assets to the industry. There is groundbreaking research and development happening here that could very well find the cures for which we have been looking.
2. Several life sciences companies have relocated or expanded into New Hampshire, like Lonza, in Portsmouth; Gamma Medica in Salem, and Novo Nordisk in Lebanon. What makes New Hampshire an attractive place for life sciences companies?
New Hampshire’s roots in medicine go back to the founding of Dartmouth College, which has the fourth oldest medical school in the country, and which is a cornerstone for life science industries and startups in the Upper Valley. The Dartmouth Regional Technology Center in Lebanon is a great asset to the industry.
The other attraction is our geography. Southern New Hampshire is about an hour away from Boston, which has one of the most robust life sciences clusters in the country. We share a talent pool, but the cost of doing business here is much less, as we have no income or sales taxes and real estate costs are lower than Greater Boston.
3. Relocating a business certainly takes some time and effort. Is it any more or less difficult for biomedical companies?
For any business expanding or relocating, there are challenges, such as deciding on where to locate based on factors like logistics, the available talent pool and even lifestyle considerations – where the best schools are for talent pool and families of employees etc. Depending on the type of operation, infrastructure may lend itself to unique needs, in terms of power, water and sewer and the type of building needed. We work closely with businesses, providing customized assistance to find them the right location based on their specific needs.
4. One of the biggest challenges for any business is finding skilled workers, and in specialized fields like the life sciences industry, this is an especially pressing concern. How is New Hampshire addressing this need for the industry?
New Hampshire really prides itself on being in tune with the needs of its companies and in growing industry sectors such as life science. We work very closely with our education partners, which include the University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College and the Community College System of New Hampshire, to have programs in place to make sure these companies have a pipeline of talent for today and the future. We are taking steps to make sure the industry continues to grow. For example, New Hampshire companies joined us at the Arab Health trade show earlier this year and we are planning to attend other biotech-related trade shows and events in the future.
5. For a biomedical company considering an expansion or relocation, what are the first steps they should take to start the process?
Reach out to us at the Division of Economic Development. My colleague and I will provide customized assistance to help a company with information gathering for decision making and all aspects of establishing a business in the New Hampshire.
Cutting the ribbon on EIT’s new location in Salem.
With a snip of the scissors, a red velvet ribbon was cut last Thursday in Salem to mark the opening of one of New Hampshire’s newest companies, Electronic Instrumentation and Technology.
Joined by workers, clients, suppliers and supporters (including our own Cynthia Harrington, who assisted in the relocation from Methuen, Mass.), EIT officials celebrated the Virginia-based electronic manufacturing service provider’s fifth location, an electronic manufacturing facility.
Employees, customers and vendors celebrated EIT’s move to Salem.
“The new EIT Salem facility shows EIT’s commitment to our customers and the entire New England region,” said David Faliskie, EIT president and COO. “In January, EIT will begin our 38th year in business. EIT’s physical resources, along with our dedicated staff, create a situation which allows us to meet our customer’s requirements and keep EIT as a premiere EMS provider.”
Nearly a year ago, EIT acquired a contract manufacturer in nearby Methuen, Mass., and began planning to move operations to New Hampshire. Its new facility at 19 Keewaydin Dr., is double in size, to 30,000 square-feet and features ESD flooring, new energy efficient lighting and new and upgraded equipment. The Salem plant supports both prototype and production builds.
Harrington, business recruiter for the Division of Economic Development, worked with the EIT team as it considered relocating to New Hampshire.
“In terms of distance, the company is just a few miles from its previous location in Massachusetts, but the business climate is vastly different,” she said. “A combination of New Hampshire’s business climate, pool of highly skilled and highly educated workforce and available commercial real estate made this a logical choice for a growing company like EIT.” Alicia Gagne
Cindy Harrington, one of New Hampshire’s two business recruiters, remembers the day Frank Cummings called her. It was back in 2007 and there was traffic noise in the background.
Fast forward to the other day, one of those warm August days. Except for the sound of fingers flying over computer keyboards, there was little other noise in the Franklin Business Center, where AML Partners opened for business in May.
AML is short for Anti-Money Laundering and Frank is the company’s CEO. Previously located in New Jersey, it is a software development center that was founded after the 9/11 attacks and is dedicated to detecting and preventing terrorist financing and money laundering. AML is at the forefront of creating and developing tools that help banks look for patterns and behaviors that would indicate possible crime.
AML — sounds like it might be more at home in a place like New York or some other place heavy on financial interests. But Frank is a fellow who likes the outdoors, doesn’t like the rat race and saw real potential to fight fiscal crime from New Hampshire.
Which is why he called Cindy all those years ago.
Cynthia Harrington, business recruiter for the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, congratulates Frank Cummings, right, on moving AML Partners from New Jersey to Franklin, NH. AML Partners has created 21st century tools to fight global financial crime. The company opened its New Hampshire office in May and "raided," says Cummings, the New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord for its 11 employees.
Frank might have arrived sooner with the business, but “everyone knows what happened in 2008 – the economy took a bad turn and we had to delay” the move.
AML Partners opened on May 7 with a capable complement of employees “raided from the New Hampshire Technical Institute,” as Frank says.
Being able to find these educated employees was key to opening. One of the great parts of this story is how Frank reached out the NHTI, first seeking recommendations from professors of their promising students and now, as the business grows, from those students he hired.
“The average age of my workforce is 24-years-old,” he said. “I don’t have any jobs open because as soon as one becomes available, one of my people knows someone who can do the work.”
Those workers commute from as far away as Exeter and Manchester. Several we talked to feared they would be spending the summer – or longer – out of their chosen field. They are ecstatic to put their skills to work on the serious matter of fighting global financial crime.
We are glad that these young people did not have to leave New Hampshire to find their dream jobs.
Right now, AML Partners serves 32 international banking institutions in the U.S. and four other countries and about a dozen employees. Frank expects that to climb to 20 by the end of the year. On the day we visited, he’d secured a contract that would require him to immediately hire two more people.
In addition to just being an all-around great business story, it is illustrative of the process of recruitment. It doesn’t happen within days or weeks or months. It takes years and, as Cindy will tell you, lots of patience and persistence.
This is an all-around win for Frank,Franklin, NHTI and New Hampshire.
And Cindy has some more businesses coming our way.
The New Hampshire Division of Economic Development continues to make headlines – in New York.
For the second time in two weeks, New York media has delved into a story that apparently has people in the Empire State talking.
The Time Union of Albany about New Hampshire’s business recruitment team “courting” one of its companies and suggesting it’s even gone so far as offering an incentive package to come to the land of Live Free or Die.
Albany’s CBS affiliate, WRGB, followed up with a piece Monday that led its 5 p.m. newscast noting that “the recruiters aren’t exactly being shy about it.”
Like many states, New Hampshire has a business recruitment team, one that is active and enthusiastic and gets results. Sure, New Hampshire looks for businesses to come do business here, whether they are interested in expanding or relocating.
What is the message of the business recruitment team? Why New Hampshire is great place for businesses – low tax burden, affordable commercial real estate, an available and skilled labor force, proactive government – in short, the New Hampshire Advantage.
And that, as we’ve seen over the past two weeks, has people talking.
