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Solar and Roofing Company SmartRoof to Expand in Fairfax County, Creating 400+ New Jobs

SmartRoof, one of the East Coast’s leading roofing companies, will invest $350,000 to expand in Fairfax County. The company will relocate from its current location in McLean to occupy 25,000 square feet of office space at 11091 Sunset Hills Road in Reston. Fairfax County and Virginia successfully competed for the project, which creates 410 new jobs over five years.

“SmartRoof’s mission is to positively impact lives through roofing and solar,” said Joshua Jerge, CEO and Founder of SmartRoof. “This starts with our employees and ripples through the local communities where we work. We were founded in Virginia and are excited for the opportunity to keep our headquarters in Fairfax County and improve the lives of Virginians for years to come!”

“It’s great to see SmartRoof growing their presence in Fairfax County and adding hundreds of new jobs,” said Jeffrey C. McKay, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. “Our climate change resilience will be powered by solar and other alternative forms of energy, and SmartRoof is helping to lead that effort in both residential and commercial locations. We’re proud to have their headquarters here and look forward to their continued innovation.”

Founded in 2016, SmartRoof has quickly grown to become a top 50 roofing company in the country. Headquartered in Fairfax County, SmartRoof uses technology to make homes smart, so customers can simplify their lives, save money on energy, and clean up the environment. SmartRoof services Northern Virginia, Maryland, Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern Jersey, Northern Delaware, Washington, D.C., and Florida, and has helped transform the lives of over 7,500 customers.

“It is a privilege to witness the incredible growth of SmartRoof here in Fairfax County,” said Victor Hoskins president and CEO of FCEDA. “SmartRoof’s commitment to community-conscious innovation has been a catalyst for change within their industry, and we are honored to have them continue to lead from their new headquarters in Reston.”

Click here to read more about the company’s expansion.

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WTOP Panel: Equity & Inclusion Key

Victor Hoskins, President and CEO of the FCEDA, was among the panelists that WTOP convened to discuss the community partnerships formed as Amazon prepares to open the first phase of its second headquarters (HQ2) in Arlington next year. Hoskins led the economic development team that successfully attracted Amazon’s HQ2 to Northern Virginia.

“If an organization or company is coming into your community, you want it to, in some way, not only match your industry sectors that you’re trying to grow,” Hoskins said, “but you also want it to match the values and the culture of your region.”

With the discussion moderated by Bruce Alan, Anchor, WTOP, the other panelists were George Mason University President Gregory Washington, Anne Kress, President, Northern Virginia Community College; Christian Dorsey, Vice-Chair of the Arlington County Board, and Holly Sullivan, President, Worldwide Economic Development, Amazon.

Click here to read the full discussion and view video clips of the panel on WTOP.

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Weekly Business News Digest

Ready-made workforce: Virginia Tech is piloting a new project-based curriculum for local engineering students ahead of the opening of its $1 billion Potomac Yard campus, the Washington Business Journal reported. Four companies in the tech, aerospace and defense fields — Falls Church-area based Northrop Grumman; Arlington-based Boeing; Deloitte, which has a major presence in Arlington; and Charlotte, N.C.-based Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of Arlington’s Raytheon Technologies — are presenting small groups of advanced degree engineering students with real-world problems to tackle and solve with the help of faculty members now based at the university’s Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church. For students, the program provides an environment to gain professional acumen along with technical training. The companies, meanwhile, see their involvement as a way to build a skilled, ready-made workforce, according to the article.

Data center curriculum: Amazon Web Services, which bases its east coast operations in Herndon, is working with Fairfax-based George Mason University on developing a new project-based curriculum and coursework focused on data centers for engineering students, reported the Washington Business Journal in an article for subscribers. The curriculum will officially launch through its bachelor’s degree programs in electrical and mechanical engineering in 2023 at the school’s main Fairfax campus.

