Corrections or additions?
These articles were published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on February 25,
1998. All rights reserved.
Life in the Fast Lane
Last week’s U.S. 1 cover story on Caren Franzini told
how part of state government, the New Jersey Economic Development
Authority, was acting more like a business than a bureaucracy. One
pertinent example is the Technology Center of New Jersey on Route
1 in North Brunswick. EDA’s new building there, “Tech One,”
had been marketed to small and medium size companies that did not
have enough credit to borrow the money to build out their own labs.
EDA would do the build-out and charge it back to the tenant in form
of rent.
The small firms had expressed interest in a total of 30,000 feet,
about half the space, but they were slow to sign their leases.
Franzini,
executive director of the NJEDA, thinks that was because smaller firms
typically need to “kick the tires” — see the space before
they decide to move in.
Then the EDA received an offer from one big company (Mariel, a joint
venture between Merck and Rhone-Poulenc formed last fall) to take
the entire 60,000 feet. Late last year Mariel signed a letter of
intent
to occupy the entire space, and discussions are going on as expected.
Everyone but the smaller would-be tenants thought that was a good
business decision.
The deal could, after all, have gone to outposts of Merck and
Rhone-Poulenc
in Pennsylvania or Georgia. “We’re lucky to be able to put a
package
together to keep them in New Jersey,” says Tim Lizura, who handles
EDA’s asset and leasing management. “This is good news for New
Jersey.”
“It is a really nice thing for New Jersey that Mariel has been
able to base its North American headquarters as well as part of its
global operations in New Jersey,” says Janice Keene of Merial’s
Iselin office.
“There was a month when we took flack from the prospective tenants
waiting in the wings, but we felt with the market the way it was,
we needed an anchor in the park,” says Sab Russo of CB Commercial.
“Keep in mind this is not taxpayer money; they have raised this
money privately.”
“Perhaps we didn’t communicate what the Tech Center was all
about,”
admits Franzini. She says the Tech Center vision has always been to
provide a place for major companies to expand, to be a home for
growing
businesses, and to foster synergy between high tech companies and
the state’s universities.
Merial, for instance, has a $1.9 billion revenue base and a $120
million
R&D budget, the largest in the industry. It is the world’s largest
company solely dedicated to the discovery, manufacture, and marketing
of veterinary pharmaceuticals and vaccines, everything from flea
treatment
for cats to medicines for chickens and cows. With about 1,600
employees
in North America, it has a North American operational headquarters
in Iselin (the former site for Merck AgVet) plus a global headquarters
in London, England, and an operation in Lyon, France (formerly Rhone
Merieux).
“In our mind, large companies feed off of small companies,
especially
in the scientific field,” says Franzini. And though two of the
would-be tenants have found space, one in Princeton and the other
at Exit 8A, other companies are still interested in getting lab space.
“This gave us a great opportunity — to start on the second
building a full nine months early,” says Franzini. CUH2A, based
on Roszel Road, will again do the architecture for Tech Two, at 651
Route 1 South, and Torcon will be the contractor. When complete, the
TCNJ will have 200,000 square feet. And, promises Franzini, “We
are building Tech Two dedicated to smaller businesses and no question
about that.”
— Barbara Fox
Bunsen burners in New Brunswick, computers in Trenton.
That’s how it seemed state incubator space would be allocated. New
Brunswick’s Jersey Avenue incubators would be for young high tech
businesses and Trenton’s would be devoted to those businesses whose
technology needs were centered around computers.
Now space is so tight on Jersey Avenue that the Trenton Business and
Technology Center has begun to take some lab-space tenants. The TBTC
has fitted out a $30,000 lab space for John J. Wille to use for his
consulting business, Bioderm.
Wille has degrees from Cornell University, Class of 1960, and Indiana
University. He worked at the universities of Cincinnati, Chicago,
and Louisiana State, and then did experimental pathology at the Mayo
Clinic.
The former director of medical product research at Bristol-Myers
Squibb,
Wille is also president and chief operating officer of the 13-year-old
firm Hy-Gene Inc., (U.S. 1, November 9, 1997).
