COLUMBIA, Md. (May 31, 2012) – The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) today hosted the organization’s second annual ICE Awards. Held at the Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel in Columbia, Md., the event recognized three of the most outstanding businesses and individuals from TEDCO’s diverse portfolio of more than 300 seed and early-stage companies. Winners were selected from among 15 finalists in the areas of Innovation, Corporate Excellence and Entrepreneurship (ICE). Approximately 190 representatives from TEDCO’s portfolio companies and partnering organizations attended the event. Over the course of TEDCO’s 14-year history, the organization has provided more than $14 million in funding to Maryland businesses from its Maryland Technology Transfer and Commercialization Fund, its signature program to fund start-up companies. The event also featured an update from TEDCO on funding programs and new initiatives designed to support entrepreneurs.
“TEDCO is proud of its history of funding seed and early-stage companies, and we want to continually celebrate the businesses and entrepreneurs that have made important strides,” said Rob Rosenbaum, president and executive director of TEDCO. “The ICE Awards give TEDCO the chance to acknowledge the accomplishments of our portfolio companies and to continue to cultivate Maryland’s technology industry.”
The winners are:
Innovation: Vorbeck Materials, Inc. Selected for creating a new technology that greatly improves or changes current products or processes and gained follow-on funding. Vorbeck Materials is a global technology company developing commercial products using its proprietary graphene materials Vor-x™, the strongest, most conductive material to date. Vorbeck Materials, Inc. is based in Jessup, Md.
Corporate Excellence: BioFortis, Inc. Recognized for its growth in the number of employees, revenue and investments, as well as community involvement and industry recognition. BioFortis, Inc. produced Labmatrix™, which integrates data between life science research and clinical practice. BioFortis, Inc. is based in Columbia, Md.
Entrepreneur: Mahi Reddy, founder and CEO, SemaConnect, Inc. Selected for outstanding leadership by a company founder. Mahi Reddy founded SemaConnect, Inc. in 2009 with the goal of designing and manufacturing charging stations for electric vehicles. In a short period of time, SemaConnect has become an industry leader in producing and supporting charging stations for the next generation of electric vehicles. Under Mahi’s leadership, in the last 18 months the company has won the first order of $250,000 to install charging stations across Maryland; achieved certification for its flagship product, the ChargePro 620 and secured more than $4 million in funding. It is based in Annapolis, Md.
The event also featured demonstrations by TEDCO portfolio companies of their technologies and prototypes, networking opportunities, the awards presentation and remarks by representatives from 2011 ICE Award-winning companies.