MBC Deploys Cyan SDN for Backhaul Rollout

Mid Atlantic Broadband Communities Corp., a wholesale open-access network transport provider, is using Cyan technology to provision backhaul connections to a greater number of mobile cell sites at a reduced cost compared with its previous solution.

MBC is a non-profit operation launched with government funds in 2004, with the mission of bringing rural Virginia online. It does this by leasing fiber to communications service providers that, in turn, provide connectivity to attract businesses and foster economic growth in under-served communities.

"What we find is that the Cyan platform allows us to lower the capex, reach more cell sites and tower sites, and get more business customers online," says Tad Deriso, MBC President and CEO.

MBC decided to use Cyan Inc. 's Blue Planet SDN Software, along with the vendor's Z-Series Packet-Optical Platform. MBC had a SONET/TDM transport network, which it needed to scale to provide mobile backhaul, easy network operation, and configure third-party devices.

MBC also wanted to prepare the network for next-generation carrier Ethernet: Cyan helps achieve that goal through its compliance with the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) Carrier Ethernet 2.0 (MEF CE 2.0) initiative.

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Made in America

Near the end of "American Made Movie," a 2013 film documentary on American manufacturing that's just now gaining wide release in the U.S., the conversation turns to the most quintessential of American-made products: the Stars and Stripes.

Are the flags that people buy at stores actually made in America?

In South Boston, most people may know the answer to this question. "American Made Movie" clues in the rest of the world — by paying a visit to South Boston's Annin Flagmakers plant and interviewing the company's president, Carter Beard.

In an 85-minute film that skips smartly from the industrial ruins of Detroit to the rising manufacturing centers of East Asia and back again to America's small towns to witness their struggles to secure a place in the global economy, it's the South Boston segment that brings the core message home:

Yes, U.S. manufacturing is worth saving, and there are many people working to do so — successfully.

Produced by documentary filmmakers Nathaniel McGill and Vincent Vittorio, "American Made Movie" had limited release in U.S. cities last year and earned general acclaim — with the Los Angeles Times praising it as "patriotic but not overly rah-rah, inspiring without an excess of feel-good calculation." This month, the movie became available for viewing via cable video-on-demand and digital platforms; it's going on the web in May, and it will be available through Netflix and Hulu in the fall.

"America Made Movie" touches on issues that will be familiar to anyone who runs a small business, or works in the field of economic development, or has ever felt the impact of the decline of domestic manufacturing — which is to say most of us. Its elegiac images of closed factories come from visits to Rust Belt cities and hollowed-out southern towns, although South Boston, in a cameo role, is assigned the task of undercutting the conventional wisdom.

After posing the proverbial question — are American flags made in America? — the documentary cuts to an interview with Beard. (The segment was shot at Annin's New Jersey corporate office, where Beard works, although the film doesn't mention this fact.) Framed by snippets of the local plant shop floor, Beard recounts the company's long history of producing American flags since its founding in 1847. It was an Annin-made flag that draped the coffin of Abraham Lincoln, that flew atop the hill at Iwo Jima, that astronauts unfurled on the moon. Deep in the film, Beard touches on another signature event in U.S. history: the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

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IDA Receives New Grant: SVAMC improvements and Natural Gas reach extended

The Halifax County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has been awarded a grant by the United States Community Advancement and Improvement Program (USCAIP) for use on Phase III of the IDA's Southern Virginia Advanced Manufacturing Center (SVAMC) on Greens Folly Road. The $427,500 grant will used to improve and expand on-site utilities and infrastructure.

The IDA worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), which helped identify this grant opportunity for Halifax. "Investment by this USCAIP partner organization is significant for the development of the Southern Virginia Advanced Manufacturing Center," says Liz Povar, Vice-President of Business Expansion for VEDP. "The investment aligns with state, regional and local strategies and will add to the strength of Halifax County's business attraction and retention opportunities."

"The USCAIP grant provides benefits beyond its dollar value," says Matt Leonard, The IDA's Executive Director. "It will act as the required local match for the recently awarded $1,114,535 from the Tobacco Commission, relieving the County from having to make this match. It will also extend natural gas onto the site through an easement under the railroad, making natural gas available to the south and east side of the tracks for the first time." This includes South Boston, and some of the largest assets of the public school system, as well as many large private companies and residences.

Columbia Gas of Virginia Representative Jon Slaunwhite describes the collaboration with the IDA and importance of this extension, saying "We are committed to supporting the Halifax IDA in growing Virginia's economy. This project is an example of this collaboration and will allow Columbia Gas to expand our facilities and allow clean, reliable and domestic natural gas to support jobs and growth in the region."

Much of the grant monies previously received and spent to date have been used to replace the SVAMC's roofing and update the fire protection facilities. "We understand that work so far, while critical to stopping the facility's decline, is not highly visible work" says Leonard. "Over the next year and a half, Halifax citizens will see the building and grounds begin to transform, and our prospect industries will find a more ready site for them to consider."

Sniper aiming for jobs

Halifax County and TMI Auto Tech, the maker of the Ariel Atom performance racing vehicle, are teaming up to create a new manufacturing niche for the area: the production of lightweight, high-strength woven carbon composites.

It's just the material needed for a new racing vehicle that TMI Auto Tech has on the drawing board — the TMI Sniper.

