GSA Technology Council

AFL Network Services, Inc. is expanding its telecommunications services business with the acquisition of the assets and related business of North Star Communications Group, Inc., currently headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The acquisition not only develops AFL’s footprint into Alabama, Mississippi, California, and Nevada, but also enhances its service offering with North Star’s expertise in outside plant engineering.

“North Star complements our existing business very well,” said Mike Booth, Executive Vice President of AFL Network Services. “Their skills in outside plant engineering and wireless services, together with the enhanced footprint, provide the capability for us to continue growing. Furthermore, we both share a strong commitment to quality and service.”

With a combined 30 years of industry experience, AFL Network Services continues to provide exceptional network engineering and installation services in all communication markets including access, enterprise, wireless and electric utility. With AFL’s addition of North Star’s full scope of capabilities including engineering, network operations and maintenance, construction management, cable broadband and wireless, and expertise in outside plant distribution design, and route feasibility studies, AFL Network Services has a complete array of experienced professionals along with products and services designed to meet unique networking needs.

via AFL

The Clemson Small Business Development Center will be hosting a new entrepreneur workshop in Spartanburg on July 29th.  “JumpStart Your Business, Tips for Start Up Success” will focus on helping individuals stating a business by looking at aspects such as forms of business organizations, legal considerations, business plan creation, and how to obtain funding. 

The Details

• When: July 29th from 6:30 - 8:00 pm
• Where: Spartanburg County Library Headquarters, 151 S. Church St. Spartanburg
• Cost: Absolutely free

Pre-registration for the workshop is required and can be done by calling (864)316-9162

for more information visit The Clemson Small Business Development Center

Spartanburg, SC — ACA Conductor Accessories, a division of AFL Telecommunications, announces the acquisition of Dossert Corporation, a privately-held supplier of substation accessories in the power utility market. The acquisition and new product offering further enhance ACA’s position as one of the leading substation suppliers in the power utility industry.

“The acquisition of Dossert reaffirms ACA Conductor Accessories’ commitment to the power utility market,” stated Steve Ferguson, General Manager. “Furthermore, with an enhanced substation product offering, ACA will be able to meet the demands of a market that is seeing continuous and escalating growth.”

Dossert has a proven history as one of the industry’s technological and innovative suppliers. Founded in 1904, Dossert introduced the first solderless electrical connection, virtually eliminating the use of solder in making electrical connections and splices. Since then, Dossert has been keeping pace with the progress in methods of both the generation and distribution of electricity. Since 1980, Dossert has expanded its transportation business into the ‘Light Rail’ area by providing overhead catenary systems and components to some of the major rail companies in the United States. The Dossert product family is designed for the Power Utility, Transportation, OEM and Electrical Distributor markets and consists of both copper and aluminum connectors for substations, switch yards, transmission lines, grounding systems, and industrial applications. Dossert products will be available from ACA Conductor Accessories effective immediately.

via ACA

Spartanburg, SC — USC Upstate will hold a free public forum on renewable energy sources tomorrow, June 25th, at 6:30 PM in the Campus Life Center Ballroom.  The forum will include speakers from the South Carolina Energy Office, and the Departments of Geological Sciences and Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Carolina.

Erika Hartwig, renewable energy coordinator at the South Carolina Energy Office, and Dr. Venkat Lakshmi, professor of geological sciences at USC will lead the forum with short presentations, and then will open the discussion to comments and questions from the audience.

The forum is the fourth in a series of five energy forums held in locations across the state by the College of Engineering and Computing and the Office of Research at the University of South Carolina. Other forums addressed nuclear power, coal, hydrogen, and energy conservation.

for more information visit USC Upstate

The New Ideas for a New Carolina statewide business idea contest announced the winners of the 2008 competition yesterday at ThinkTEC.

The event’s Grand Prize of $5,000 seed money, a scholarship to FastTrac entrepreneurial training programs and access to a Dream Team of Mentors went to Dr. Ron Fulbright from Spartanburg. His idea is Scentinel, a rapid-deploy, all-weather, nanosensor system used to detect the presence of thousands of elements and chemical compounds in the environment such as levels of greenhouse gasses, atmospheric conditions, water conditions or toxic agents.

In addition to the Grand Prize Winner, four other award winners plus honorable mentions were named. Big news for us is that two of this year’s winners were FastTrac TechVenture graduates from the upstate! We’re especially proud of Ron Fulbright and Joe Milam! Go team!

Engineering

• Winner: Mount1 – Shaun Abraham and Anand Deekaram (Richland County); a robotic arm mount for flat screen televisions that can automatically adjust the position of the television using any universal remote control.


• Honorable Mention: Electromagnetic Enhancement of Crude Oil Recovery - Charles Stowers (Beaufort County); a method of electromagnetic stimulation used in heavy oil reservoirs, tar sand reservoirs, shale oil and secondary oil recovery to increase production rates.

