Virginia-Israel Opportunity Brief
Virginia-Israel Advisory Board
October 2017, Vol 1- Issue 40
Israel-Virginia Company OSG Expands Its Emporia Plant -- Brings 55 New Jobs to Virginia
Governor McAuliffe and Louis Mitchener, Senior VP OSG
Governor Terry McAuliffe joins VIAB and local government representatives to celebrate the company's growth and to present a $150,000 check to aid the expansion
September 2017 - Emporia, VA
Last month, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe joined local leaders at Oran Safety Glass' Emporia plant to announce a $4.45 million expansion adding 55 jobs to the plant.  First brought to Virginia in 2006 with a joint effort by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Greensville County, the Emporia-Greensville Industrial Development Corporation, the Greensville County Industrial Development Authority and the Virginia Israel Advisory Board, OSG is an Israel based company and a leading manufacturer of specialty glass for military vehicles.

The Governor presented Greensville County Supervisors Dr. Margaret Lee, Michael Ferguson and Raymond Bryant with a $150,000 check, a grant from the Commonwealth's Opportunity Fund, as part of the investment into the OSG expansion.  McAuliffe noted that ten years ago Virginia was chosen over Wisconsin for the OSG project. 
      _________________________________________________________________

"On behalf of all the citizens of Virginia, I know you 
could have gone to Wisconsin - you made the right 
decision.  I do want to thank you for your continued investment in  the great Commonwealth of Virginia." 
                                    -Governor T. McAuliffe
   ______________________________________________________

Ralph Robbins, Executive Director of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board when Governor McAuliffe visited Israel in 2016 said "The VIAB is happy to see that OSG recognizes Virginia as the right place for Israeli companies to grow and expand in the United States.  We also know that Governor McAuliffe's trade and marketing focused  visit to Israel last year paid dividends with OSG and with other Israeli companies which are serious about beginning operations in Virginia."
EPC Ltd. Opens First US facility in Tazewell, Virginia
Pat Greene, an official from Tazewell, and Charles Botwick, President EPC America turn on the power for the first time.
EPC's onsite wastewater recycling technology serves new recreational park and acts as the company's demonstration site in the United States
August 2017 - Tazewell, VA
When the Virginia Israel Advisory Board introduced EPC's innovative "bio-disk" technology to Tazewell, Virginia, the agency was sure that the Israeli company's systems would prove critical to communities with limited access to main sewage lines.  The VIAB recognized the importance of EPC's solution for rural America and the quality of the company's management and worked with EPC for many years to help the business define its proper market entry strategy in the Commonwealth.  Tazewell also saw the excellence and utility of EPC's system and when the County decided to develop Cavitt's Creek Recreational Center awarded EPC the contract to install its wastewater treatment system as  well as to build recreational cabins and the waste treatment infrastructure.  Additionally, the Tazewell Industrial Development Authority awarded a $25,000 grant to help realize the project and to keep the systems manufactured in Tazewell, fueling its economy and growing jobs.    

Charles Botwick, President and CEO of EPC America, said, "We foresee significant growth for our Tazewell based company as we market these solutions nationally.   Our efforts will create further impetus for other companies to create a manufacturing and distribution center for water, wastewater, and other innovative products in Tazewell.  In fact we have already created a team of Virginia based companies critical to the completion of the Cavitt's Creek project.
Together we will provide turnkey projects in Tazewell, regionally, and nationally and we envision becoming an exporter from Virginia to the world."
Israel-Virginia Company Cyren Wins CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards - Also Awarded Close to $1 Million by the Israeli Innovation Authority
Cyren Named "Secure Web Gateway Solution of the Year" and "Hosted Email Security Solution of the Year"
September 2017 - McLean,VA
Cyren, a leading cloud internet security company with headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, announced that it has won the "Secure Web Gateway Solution of the Year" and "Hosted Email Security Solution of the Year" awards from  CyberSecurity Breakthrough, an independent organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global information security market.  This year's program attracted more than 2,000 nominations from 12 countries. All nominations were evaluated by an independent panel of experts within the information security industry.

James Johnson, managing director at CyberSecurity Breakthrough, said "In selecting Cyren as winner for the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards, we recognize their industry leadership as well as their commitment to applying innovation to address today's complex security and threat landscape."  Dan Maier , vice president of marketing at Cyren added  "Cyren is honored to receive these two notable marks of distinction in the industry."
How Virginia Business Leaders Can Maximize Their Success with Israeli Companies
Osnat Lautman shares secrets for achieving intercultural success without committing cultural faux pas.
August 2017- Fairfax, VA
The Virginia Israel Advisory Board (VIAB) brings Israeli companies connections, possible funding sources, growth and profitability in the Commonwealth of Virginia. If you want to build long-term, profitable business ties you'll also need to take the next step and learn about the other side's business culture in order to enhance communication and overcome the Israeli-American cultural gap.

The first step lies in understanding the main cultural characteristics of Americans and Israelis, and comparing the two. Over the past six years Osnat has interviewed nearly 100 people working in global companies. The knowledge she accumulated from these interviews, in addition to her experience, led her to formulate a practical model using the letters in the word "Israeli" as a basis for organizing the main Israeli business culture characteristics. 
TSA Chooses Fairfax, Virginia for New Headquarters
Relocation Makes Northern Virginia Even More Attractive for Israeli Cyber-Security Companies
August 2017- Fairfax, VA
The US Transportation Security Administration announced in August that it is expanding its headquarters in Virginia and moving into Fairfax County, VA. This will create additional opportunities for Israeli companies in Cybersecurity and HLS fields. 

Said Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. "We are thrilled and honored that the federal government has chosen a Fairfax County location to be the next headquarters for the important mission of the TSA. The site in central Springfield is a great location because it is accessible to highways and public transportation, and bringing TSA into the community means the area continues to develop into one of the region's major employment centers."
Virginia-Israeli Company News Briefs:
Israeli Companies Growing in Virginia - Expanding Globally
Elbit receives U.S. Army contract
Elbit Systems of America, LLC, an Israeli company with offices in Reston, VA,  announced in May that it had been awarded a contract worth approximately $166 million over five years to provide operator interface and computer processing capabilities for a U.S. Army platform.
Mellanox product proves effective for NASA
In June, the Mellanox Federal Systems office in Herndon, Virginia announced that NASA's Ames Research Center has selected the Mellanox EDR InfiniBand solutions and the new HPE SGI 8600 liquid-cooled platform to expand its "Electra" super-computing cluster.
Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. supplies solutions for data center servers and storage systems. The addition to the Electra supercomputer is expected to take place later this year.
Fairfax business updates provided by Ascher Kotz, Fairfax County EDA
Virginia Israel Advisory Board
Office of the Governor
8300 Boone Blvd, Suite 450
Vienna, Virginia 22182
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