• E-Newsletter

Stay sharp: Join us for two online events this week: “Back to Business: Resilience, Recovery and Moving Forward,” a May 20 online conference presented by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA); and “Keeping My Customers and Finding New Ones in This Climate,” a May 21 webinar that is part of the “Beyond Covid-19 Business Resiliency” series presented by the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance.

How the FCEDA can help your business: Go to the end of this newsletter to find out how the FCEDA can help your business during the health crisis.

Business News and Updates

Fortunate Fairfax: For the first time, 11 Fairfax County-based companies in a broad range of industries hold spots on the Fortune 500 list of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States. Fortune magazine published the 2020 version of the prestigious list yesterday.

The Fairfax County firms on the 2020 Fortune 500: No. 41: Freddie Mac, Tysons, financial services; No. 83: General Dynamics, Reston, aerospace and defense; No. 96: Northrop Grumman, Falls Church area, aerospace and defense; No. 97: Capital One Financial, Tysons, financial services; No. 155: DXC Technology, Tysons, information technology; No. 289: Leidos Holdings, Reston, information technology; No. 338: Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Tysons, hospitality; No. 417: NVR, Reston, home construction; No. 434: Beacon Roofing, Herndon, building materials; No. 450: Booz Allen Hamilton, Tysons, management consulting; and No. 466: SAIC, Reston, information technology.

Fairfax County has more Fortune 500 headquarters than 35 states and the District of Columbia, and is home to nearly two-thirds of the 17 companies based in the Washington, D.C., region. The Fairfax County firms also make up half of the 22 Virginia firms on this year’s list.

Fairfax County had 10 companies on the 2019 list. It added its 11^th headquarters thanks to SAIC. Fortunately, the Washington Business Journal covered the new list, highlighting SAIC’s entry.

Something ventured: Expel, a Herndon-based cybersecurity company, secured $50 million in Series D funding. The round was led by CapitalG, the growth fund of Google parent company Alphabet. The company now has raised a total of $117.5 million in venture funding. The company provides a hybrid cybersecurity approach for IT environments, including the cloud and on-premise. “We wanted to build something that would let security teams everywhere stop playing a game of alert whack-a-mole and focus on managing the risks unique to their business,” said Dave Merkel, CEO of Expel. VentureBeat beat others to the punch with this story.

Changing hands: The state government sold the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) office building complex right on the Fairfax-Loudoun County line in Herndon for $47.35 million. The buyer is affiliates of Chicago-based Origami Capital Partners and Timberline Real Estate Partners. For three decades the complex has housed the CIT as well as the Northern Virginia Technology Council and private technology firms. “I am glad to see movement on the sale, because the CIT site and adjacent properties, combined with the strong tech company presence in that area, the transit access afforded by the Silver Line and the proximity to Dulles Airport, make this a desirable candidate for something like an innovation campus or district,” said Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the FCEDA. Virginia Business covered the sale.

Stream of consciousness: Reston-based FrontStream, which provides a suite of products for nonprofits and corporations looking to raise funds securely, partnered with health activation and engagement company MoveSpring to launch a virtual fitness fundraising tool. Organizations that had planned in-person fundraising events, such as walks and 5Ks, can use the new platform to move them online and track activity. Users can also create new virtual fundraising events through the platform. Technical.ly DC streamed a story about the initiative.

Safe spaces: Kastle Systems, a Falls Church-area building-security technology company, developed an ambitious plan for using new technologies to help buildings navigate the reopening process once employees start returning to work. The new initiative, called “KastleSafeSpaces,” uses touchless access control, video analytics technology and thermal cameras. It will also incorporate virus-screening and contact tracing processes. Potomac Tech Wire picked up a release.

Green light, by George-las: The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved proposals for two developments near the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons. Georgelas Group’s two mixed-use projects — called West Spring Hill Station and North Spring Hill Station — will allow redevelopment of car dealerships along the north side of Tyco Road. The approval covers eight buildings, four parks, a new connection to the Dulles Toll Road and a sports deck that will include entertainment atop a building. Tysons Reporter green-lighted this story about the projects.

Powerful combo: Vienna-based OnLocation Inc., an information and analytics company for the energy sector, has been acquired by KeyLogic Systems, a subsidiary of McLean-based IIA Technologies Corp. KeyLogic Systems provides energy, data and power grid services to government agencies. The acquisition will allow the companies’ data scientists, engineers, researchers and policy analysts to work together. You can locate this news in Virginia Business.

Clear option: Clyde’s Restaurant Group is planning to install acrylic dividers that can separate bar and booth seating for guest dining. Clyde’s is working with a custom banquet-furniture company in Baltimore to get 15,000 square feet of plexiglass that it plans to install in its 14 restaurants including the location in Reston Town Center. Clyde’s Chief Operating Officer John McDonnell said that effective barriers could potentially allow Clyde’s to fill every booth in a restaurant as opposed to every other booth for social-distancing purposes. The Washington Business Journal covered the story in an article for subscribers.

