Delaware News

Two High-Tech Companies Taking Their Businesses to the Next Level in Delaware with Help from the Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism

Small Business | Date Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2018



A company working to make NASA spacesuits stronger and safer and another providing data to millions of drivers to help them avoid traffic jams are both growing in Delaware.

Assistance from the state Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism is helping STF Technologies and TrafficCast take their businesses to the next level.

“Growth in Delaware’s economy through projects like these stems from an ecosystem created in the state,” said Linda Parkowski, Acting Director of the Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism. “Delaware has a business environment that encourages research and innovation and has programs in place to provide the ready space and produce a well-trained workforce for high-tech companies.”

STF Technologies, which is based at the University of Delaware STAR Campus in Newark, develops advanced thickening materials that can change form between liquid and solid to improve the protective abilities of NASA spacesuits, making them more puncture- and impact-resistant.

Last year STF began manufacturing and selling shear thickening fluids.  Previously a material mostly confined to research labs, these materials are now being used by a number of different companies to create next-generation protective materials and motion-control devices.

At its February meeting, the Council on Development Finance recommended a $50,000 Technical Innovation Program grant for STF to help provide a bridge between Phase I and Phase II Small Business Innovation Research funding from NASA.

“This technology could protect and save astronauts venturing to Mars,” said Richard Dombrowski, Co-Founder of STF Technologies. “It is gratifying to see the state showing confidence in the company by helping us find Earth-based markets for our materials. We are also grateful for the TIP grant, which helps us to maintain our research and product development activities between rounds of NASA funding.”

TrafficCast, which is based in Madison, Wis., is relocating its East Coast Traffic Operations Center to Delaware. The company uses data from 1.5 billion GPS trace points and its own road-based sensors to monitor traffic flow nationwide and provides real-time traffic data to more than three-quarters of all in-dash vehicle navigation systems.

The company is relocating 10 jobs and creating an additional 58 new jobs in a new office at The Mill, a coworking space in downtown Wilmington. At its February meeting, CDF recommended awarding TrafficCast a $171,600 Performance Grant from the Delaware Strategic Fund.

Many of the new jobs will involve software development so proximity to Zip Code Wilmington, which is also located at The Mill, is an important selling point for moving there.

Both The Mill and Zip Code Wilmington have benefited from past assistance through the state’s economic development efforts.

“Delaware provides a great opportunity for TrafficCast to grow and create a footprint in a state-of-the-art location in Wilmington,” said Al McGowan, CEO of TrafficCast. “Access to the talent required for that growth attracted us to Delaware, and the support we have found here in the private sector and in state government has shown us it was the right choice.”

Media Contact:
Michael Chesney
Director of Communications
Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism
Michael.Chesney@delaware.gov
(302) 577-8472 (office)
(302) 943-9508 (cell)

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Two High-Tech Companies Taking Their Businesses to the Next Level in Delaware with Help from the Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism

Small Business | Date Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2018



A company working to make NASA spacesuits stronger and safer and another providing data to millions of drivers to help them avoid traffic jams are both growing in Delaware.

Assistance from the state Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism is helping STF Technologies and TrafficCast take their businesses to the next level.

“Growth in Delaware’s economy through projects like these stems from an ecosystem created in the state,” said Linda Parkowski, Acting Director of the Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism. “Delaware has a business environment that encourages research and innovation and has programs in place to provide the ready space and produce a well-trained workforce for high-tech companies.”

STF Technologies, which is based at the University of Delaware STAR Campus in Newark, develops advanced thickening materials that can change form between liquid and solid to improve the protective abilities of NASA spacesuits, making them more puncture- and impact-resistant.

Last year STF began manufacturing and selling shear thickening fluids.  Previously a material mostly confined to research labs, these materials are now being used by a number of different companies to create next-generation protective materials and motion-control devices.

At its February meeting, the Council on Development Finance recommended a $50,000 Technical Innovation Program grant for STF to help provide a bridge between Phase I and Phase II Small Business Innovation Research funding from NASA.

“This technology could protect and save astronauts venturing to Mars,” said Richard Dombrowski, Co-Founder of STF Technologies. “It is gratifying to see the state showing confidence in the company by helping us find Earth-based markets for our materials. We are also grateful for the TIP grant, which helps us to maintain our research and product development activities between rounds of NASA funding.”

TrafficCast, which is based in Madison, Wis., is relocating its East Coast Traffic Operations Center to Delaware. The company uses data from 1.5 billion GPS trace points and its own road-based sensors to monitor traffic flow nationwide and provides real-time traffic data to more than three-quarters of all in-dash vehicle navigation systems.

The company is relocating 10 jobs and creating an additional 58 new jobs in a new office at The Mill, a coworking space in downtown Wilmington. At its February meeting, CDF recommended awarding TrafficCast a $171,600 Performance Grant from the Delaware Strategic Fund.

Many of the new jobs will involve software development so proximity to Zip Code Wilmington, which is also located at The Mill, is an important selling point for moving there.

Both The Mill and Zip Code Wilmington have benefited from past assistance through the state’s economic development efforts.

“Delaware provides a great opportunity for TrafficCast to grow and create a footprint in a state-of-the-art location in Wilmington,” said Al McGowan, CEO of TrafficCast. “Access to the talent required for that growth attracted us to Delaware, and the support we have found here in the private sector and in state government has shown us it was the right choice.”

Media Contact:
Michael Chesney
Director of Communications
Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism
Michael.Chesney@delaware.gov
(302) 577-8472 (office)
(302) 943-9508 (cell)

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , , , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.