Frederick County Ranked #3 Healthiest County in MD

County Health Rankings say Frederick County #3 for health in Maryland. New Rankings give communities a snapshot of how healthy their residents are so they can see where they are doing well, where they need to improve, and then act together to remove barriers to good health. www.countyhealthrankings.org

Frederick County Tech Council Award Winners

The Frederick County Tech Awards Celebration was held Tuesday evening at Holly Hills Country Club. 2011 technology award winners Sheila Buscemi, a Valley Elementary School first-grade teacher, was selected Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Educator of the Year. Small Business of the Year award recipient RURO Inc. develops state-of-the-art software that optimizes manageability and productivity for innovative academic, biotechnological, pharmaceutical, medical and government laboratories in the U.S. and throughout the world. E-End, a company that provides secure destruction of electronic data, received the Service Provider of the Year award. The Firm of the Year award went to Data Management Services Inc. -- an information and management sciences company dedicated to the biomedical research, public health and small-business sectors. Uplaksh Kumar, manufacturing leader of Life Technologies Corp., was chosen Executive of the Year. The CEO of the Year award went to Larry Arthur, CEO of SAIC-Frederick Inc. Congratulations to all of the award winners.

Folcomer Equipment Corporation Earns Top North American Dealer Award

Folcomer Equipment Corporation, a leading construction equipment dealership with offices in Maryland and Delaware, was presented with the Top North American Dealer award by Takeuchi at last week’s CONEXPO trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“We are thrilled to receive this award. Since adding the Takeuchi product line, our customers have been impressed with the quality of the machines, as well as the relatively low amount of maintenance required,” said Dave Folcomer, president and owner of Folcomer Equipment.

The award was based on wholegood sales, market share and compliance with manufacturer standards. There are approximately 200 dealers throughout North America, according to Takeuchi’s corporate office in Pendergrass, Georgia.

“We really owe this award to our customers. Without them, we couldn’t achieve this success,” said Amanda Haddaway, director of human resources and marketing for Folcomer Equipment.

About Folcomer Equipment Started in 1994, Folcomer Equipment has grown from one location in Aberdeen, Maryland to five locations throughout Maryland and Delaware. The company represents several construction equipment manufacturers including Takeuchi and assists customers with new and used equipment sales, equipment rentals, parts and service. Offices are currently located in Aberdeen, Baltimore, Frederick and Upper Marlboro, Maryland and Greenwood, Delaware. For more information on Folcomer Equipment, please visit http://www.folcomerequipment.com/.

About Takeuchi Takeuchi is an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer of an extensive line of compact track loaders, compact excavators and compact wheel loaders. Founded in 1963, Takeuchi was the first company to introduce the compact excavators to the North American market, setting the stage for one of the highest growth product segments ever introduced in the compact equipment market. The compact excavator market has become a main line product for both rental and construction/utility companies. Takeuchi continued to lead the compact construction industry with the introduction of the first compact track loader to North America. For more information on Takeuchi, please visit http://takeuchi-us.com/.

Photo caption: Clay Eubanks, president of Takeuchi, presents Dave Folcomer, president and owner of Folcomer Equipment, with the Top North American Dealer award on the show floor at CONEXPO in Las Vegas. CONEXPO is the premier construction equipment industry trade show. Held every three years, the exposition showcases the latest equipment, products, services and technologies.

Media contact: Amanda Haddaway, Director of Human Resources and Marketing, Folcomer Equipment Corporation, amanda.haddaway@folcomer.com, 301-682-4441 ###

County Works to Improve Business Climate

With the goal of improving the "business friendly" environment, staff with direction from the Frederick County Board of County Commissioners, have begun to review and revise the rules and regs that affect the local business community.

Check out the Business Friendly Action Item List and status here.

Congratulations to Frederick County's Top CEOs You Need to Know

The Gazette of Politics and Business announces 25 CEOs You Need to Know for 2011. Among them are six Frederick County CEOs including:

Daryl Boffman
President
Acela Technologies

Glen Calderon
CEO
Default Resource

M.L. Carroll
Owner
Canapes Catering

Pete & Jim Plamondon
Co-owners/Presidents
Plamondon Companies

Col. Judith Robertson
Commander
Ft. Detrick

David Smith
Head of Cell Therapy
Lonza-Walkersville, Inc.

A meet and greet lunch and award presentation will be held on Thursday, May 5, 2011 from 11:30 am to 1:30pm at the The Ballroom in Bethesda, MD. To reserve a seat, please contact Kathleen Castellano at 240-864-1558 or email Top25CEOs@gazette.net

Congraulations to our Frederick County CEOs!

First Quarter Retention Visits

Each month, the Office of Economic Development, members of the BOCC and our Business Advisory Council visits a business to hear their future plans, gage how doing business in Frederick has benefited their business and hear how we can make doing business in Frederick easier. In January, Stulz Air Technology Systems, Inc. was visited. Stulz is an international company that manufactures air conditioning, humidifying and dehumidifying systems. One of our award winners at our 2010 Annual Business Reception, Stulz continues to expand and add additional jobs. Our February visit was to ALL-SHRED. ALL-SHRED is a certified woman-owned and small business certified company. In business for 10 years, they started in Middletown with 1 truck. The now have a fleet of 14 vehicles, with Corporate Headquarters in Frederick, and a branch in Easton, MD. In March, we visited Life Technologies Corporation. Life Tech. is a global biotechnology tools company dedicated to improving the human condition. For more information about these company, please visit their websites at www.ats.stulz.com, www.allshredmd.com and www.lifetechnologies.com.

2010 Annual Report

OED released their 2010 Annual Report today. To track economic statistics over the past five years, get targeted industry highlights, view which companies expanded or located to Frederick County, to understand the commercial real estate market and much more, please click here http://www.discoverfrederickmd.com/NewsData/documents/2010Final_000.pdf.