Interim Newsletter
- Rice Consulting
- Feb 13
- 2 min read
Grant Recipients in Harford County
Recently, the recipients of the Build Our Future Grant Program were announced by the Maryland Department of Commerce, and I am happy to announce that two of the nine awardees are businesses located in Harford County. These funds will be used to build or upgrade infrastructure that supports technological innovation. Early Charm Ventures received $500,000 to retrofit the HEAT Center in Aberdeen into an innovation center, including wet labs (where drugs, chemicals, and other types of biological matter can be analyzed and tested using various liquids) and for instrumentation used in the materials science industry.
Secondly, The Mill of Black Horse LLC was awarded $1,000,000 for the construction of a 16,000-square-foot fertilizer plant for precision blended fertilizers that will serve over 1,000 farmers in the region. Incentivizing innovative technologies through schemes like the Build Our Future Grant Program is an important means of ensuring Maryland, and Harford County, remain on the cutting edge of innovation and helps create dynamic jobs that boost our local economy.
Additional Grant Opportunities
Speaking of grants, there is an exciting opportunity for manufacturers via the Maryland Manufacturing 4.0 Grant Program. According to the Economic Statistics Report updated by our county government yesterday, August 12th, 6.7% of our civilian workforce is employed in the manufacturing industry, so this grant would benefit a solid number of our neighbors.
To be eligible, a business must:
Be an existing business in good standing with the State of Maryland
Have between 3 and 250 total full-time employees (defined as an employee who works at least 1,800 hours in a 12-month period)
Have a two-digit NAICS code of 31-33
Have been established for a minimum of 2 years
Be in good standing with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Maryland Occupational Safety and Health regulations
Demonstrate an ability to successfully implement the proposed project
Demonstrate an overall commitment to, or strategy for, Industry 4.0 adoption
Demonstrate ability to provide matching funds
Examples of qualified projects and investments include:
Advanced Sensor Integration
Artificial Intelligence for continuous improvement of efficiency and productivity
Big Data & Analytics – investing in systems that allow manufacturers to better analyze the data collected within their operation, turning data into actionable insights that drive better decision-making
Cloud computing and cybersecurity solutions
Embedded software system applications
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Data Analytics software
Robots and autonomous equipment to help automate workflow (replacement of existing equipment would not be qualified)
Systems integration projects – either vertically sharing data within the organization to improve efficiencies, or horizontally across supply chains
Employee training and /or consulting costs associated with the implementation of the new systems/technologies/equipment
If you or someone you know could benefit from this grant, the application portal is currently open and will close at 5PM on Friday, August 30, 2024. Additional important links can be found here:
A webinar on how to apply was held on July 23rd. View a recording of that webinar here.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact my office at 410-841-3158 or marydulany.james@senate.state.md.us
Sincerely,
Mary-Dulany James
Senator
Harford County
Maryland General Assembly
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