News Briefs
Development
Boys & Girls Club building sold for $425K
WORCESTER - The real estate firm Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates announced that the former home to the Worcester Boys & Girls Club at 2 Ionic Ave. in Worcester has been sold for $425,000. The purchaser of the property was the Economic Development Financial Corp. (EDF) of Dedham. David Rodriguez-Pinzon, president of EDF, said the purchase of the former Boys & Girls Club is part of a larger plan that will eventually include four buildings in the area that are slated for affordable housing for working people.
Holy Cross charges ahead with Southbridge St. development
WORCESTER - The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester wants to put retail, office and commercial space at a former Howard Johnson's hotel at Southbridge and College Streets. Holy Cross started a community advisory committee made of local residents, students and school staff to examine the feasibility of such a plan. The development would take place on a four-acre site owned by the college.
Park Plaza building sold
WORCESTER - The Park Plaza building at 507 Main St. has been purchased for $6.25 million by Boston-based BT Enterprises Holdings LLC. The deal also included a nearby parking lot. The 11-story building has retail shops on the ground floor and 90 apartments above, while the 13,000 square foot lot across the street as 514-522 Main St. is undeveloped. Plans for the real estate remained undisclosed at present.
Biomedical
Quarterly loss shrinks at GTC
FRAMINGHAM - GTC Biotheraputics reported this morning that it posted a net loss of $7.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2006, shrinking from the $8.3 million loss it reported during the same period a year earlier. The company reported a net loss of $35.3 million for the year, compared to a $30.1 million net loss for 2005. Geoffrey F. Cox, chairman and CEO, said GTC "went through a transformation in 2006," set off by the approval in Europe of Atryn, "the first transgenically produced therapeutic product anywhere in the world."
Manufacturing
Southboro fuel cell co. contracts with Army
SOUTHBORO - Protonex Technology Corp. a provider of mobile fuel cell power systems, has been awarded a $3.5 million contract with the U.S. Army Research Office. It's the largest contract Protonex has ever received, and brings the company's government development or joint development contracts to over $11 million. For the Army, Protonex will develop a 250-watt, portable fuel cell power source that is smaller, lighter, quieter and more efficient than battery, or generator powered systems. The contract covers a 12-month development schedule, and the new fuel cell system will be used by Army Special Operations Command and by the Marines.
American Superconductor buys PA switch co.
WESTBORO - American Superconductor Corp. has agreed to acquire Pennsylvania-based Power Quality Systems (PQS) in an all-stock merger deal valued at $3.8 million. Power Quality Systems makes switches used to regulate and stabilize power grid voltage, and help make power transmission and power distribution grids more reliable. According to American Superconductor, the current owners of PQS won't be employed by American Superconductor, but all key PQS engineering personnel are expected to stay with the company. PQS's 2006 financial results show revenue of $3 million and a net loss of $400,000, which is an improvement over 2005.
Health Care
Near record year for health care venture investment
According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers 2006 annual report, 2006 was a near-record year for venture capital investment in New England biotechnology, health care services and technology, and medical devices and equipment companies. Framingham-based Artisan Pharma Inc. claimed one of the top deals in 2006 when it received $39 million in venture funding in the third quarter for its work on biopharmaceutical products. Venture capital funding hit $1.26 billion in investment in 119 deals in New England, a 44 percent increase in dollar value, and a 21 percent increase in deal volume over 2005, according to the report. Biotechnology firms accounted for two-thirds of all health care related venture investment in 2006, the report said.
High Tech
EMC dominates storage software market
FRAMINGHAM - With revenue of $716 million, and nearly a 28 percent market share, Hopkinton's EMC Corp. dominated the worldwide storage software market during the fourth quarter of 2006, according to IDC, a Framingham-based research and advisory firm. During 2006, EMC posted $2.7 billion in revenue, 1.2 percent growth over 2005. The fourth quarter of 2006 was the 13th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth for the storage software market, according to IDC. Revenue for the market in the fourth quarter was $2.6 billion, a 3.1 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2005.
Caught on tape
WESTBORO - Casinos may soon be able to keep a better eye on their gaming floors thanks to RemoteReality Corp. The company may also have a hand in making shopping malls and parking lots safer, as well. Remote Reality, which makes "intelligent omni-video systems" with 360-degree viewing capabilities, has teamed up with North American Video to develop high security cameras for North American casinos and other gaming operations. The two companies have signed a letter of intent and will develop and market the new products together.
Income grows for IPG
OXFORD - Fourth-quarter net income for IPG Photonics Corp. climbed to $16.6 million on revenue of $42.1 million from a net of $3.9 million on $34.1 million in revenue just one year ago. The 23 percent increase in quarterly revenue was driven by of sales of fiber lasers for materials processing. Due to several one-time costs, the company swung from earnings of 11 cents per share to a loss of 11 cents per share. Excluding those one-time items, adjusted net income totaled $6.6 million, or 17 cents per share, according to the company.
Finance
Fidelity will close Marlboro phone center
MARLBORO - A spokeswomen for Fidelity Investments confirmed to the Worcester Business Journal that its customer service phone center at its Marlboro offices will be closed, affecting a 300 employees. The company intends to consolidate phone operations in other locations. The phone operations are expected be closed completely by late June 2008. As of May 2006, Fidelity had about 3,600 employees at its Marlboro campus. The company previously announced plans to reduce its footprint in the town, and a spokeswoman said the company is still planning to vacate a 125,000-square-foot building on Forest Street. However, she added that Fidelity would continue to "maintain a large presence in Marlboro."
Galvin files charges against investment scam
BOSTON - Two Central Massachusetts men have been charged with dishonest and unethical business practices in marketing annuities to seniors and providing investment advice without being registered. The charges were filed by Secretary of State William Galvin against Michael DelMonico of Uxbridge-based DelMonico Financial Associates and John Huck of Huck Financial Strategies in Princeton. Charges were also brought against Workman Securities Corp. in Minnesota, an independent contractor broker-dealer agency that allegedly failed to supervise Delmonico. The Securities Division is seeking cease-and-desist orders against Huck and DelMonico, as well as administrative fines and limitations on their future registrations.
Some of the material in the News Briefs and Small Business sections was originally reported by Banker & Tradesman, The Boston Business Journal, The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, The Clinton Courier and Lancaster Times, The Griffin Report of Food Marketing, IndUS Business Journal, Mass High Tech, The MetroWest Daily News, New England Real Estate Journal, Sentinel & Enterprise, Southbridge Evening News, Telegram & Gazette, and/or Worcester Magazine. If you have a news tip, please call 508-755-8004 ext. 256, fax it to 508-755-4734, or e-mail it to cdavis@wbjournal.com.
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