Support from the Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism is helping two technology companies expand their operations in Delaware.
STF Technologies, based at the University of Delaware STAR Campus in Newark, develops stronger materials for NASA spacesuits. The company last year began manufacturing a thickening fluid for protective materials and motion-control devices.
In February, the Council on Development Finance recommended a $50,000 Technical Innovation Program grant for STF. The money will help bridge the gap between small business research grants from NASA.
“This technology could protect and save astronauts venturing to Mars,” said Richard Dombrowski, co-dounder 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."
TrafficCast is moving its East Coast Traffic Operations Center to Delaware. The company uses GPS data points to provide real-time traffic monitoring and data, which it feeds out to more than three-quarters of in-dash vehicle navigation systems.
The move was spurred by the Council on Development Finance's recommendation last month to provide a $171,600 Performance Grant to the Madison, Wisconsin-based company. TrafficCast plans to relocate 10 jobs and create 58 new jobs its the new office at The Mill in Wilmington.
“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."