More AWS news: Amazon Web Services, which bases its east coast operations in Herndon, announced that five local nonprofits won funding awards through AWS’ IMAGINE Grant, which is open to registered 501 nonprofits taking advantage of cloud tech, reported technical.ly. This is the fifth year AWS has provided the award and 20 nonprofits nationwide were selected. Here are the local Greater Washington recipients of the awards: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation; C4ADS; Navy Mutual Aid Association; and FINCA International. “Our hope is that nonprofits will use these funds to pursue technology-driven goals,” said Allyson Fryhoff, AWS’ managing director of nonprofit and nonprofit health.

Going public: Cybersecurity firm Cycurion plans to go public through a merger with SPAC Western Acquisition Ventures Corp. that estimates the enterprise value of the combined company at $170 million, DC INNO reported. Based in Tysons, Cycurion is a provider of cybersecurity solutions for government agencies and commercial partners. The company will be led by veteran technology innovator, Emmit McHenry, CEO. “We are excited to become a publicly traded company and expect that we will continue to grow through both organic investments and strategic acquisitions,” said McHenry. “With regard to acquisitions, we will build upon our successful track record of acquiring cybersecurity services and technology providers that enhance our leading-edge platform to protect our clients against the systemic, existential threat of cyberattacks to their businesses, customers and reputations.”

ROI for the Commonwealth: The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation’s (VIPC) Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) awarded more than $1.5 million in funding for 24 Virginia-based businesses and university researchers in Q3 2022, including the following Fairfax County-based companies: Blue Vigil (Reston); Kinometrix (Fort Belvoir); NFTYDoor (Tysons); and Rimstorm (Herndon). Four companies located in additional Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance jurisdictions also received funding in this round: AtWork Systems (Arlington); Federal Foundry (Arlington); One Up Technologies (Manassas); and Polaris Semiconductor (Arlington). “Virginia recognizes the importance of moving university-developed innovations into the commercial market, and supporting emerging startups as they develop and grow,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “VIPC’s CCF program consistently provides critical funding support to university projects with strong commercialization potential, as well as to scalable technology-driven private startups. CCF’s financial support delivers a strong return-on-investment for the Commonwealth, contributing to our economic vitality and new high-paying jobs.”

Done deal: Lorton defense contractor QinetiQ U.S. closed its deal to buy Ashburn cybersecurity contractor Avantus Federal from Pennsylvania private equity firm NewSpring Holdings for $590 million, according to the Washington Business Journal. QinetiQ U.S., a subsidiary of the U.K. defense tech company QinetiQ Group PLC, specializes in robotics and autonomous vehicles. It said the deal “creates a unique platform to offer comprehensive mission-led innovation for the most sensitive and complex challenges intelligence, defense, homeland, civilian, and other government customers face today.” The deal combines QinetiQ’s technical work in robotics, sensing, protection systems, and other next-gen tech with Avantus’ expertise in government operations, including cyber, data, facility and outer space work.

Greater reach: Elbit Systems of America, the U.S. subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems, which has offices in Northern Virginia, acquired Logos Technologies, which makes wide-area motion imagery sensors for manned and unmanned aircraft, Janes reported. Logos president John Marion, who will continue to lead the Fairfax-based business, said that joining Elbit “gives us access to new resources, connections, and contracts, giving our solutions greater reach.” Logos, which employs about 60 people, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of De Leon Springs, FL-based naval electronic systems producer Sparton, which Elbit Systems of America acquired in April 2021. The Logos acquisition will boost Elbit Systems of America’s workforce to about 3,500 people.

Endless opportunities in Fairfax County: The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) returned to India for the second time this year on a visit led by Juhi Naithani, Assistant Director of International Business Investment. Since 2004, FCEDA has had a presence in India and has served as a go-to resource for companies interested in expanding into the U.S. market. This FCEDA India trip included visits to New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Pune in November 2022. “It was our pleasure to return to India to meet with Indian companies interested in expanding their operations to the United States,” said Ms. Naithani. “Whether your company was able to meet with us this time or would like to schedule a future meeting, we stand ready to assist and look forward to connecting you to endless opportunities in Fairfax County and the U.S. market.” World News carried the release.