Notable contract wins by firms in Fairfax County

Lockheed Martin secured a $904.8 million contract modification to provide MH-60R Seahawk maritime helicopters to the U.S. Navy and its Indian counterpart. GovConWire

Booz Allen Hamilton has been picked for a five-year, $800 million task order for artificial-intelligence services to support warfighting operations. Washington Technology

Perspecta won a four-year, $237.2 million agreement to build an enterprise information technology platform to support Army education and training programs. GovConWire

Northrop Grumman secured a $176.5 million contract modification to help the Army manage fixed-wing electronic warfare aircraft throughout the fleet’s lifecycle. GovConWire

DynCorp International received a $167.6 million Army contract modification to continue logistics support for fixed-wing government aircraft fleets used to transport personnel and cargo. GovConWire

Alion Science and Technology won a $49 million to support the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division in Orlando. Yahoo Finance

Featured business events

May 20 — Back to Business: Resilience, Recovery and Moving Forward. The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority presents a webinar featuring three panel discussions: “Business Best Practices” featuring Gautam Ijoor, Alpha Omega Integration; Mark Hartmann, Vricon; and Ashish Deshmukh, Newgen; “Technology to the Rescue” featuring Tom Dunlap, DBL Lawyers; Borzou Azabdaftari, Falcon Lab; and Moe Jafari, HumanTouch; and “Future of Workforce” featuring Michael Batt, FCEDA; Ashley Hoffman, Brazen Technologies; and Andy Galloway, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Click here to register.

May 21 — Keeping My Customers and Finding New Ones in This Climate. Part of the “Beyond Covid-19 Business Resiliency” webinar series presented by the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance. Topics to be covered include what must companies do to engage with current clients to maintain revenue streams and how do we meet new clients if we’re not attending events to network and pitch ideas? Click here to register.

May 22 — GovCon Business Topics Webinar: Role of a Project Controller — How to Maximize Profits on Every Project. The Asian American Chamber of Commerce presents a webinar featuring Zaneta Handa, project management office lead at Capgemini N.A. Click here to register.

May 27 — Leading in Times of Crisis. The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce presents a webinar in its Business Education Series featuring Karen Cleveland, president and CEO of Leadership Fairfax. Click here to register.

May 26, 27 —  Wharton DC Innovation Summit. The Wharton Club of DC is hosting an online summit focused on: COVID-19: Pivot, Reboot, Round. Open to the public. Click here to register.

May 28 — Weighing the Decision to Safely ‘Reopen’ Northern Virginia. George Mason University’s College of Health and Human Services presents a webinar moderated by Dean Germaine Louis. Victor Hoskins, FCEDA’s president and CEO, is a featured presenter. Click here to register.

May 28 — TiE DC Startup Mentoring. TiE DC presents a session for startups or small businesses affected by the COVID-19 situation to hear successful mentors who are serial entrepreneurs, thought leaders, angels, and venture capitalists talk about on how to stay afloat and (re)build business. Click here to register.

June 16 — Impact AI: National Impact, Local Innovation. The Northern Virginia Technology Council presents a conference on developments in artificial intelligence and the strength of the regional AI ecosystem. Click here to register.

How the Fairfax County EDA can help

Get business assistance: Continuing business operations in today’s situation is challenging and the FCEDA is working to assist businesses with information and access to critical resources during this emergency. Visit the FCEDA’s Covid-19 Business Resource Hub for up-to-date information, resources and assistance for businesses.

The FCEDA, like other economic development organizations in the region, is working virtually, and our staff is working full-time with businesses of all kinds to offer assistance and direct them to resources. For direct assistance, email the FCEDA at info@fceda.org, or call 703-790-0600 to leave a voice message for our staff. And click here for resources available in the other nine jurisdictions that make up the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance.

Here are more useful informational resources:

• Fairfax County information for businesses impacted by coronavirus: click here
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Virginia: click here
• SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program information and other COVID-19 related resources and guidance for small business: click here
• CDC resources for businesses and employers: click here
• Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance — links to COVID 19-related resources throughout the region: click here

Get text updates: Fairfax County residents are encouraged to sign up for coronavirus-related text message alerts from the Fairfax County Health Department in order to stay current with important updates. To receive these alerts, text FFXCOVID to 888-777. In addition, residents can send specific questions or concerns related to the coronavirus to ffxcovid@fairfaxcounty.gov. This email account will be staffed Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. to respond to question.

Call to action: How is your company reacting to the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis? Is your company developing any technologies, implementing any noteworthy procedures or have advice for other companies on how conduct business more effectively in this situation? Please contact the FCEDA communications division at info@fceda.org with relevant information that we may possibly share with our readers. Thank you for your assistance in these unprecedented times.