Software/Information Technology

• Winner: BigLeapGPS – Joe Milam (Anderson County); a family protection company that utilizes the world’s smallest GPS device coupled with a 24/7 support network dedicated to locating and recovering lost, kidnapped, or injured family members, pets or assets anywhere in the world.


• Honorable Mention: oneZone Solutions – Jeff Beck (Charleston County); a home/business automation system that can control the temperature, lighting, security, irrigation and other home systems from any web-enabled device in the world.

Bio-Science

• Winner: Z Box - Jay Hughes (Charleston County); a compact CPAP medical device that creates a positive air pressure in the esophagus and sinus cavities for those suffering from mild to severe sleep apnea.


• Honorable Mention: Sleeve-On - Ron Norris (Richland County); a device for individuals with breast cancer who suffer from lymph edema and/or circulatory disorders to help them pull on their compression sleeve(s) using one hand.

Environmental Sustainability

• Honorable Mention: Palmetto Solar – Andrew Epting (Richland County); implementation of the creation, installation and maintenance of solar photovoltaic systems for manufacturing, warehousing and retail industries, government and institutions of higher education and the small business and residential sectors.

Wild Card category

• Winner: Azula – Julie McWherter (Spartanburg County); a pliable and fashionably-designed mat for women to sit on at the edge of the pool to protect their bathing suits from snagging.


• Honorable Mention: Charleston Fish and Chip – Andrew Smith (Charleston County); a facility where customers can either work on their golf game on a driving range and nine hole course or practice their cast in a stocked fishing hole.

Congratulations to all, and let this be a reminder to other budding entrepreneurs that 40% of this year’s winners graduated from the FastTrac entrepreneurial training BEFORE they entered!

Spartanburg, SC — Exopack announces that Gary McDaniel has been named Senior Vice President and General Manager, Plastics Business. In his new role, Gary will provide strategic leadership and overall P&L responsibility for Exopack’s Plastics Business.

Gary has 30 years of experience in the packaging industry, including serving as a past Chairman of the Flexible Packaging Association. His most recent position was with Altivity Packaging (formerly Smurfit Stone Container, Inc.), where he served as Vice President and General Manager of their Flexible Packaging Division. McDaniel also serves on the Board of Directors of Oberweis Mutual Fund.

Exopack Chairman and CEO Jack Knott expressed excitement over the hiring of McDaniel by saying, “Gary is a recognized leader within our industry. His wealth of flexible packaging experience will play a critical role in defining a path for the continued success of our Plastics Business and will support our efforts to sustain a value commitment to our stakeholders.”

Gary holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Miami University in Marketing and Economics and earned an MBA from the University of Chicago.

McDaniel will be located in Chicago, IL. He will report to Tom Vale, Exopack’s Chief Operating Officer.

via Exopack

Spartanburg, SC — Exopack, a manufacturer and developer of packaging solutions and industrial application film coatings, has sold its Newmarket, Ontario film business to Dynamic Solutions Unlimited, LLC.  The decision for this current sale comes after the recent acquisition of Exopack’s Whitby, Ontario film production facility by DuPont LiquiBox.  Newmarket has been supplying high quality single and multi-layer polyethylene films for more than fifty years.

via Exopack

Spartanburg, SC –  Iljin America, a South Korean manufacturer of industrial grade ball bearings has begun launching operation in Spartanburg county.  By September of 2009 the company expects to add about 120 jobs to the region.

In March the company bought a former textile building located near the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and since has been working on solidifying their $38 million investment in the region. At present some state incentives packages are still being negotiated and will likely be a topic of discussion for the Spartanburg County Council sometime next week.

Iljin has a workforce of over 2,000 employees at plants in South Korea, China, and Slovakia.  Last year the company reported over $1 billion in revenues.  Hiring for the new upstate plant is expected to begin over the next eight months. 

for more information visit Iljin

Columbia, Charleston, Clemson, Greenville, and Spartanburg SC — AT&T has announced plans to invest over $30 million dollars in South Carolina with the goal of upgrading their wireless and broadband Internet service.  By the end of June AT&t has said it plans to have the high speed third generation (3G) wireless networks up and running in Charleston, Clemson, Greenville, and Spartanburg. 

AT&T will also add to the companies already existing cell sites throughout the state.  With more than 330 such sites already in South Carolina, the new additions will further increase coverage area for both high speed broadband and wireless service.

This most recent investment in South Carolina will bring the companies three-year network investment in the state for wireless and wired services to $750 million.

via AT&T 

“Sixty Upstate plants were among the 134 plant sites recognized statewide by the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance for outstanding workplace safety in 2007.

Facilities with a low rate of accidents resulting in lost workdays, job transfers or restrictions were nominated for the safety recognition. Plants submitting an incident rate below the statewide average for their NAICS code received the award.

The awards were presented recently during the SCMA’s Plant Safety Conference in Columbia. Jim Knight, director of community and governmental affairs for the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, presented the awards.”

read more at Greenvilleonline.com