The Sniper, unlike the Atom, is a closed-body racer, said Matt Leonard, executive director of the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority, which has put in an $838,786 R&D grant request to the Virginia Tobacco Commission to launch the project. The market for the Sniper is a familiar one for the company: club racers, promotional vehicle purchasers, school car programs. The company is aiming to build 100 of the vehicles for international distribution over the next five years.

Starting price point: $135,000.

TMI Auto Tech is projecting it will almost double its current workforce by hiring 19 new workers to build the Sniper at its facility at the Virginia Motorsports Technology Park, part of Virginia International Raceway. Yet the IDA has aspirations of the Sniper project becoming a springboard for even more jobs.

"If [research] finds that right formula to create carbon fiber-based materials in a cost effective way, it could be broadened [for use] in more products and more jobs here," said Leonard. "We think this could be the start of us making these high performance materials."

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Virginia Tobacco Commission to host Information Session on the R&D Grant Program

On March 3, the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification & Community Revitalization Commission will host a session to provide information and answer questions about its Research & Development Grant Program. These R&D grants focus on the target sectors of energy, biomedical and health care, information technology services, chemicals and materials, and clean energy & environment. pdf For more information click here

IDA Completes Rebranding Designs

The Halifax County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has completed its new branding designs for its properties and programs. "Halifax County has worked hard to build out the critical assets that business and industries look for when deciding to expand. What we haven't done is present them in a way that shows how they go together," says Matt Leonard, the IDA's Executive Director. "We have been working for the last year to build a brand that tells a fuller story to those inside and outside of our region."

The IDA will build off of the more recognizable "Southern Virginia" identity already used by its critical mission partners such as the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Tobacco Indemnification and Communities Revitalization Commission, Southern Virginia Regional Alliance and Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation. The IDA used the new logo and tag line it unveiled at the end of 2012 to complete its rebranding. The chart shows the changes being made.

"When we market Halifax Virginia to prospect industries, they need to quickly recognize the advantageous positioning and collaborative nature of our community and our assets," says Kristy Johnson, the IDA's Manager of Marketing & Business Development. "These immediately paint a picture, which we can then readily guide our prospects through to show them how Halifax County in Southern Virginia brings it all together in a way that meets their needs – from its placement logistically to its workforce training to its R&D, business and product support assets."

The IDA has already reworked its website and marketing materials using these new brands. Over the next few months the IDA will be changing its property signage to complete the rebranding.

Enterprise Zone Payments Made to 6 Companies

The Halifax County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has distributed over $133,000 in Halifax County Enterprise Zone grants to six different business and industries for their capital investments made.

"These are real investments made by our strong and stable corporate partners in Halifax County," says Matt Leonard, the IDA's Executive Director. "These investments broaden the County's business and industrial tax base, generating more revenue over time which helps keep down the tax rates for our citizens."

Enterprise Zones are allowed in select communities by the Commonwealth of Virginia. They allow localities to offer grant-backs of a portion of the increased tax revenues County's receive when businesses and industries invest more in their community. In any five-year period, and on average, the amount granted back is approximately 50% of the increased revenues received. The IDA administers the program for the County because of its close ties to the County's industries.

"We track their needs, and work to help meet them." says Leonard. "Our existing and new industries appreciate that we appreciate them. We form long-lasting partnerships with them. The Enterprise Zone program is an aspect of that partnership; and part of the reason why they come to Halifax, and stay and grow in Halifax. The distributions made this week went to companies that have been in Halifax County from five years to 30 years."

"Based on the information the IDA gathered from County industries regarding near-term plans, we anticipate awards of nearly $140,000 in 2014," says Marissa Jackson, the IDA's Operations Manager who will take lead on the EZ program this year. "That's more than 2013 and that means there's still measurable growth."

Halifax County IDA - Brighter, Bolder, Business

The Halifax County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) looks back on 2013 as a year of positive change with exciting new projects. The IDA looks forward to 2014 as a year of opportunity. "Our Brighter, Bolder, Business tagline is not just some clever little bit of alliteration," says Matt Leonard,the IDA's Executive Director. "It is how we operate now." Leonard explains that the IDA has restructured its operations, reworked its staff, deployed new and targeted marketing initiatives and reinvigorated its relationships with its critical mission partners. These are natural extensions of Halifax's long history of working to set itself apart from and above other communities when it comes to business and industry. What we have done in 2013 bodes well for 2014.

As the County looks back over 2013 it can be proud of its resilience through these difficult economic times. Halifax continues to retain many of our strongest and longest lasting employers, while new ones emerge. These include ABB, Presto, Aquatic, Annin, CCI, TMI and Dollar General. New industries opened in 2013, including the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative's South Boston Energy biomass plant, a $150M capital investment with 26 new full time jobs, and positive economic ripples through our legacy wood products industry. Also, Halifax Regional Health System merged with Sentara, making its 1,300 employees part of a 24,000 member organization, and promising $115M in capital investments over the next ten years. "Their continued commitment to Halifax is a testament to our long-term viability," adds Leonard.

The Halifax IDA administers a state Enterprise Zone program that incentivizes current and prospect industries to create new jobs and add capital investments. "The IDA managed County awards of over $130,000 in EZ incentives in 2013," says Marissa Jackson, the IDA's Operations Manager. Marissa will take lead on the EZ program beginning in 2014. "We anticipate awards of nearly $140,000 in 2014," she says. "That means growth."

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