Inaugural award winner: Founder and CEO of Tysons-based C2 Technologies Dolly Oberoi was named the inaugural recipient of the Outstanding Woman in Defense Training Award for the 2022 Military Simulation & Training Awards presented by The Halldale Group.“It is truly an honor to be recognized as the inaugural winner of this category,” Oberoi said. “It is especially meaningful to receive this award just prior to I/ITSEC, the world’s largest modeling, simulation, and training conference, where I will be surrounded by so many talented women who have also dedicated their careers to doing what they love every day – supporting our warfighters.”

5G future positioning: Falls Church area-based GDIT published a report: Enterprise to the Edge: Agency Guide to 5G, which surveyed 500 officials from civilian, defense, and intelligence agencies to analyze the progress the federal government is making to deploy 5G capabilities, the benefits and challenges agencies are expecting, and what mission impacts it will have. “Many agencies are still developing use cases and identifying the enabling technology that will make 5G transformative for them,” said Ben Gianni, GDIT’s senior vice president and chief technology officer. “But they know their 5G future is coming. Agencies that identify their primary mission outcomes and relevant 5G uses cases will be better positioned to deploy the optimal 5G solution cost-efficiently and with minimal risk.” Intelligence Community News has more.

Get your passport ready! Washington Dulles International Airport celebrated the launch of a new United Airlines service to Cape Town, South Africa, InsideNoVa reported. Leaders from the airline, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa and the U.S. Departments of State and Transportation took part in an event marking the occasion.  “This new service further strengthens our region’s already strong links to Africa and highlights United’s continued international expansion at Washington Dulles,” said Jack Potter, president/CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Pleased to meet you: Melissa J. Perry, Dean, College of Public Health, George Mason University (Fairfax); Kevin D. Pomfret, Partner, Williams Mullen (Tysons); and Miguel Román, Senior director and chief scientist of climate and environment, Leidos (Reston) are among the people that Virginia Business featured on its annual 100 people to meet list. Check it out to find out about the featured movers-and-shakers in Fairfax County, Northern Virginia and throughout the Commonwealth.

Tech winners announced: The Northern Virginia Technology Council announced its 2022 NVTC Tech 100, which annually honors the “top innovative companies and leaders in the region’s technology community.” The awards attracted nearly 200 nominations across three award categories: Company, Executive, and NextGen Leader. A panel of independent judges made final selections. This year’s list comprises 71 tech companies, 23 executives, and six emerging leaders. All will be honored at an event scheduled for Dec. 6 in Tysons. Click here to see the list of honorees.

Back to the Moon: USA TODAY’s “Back to The Moon” Special Edition magazine is a comprehensive overview of NASA’s Artemis program covering multiple angles, from space tourism to space safety. Fairfax County-based SCOUT’s CEO, Eric Ingram, shared his take on where space safety is today in the Safe Space article on page 28. Click here to access the issue.

First acquisition: One year after its founding, Tysons-based company RegScale has just made its first M&A move, technical.ly reported. RegScale announced Tuesday that it acquired Arlington, Va.-based GovReady, a fellow compliance tech company that works in open source and compliance-as-code. This latest development comes on the heels of RegScale’s $20 million Series A, which it announced in August.

Hiring focus on women: To help combat a hiring crunch, Virginia Tire & Auto has doubled down on training opportunities — with a focus on women, the Washington Business Journal reported.  The company has become a registered apprenticeship program under the Department of Labor and Industry in Virginia. Virginia Tire & Auto recently announced that it hired 31 women in the past year and launched three $2,500 scholarships for women pursuing post-secondary education in auto technology.

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Contract Wins

Noblis (Reston) won an $187 million. five-year contract from the Naval Informational Warfare Center Pacific to provide engineering services. Virginia Business

ManTech (Herndon) will continue to provide specialized security support services to the U.S. Space Force under a one-year, $43.5 million contract modification. GovConWire

Carahsoft Technology (Reston) won a $32.6 million contract modification worth to continue handling software support and maintenance work for the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems. ExecutiveBiz

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