E-Newsletter

Fairfax County E-Bird for April 25, 2019

United we stand: The St. James sports complex in Springfield has become D.C. United’s training center. Eyeing the only FIFA-regulation indoor pitch in the region, the Major League Soccer team inked a five-year deal that names The St. James as its official performance training partner. In addition to strength, conditioning and aquatic training, the team will take part in performance testing and receive rejuvenation and innovative treatments at The St. James medical spa. D.C. United will promote The St. James in social media and e-mail campaigns. Katishi Maake scored this story for the Washington Business Journal.

First Line of response: The Nashville, Tenn., Fire Department selected First Line Technology of Chantilly to retrofit its first “Ambubus,” basically a school bus converted into an incident-response vehicle. First Line designs and manufactures medical equipment, including stretchers, decontamination kits and medical packs often for use by the military and first responders. In Nashville, WKRN.com. reports the Ambubus, unveiled this week, can serve as a shelter, treatment center and evacuation vehicle especially for weather and flood response.

Permanent hire: At the dedication event of the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Merrifield yesterday afternoon, Dr. John Deeken was introduced as president of the institute. Deeken, the chief medical officer there, had been serving as acting president. The $150 million center opens to the public May 13. Sara Gilgore reports for the Washington Business Journal.

Small time: A Barnes & Noble’s bookstore that opened yesterday in the Mosaic District of Merrifield is the company’s smallest. Rebecca Cooper of the Washington Business Journal reports that Barnes & Noble is using the 8,300-square-foot location as a prototype in terms of styling and content. It will include a children’s section with LEGO activity table, a self-serve kiosk and tablet-equipped booksellers throughout the store. It will also include a traditional assortment of books, a selection of educational toys, games, and gift items and a cafe.

Worth reviewing: The debut issue of the Virginia Economic Review, published by Virginia Economic Development Partnership, highlights seven recent wins for Fairfax County in securing economic expansions by companies. Beyond Amazon’s decision to expand in Northern Virginia, the publications points to decisions by 1901 Group, Appian, Excivity, IDEMIA, KPMG, MAG Aerospace and MicroStrategy among 36 “wins” for the Commonwealth.

You can Google it: Google, which is expanding its presence with new offices in Reston, is ranked sixth among large companies on Forbes list of Best Companies for Employees. Navy Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Tysons, is 24th on the list, based on surveys with 50,000 workers at companies with more than 5,000 employees.

Decisions processed: Aldrich Capital Partners, a Tysons-based growth-equity firm focused on the healthcare IT, fintech and application software markets, invested $40 million in Decisions, a Chesapeake, Va.-based developer of no-code business rule and process-automation software. According to a release carried by Potomac Tech Wire, Decisions provides technology for automating key business processes, workflows and rules.

Lending a hand: The Washington Business Journal lists the 25 largest commercial lenders in the Greater Washington area. The top three, based on commercial and industrial loans in 2018, are headquartered in Fairfax County. They are Capital One (Tysons, $31.04 billion); United Bank (Tysons, $1.42 billion) Union Bank & Trust (Springfield, $1.32 billion).

Breaking news: Tysons-based TEGNA won 91 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards this week — four of them, including an Excellence in Innovation award, going to local outlet WUSA9. The awards honor outstanding achievements in broadcast and digital journalism. Citybizlist reports that TEGNA, which has turned its emphasis to local news coverage, won five of its awards for overall excellence and received more regional awards than any other media company.

Notable contract wins by firms in Fairfax County

  • Lockheed Martin secured a potential three-year, $362.7 million contract to deliver multiple launch rocket systems to the Army through November 2022. GovConWire
  • Octo Consulting will deliver Agile software engineering services under a contract to support the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. ExecutiveBiz

Upcoming Business Events

  • May 2: Fantastic 50 Awards Banquet. Fifty of Virginia’s fastest-growing companies will be recognized in Chantilly by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Click here.
  • May 3: Jewels of Asia Awards Gala. 10th anniversary event will include cocktail reception, silent auction and performances and recognize area individuals, small businesses, corporations and non-profits. Presented by Asian American Chamber of Commerce. Click here.
  • May 7: Northern Virginia B2G Matchmaking Conference and Small Business Expo. Seventh annual business-to-government event to connect small businesses with agencies and primes. Presented by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. Click here.
  • May 8: Build It With #FairfaxEDA. Half-day workshop presented by the FCEDA to offer guidance and inspiration to anyone who wants to start or expand a business in Fairfax County. Featuring keynote speaker Ric Edelman, financial advisor and best-selling author. Click here.
  • May 17: Small Business Expo. 15th anniversary networking event featuring business speakers and exhibitors. Presented by BL Networking. Click here.

FAIRFACT: New numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show Fairfax County’s population has grown 6.4 percent since the 2010 census, to 1.15 million residents.