Nick Stergioulas, STI, nick.stergioulas@safetydss.com, 571-239-5719 

Fairfax County-based Safety Technologies Inc. expands at home and in southern Virginia to develop anti-blast and anti-fire technology

Company to create 15 jobs in Fairfax, 46 in Lunenburg County

Fairfax County, Virginia USA, Tuesday, May 10, 2011 -

Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that Fairfax County-based Safety Technologies, Inc. (STI, www.safetydss.com), a technology leader in providing a permanent, cost-efficient solution for any type of fuel storage tank against explosions, blasts and fire, will invest $5.89 million to expand its administrative offices in Fairfax and to open a manufacturing plant in Lunenburg County, Virginia. The company will create 15 jobs in Fairfax and 46 jobs in Lunenburg, about 175 miles south of Fairfax.

STI holds the exclusive marketing and manufacturing rights for the Detonation Suppression System (DSS™) within North America and marketing/distribution rights to a number of other countries. DSS™ is a patented technology developed to prevent explosions and mitigate blasts and the spread of fires in any fuel storage system. The DSS technology also provides significant environmental and energy savings. The company’s operation in Lunenburg will manufacture an aluminum foil product used in the DSS™. Virginia competed against Alabama, Maryland, New Mexico and Pennsylvania for the project.

“STI is an excellent demonstration of how the growth of a company in Fairfax County can also benefit another part of the Commonwealth,” said Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA). “Virginia is a great place to conduct a wide variety of business operations.”

“Virginia is an ideal location for business,” said Nick Stergioulas, Ph.D., founder and CEO of STI. “The Commonwealth offers a strong manufacturing base, the best access to domestic and global markets, and the cost of doing business and quality of workforce are among the best in the country…We are also very appreciative of the tremendous support we have received from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Lunenburg County, Fairfax County, the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, and the Virginia Department of Business Assistance. Their assistance has far exceeded our expectations.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Lunenburg County and the FCEDA to secure the project for Virginia. Governor McDonnell approved a $100,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist Lunenburg County with the project. The Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission approved $160,000 in Tobacco Region Opportunity Funds. STI is eligible to participate in the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program run by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. Through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide funding and services to support STI recruitment and training activities.