Longmont, CO (PRWEB) April 20, 2006
The Longmont Area Economic Council (LAEC) (http://www.longmont.org), celebrating its 25th year of working to keep the Longmont-area economy strong, held its 7th annual Cornerstone Luncheon on Wednesday, April 19th at the Radisson Conference Center in Longmont. The LAEC honored five companies at the event, which is designed to recognize new and expanding primary employers in the Longmont area. Business reporter Gregg Moss from KUSA’s 9News was emcee.
LAEC’s Cornerstone Awards Luncheon is an opportunity for Longmont business and community leaders to recognize and celebrate companies that have started, grown or moved into the area within the past year. Three companies were nominated in each of four categories, including large tech (more than 25 employees), small tech, large non-tech and small non-tech. One company in each category was honored with a Cornerstone award, and a fifth firm, a start-up from CTEK Longmont (http://www.ctek.biz), the local business incubator, was named the CTEK Company of the Year. Companies set up display booths at the event to showcase what they do.
2006 Cornerstone Award winners include:
Large Technology Company
Agere Systems was honored. Agere Systems (http://www.agere.com) designs and develops integrated circuits for data storage applications. In 2005 they expanded their operations by 35,000 square feet and 14 employees. Agere Systems is a global leader in semiconductors for storage, wireless data and public and enterprise networks. The company’s chips and software power a broad range of computing and communications applications, from cell phones, PCs, PDAs, hard disk drives and gaming devices to the worlds most sophisticated wireless and wireline networks. Agere’s products connect people to information and entertainment at home, at work and on the road, enabling the connected lifestyle. Other nominated companies were Copan Systems and ecryptX Corporation.
Large Non-Technology Company
PharMerica (http://www.pharmerica.com) was honored in this category. PharMerica’s Longmont facility is a regional billing office. PharMerica expanded in 2005, adding 62 new employees. Their commitment to forward-thinking practices saves their customers time and money while enhancing the health, safety and well-being of facility residents. This dedication makes PharMerica a market leader in customer service and satisfaction. With 82 regional pharmacies and more than 220,000 patients in their care, PharMerica’s experience in long-term care and alternate care patient populations spans 20 years. Other nominated companies were Crocs Inc. and Dynamic Details.
Small Technology Company
EarthMap Solutions was honored, and Greg Knoblauch, president/CFO, accepted on behalf of the company. Earthmap Solutions (http://www.earthmapsolutions.com) is a satellite imagery company that focuses on agriculture, forestry and environmental information applications. They were new to Longmont in 2005 and occupy 2,400 square feet with five employees. EarthMap Solutions, Inc. is a Delaware corporation formed in late 2004 and headquartered in Longmont, Colo. EarthMap Solutions has developed the industrys strongest range of proprietary technology processes and products that are unrivaled for their atmospheric calibration, accuracy and consistency. Other nominated companies were Broadcom and Optware America.
Small Non-Technology Company
Mojo Labs was honored, and Morgan Jones, founder, accepted on behalf of the company. MoJo Labs (http://www.mojodesigns.com) is an electronic design services and hardware manufacturer that was new to Longmont in 2005. They employ four people and occupy 1,250 square feet. MoJo Designs is a product development firm, founded in 1994. MoJo has developed hardware, software and wireless products for clients for over 9 years. In addition to its product development expertise, MoJo developed the Eyelet GUI (gooey) and MoJo GIF Xtra products. Other nominated companies were EMCO Flow Systems and LAMAR Health, Fitness & Sports, LLC.
CTEK Company of the Year
The CTEK Longmont Company of the Year award is designed to recognize entrepreneurial excellence in the Longmont area, where entrepreneurs comprise a significant portion of the economy. The recipient start-up company is chosen by the Longmont Venture Center in recognition of the risk, commitment and energy necessary for entrepreneurs to succeed.
The 2006 organization named as the CTEK Longmont Company of the Year is Fidelity Comtech (http://www.fidelity-comtech.com). Joe Carey, president/founder, accepted the award on behalf of the company. Fidelity Comtech’s Phocus Array is a wireless data networking product that increases reach, reduces interference and enhances the security of wireless data traffic at an inexpensive price point. The companys patented technology allows the shape and direction of an antenna pattern to be instantaneously changed. Electronically directing the antenna pattern toward an intended recipient provides increased signal range, reduced interference and enhanced network security by limiting eavesdropping and improving overall network capacity by up to 118 percent. The technology facilitates mobile networking and simplifies the ability to rapidly set up secure, remote network operations. This overall increase in network performance requires 87 percent fewer nodes than traditional antennas and lowers the total capital expense of the network by 67 percent.
John Cody Receives Business Partnership Award
John Cody, president/CEO of LAEC was also presented with the Business Partnership Award by the Colorado Workforce Development Council. The award recognizes those who have made significant contributions to workforce and economic development in the state; promote relationships between individuals and businesses, economic development groups and the nine Workforce Development regional offices across Colorado; and raise awareness of the workforce development system in the local workforce investment area.
Platinum Sponsors for this years Cornerstone luncheon included Amgen, the Longmont Daily Times-Call, Centennial Bank of the West and Workforce Boulder County. Gold sponsors included Trammel Crow Company and Wells Fargo.
Previous Cornerstone honorees have included Seagate, Amgen, Xilinx, Intrado, High Country Millwork, Marvell Semiconductor, MicroPhage, Inc., Teknovation and others.
About the Longmont Area Economic Council
The Longmont Area Economic Council, which is celebrating its 25th year, exists for the sole purpose of keeping the Longmont area economy strong. This is accomplished specifically by “actively supporting the creation and preservation of quality primary jobs.” Primary employers are those who sell the majority of their goods and services outside the region. LAEC is a public/private partnership, governed by a Board of Directors made up of representatives from primary employers, the City of Longmont, and the business community at large. For more information, call (303) 651-0128, email [email protected], or visit http://www.longmont.org.
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