Meet KAMTEK, INC

                        Five Questions with Sharan Vedbrat, President, KAMTEK, INC.
                                                         

                                                         
                                                    4851 International Blvd, Suite 102
                                                              Frederick, MD 21703
                                                                  240-457-4538
                                                             www.kamtekinc.com

How long have you been in business?

We have been in business about 20 years!

How many employees do you have?

We have 6 employees which includes me, the owner. I work full-time.

Why do you believe you'll continue to be successful in Frederick County?

Our business operation consists of two parts one is a state-of-the-art Bio-repository, which involves the long term storage, preservation and management of biological samples.  The second is a laboratory operation that provides a range of services mostly linked to the needs of the same clients using the Bio-repository.  This combination requires a facility consisting both of good warehouse space that also adjoins a state of the art biotech laboratory space.  The latter is not usually found built-up older warehouse neighborhoods. Conditions in Frederick County provided us with the opportunity to affordably combine the two requirements at a single location.  Our custom-developed facility near the intersections of the high-tech corridor of I-270, I-70 and Route 85 (Buckeystown Pike) offers accessibility to our clients at NIH, NCI, FDA, WRAIR, SAIC, USAMRIID, other biotech and bio-pharma companies, and to airports for shipping materials to and from  distant US and International clients.  We are also close to vendors and services we may need to reach quickly in case of emergencies. Lower electricity cost, underground power lines, low crime risk, and a friendly business environment add to KamTek opportunity to fully establish its roots in Frederick County.  In the current government budget crunch that also affects our operation, the relatively lower operational costs we found in this county are crucial to the well-being of our company.

If your company is involved in community outreach, please share with us your involvement.

Our operation requires large amounts of electric power that must be secured by a backup power generator of our own. KamTek helps in alleviating demand on the local power supply grid by voluntarily turning on and running its standby generator during anticipated peak usage hours.

In addition, KamTek has always participated in training young scientists by offering summer internships to high school graduates, undergraduate and graduate students.  Two of our current employees are with us because of our outreach efforts, and previously KamTek had been recognized my Montgomery Works program for its efforts in this area.

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What are you most proud of?

I am proud of the long term survival of my minority- and woman-owned biotech business which was done with the help of wonderful people along the way, and most importantly, KamTek’s current team.

Meet Hometown Harvest

4635 Wedgewood Blvd, suite 101
Frederick, Maryland   21703
301-798-2616
Hometownharvest.com

Heather Gramm, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, Tony Brusco, President/Owner , Commissioner David Gray, and Latrice Lewis, Frederick County Workforce Services   

We have been in business for 5 years but have been doing home delivery for over 10 years.

We have 13 employees, this includes office staff, packers and delivery drivers.

We will be successful in Frederick County because we are a part of the agricultural community ourselves and we support other local farmers.  Our business allows our farmers to have a year round income stream because we run our home delivery business all year.  We the move over to supporting a more local and healthy living lifestyle our service makes this new food/living model even more convenient for those who are too busy to get to local farmers markets and because we handle all the logistics it also allows the farmers products to reach a further outlying area than just the surrounding neighborhood.  We are a family owned business and because of our small size you can reach the owners on any given day by either phone or email.

We do support the local community outreach, we deliver monthly to Martha’s Table in DC.  We also donate goods to the soup kitchen in downtown Frederick.  We are actively involved in our church Frederick Church of the Brethren and have been very involved in the Picnic in the Park function held in August in Baker Park.

We are most proud of the company we have built in just five short years, now delivering to just around 1000 homes per week and doing it debt free.  We have a fine team of employees that really cares about what we are doing here and takes great pride in the products we bring in.  We love what we do and it shows.