His own firm, Bioderm, has a consulting contract with Bristol-Myers
Squibb. Among his areas of interest: R&D for early stage development
of advanced wound healing products including living skin substitutes,
advanced wound dressing, design of quality control tests required
for regulatory approvals, and design of medical products for wound
healing.
Unlike Bioderm, most of Trenton’s tenants are the more traditional
businesses, and they are moving in with gratifying speed. Nationwide
there are 600 incubators and the average time needed to fill them
up is three years, but, says Joseph E. Kielec, TBTC manager, Trenton’s
may be full just 18 months from the day it opened. The TBTC is now
60 percent occupied.
Bioderm is the only biotech one. “We don’t have the ventilation
systems for high volume experimental labs,” says Kielec. “If
the TBTC expands, our next building may need laboratory space.”
Bioderm Technologies Inc., 36 South Broad Street,Trenton 08608. John J. Wille PhD, president. 609-656-0784; fax,609-396-8603.E-mail: jjwille@aol.com.Top Of PageExpansionsSEQ Ltd., 17 Princess Road, Suite A, Lawrenceville08648. Robert F. Johnston, acting president and CEO. 609-620-0220;fax, 609-620-0221. E-mail: iweston@seq.sarnoff.com.A Bob Johnston biotech company is moving out of its incubator,from the basement of Sarnoff to 15,000 square feet at 17A PrincessRoad. SEQ is not a Sarnoff company, but it was renting space thereduring its incubation stage. Now it has 12 employees, includingJohnstonas acting CEO. Just a few scientists are at the new place now, andeveryone else is at 201 Washington Road, phone 609-452-6033; fax609-452-5955.The technology involves proprietary gene sequencing, single moleculesequencing by fluorescence, and high throughput screening (U.S. 1,May 14, 1997). The space they occupy had been a lab for the statehealth department.Top Of PageCrosstown MovesAmway Corporation, 1 Applegate Drive, NortheastBusiness Park, Box 9985, Hamilton 08650-0900. Thomas C. Ehler,manager.609-259-4000; fax, 609-259-4031.Matrix Development’s Northeast Business Park boasts a new buildingwith a build-to-suit tenant, Amway Corporation. The distributor ofhousehold cleaning products and farm maintenance supplies began movingto its $4 million state-of-the-art facility on December 6 andofficiallyopened in January. Set on 11 acres, the building is 113,000 squarefeet and has more warehouse but less office space than its previousquarters in Dayton at 461 Ridge Road. The phone and fax are new.Tom Sullivan and Sab Russo of CB Commercial in Piscataway assistedCB Commercial’s Philadelphia office to represent Matrix and thecontractor,Dolan Contractors of Westhampton New Jersey.Meridian Enterprises Corporation, 101 InterchangePlaza, First Floor, Cranbury 08512. Paul Lewis, associate accountexecutive. 609-409-1776; fax, 609-409-1779.The marketing incentive firm that U.S. 1 reported moving out of 666Plainsboro Road (February 18) has been found by one of U.S. 1’svigilantdeliverers. Meridian has relocated to 101 Interchange Plaza near Exit8A. Paul Lewis notes that the new location is “a little biggerand better” and a little more central than the prior locationat the Princeton Meadows Office Center. The firm is based in St Louis.Phone and fax are new.Pharmaceutical Quality Associates, 20 NassauStreet,Suite 202, Princeton 08542. Leonard Kaplan PhD, president.609-683-9484;fax, 609-683-9487.In January Leonard Kaplan moved his firm from 103 CarnegieCenterto 20 Nassau Street, where it has a new phone and fax. The firm offersconsulting services and product development of oral and topical drugdelivery systems.Knitting Concepts Inc., 24 A Forge Street,Jamesburg08831. Derek Fairey, owner. 732-521-4488; fax, 732-521-2117.Derek Fairey has moved his weaving business from 2394 Route130 in Dayton to less expensive quarters in Jamesburg. He manufacturesknit fabric for sweaters from raw material yarn. Phone and fax arenew.Fairey grew up in Leicestershire, the weaving center of England, andcomes from a long line of weavers. He immigrated to the United Statesin 1979 and started his own firm 10 years later when he bought hisfirst computerized knitting machine and set it up in a garage (U.S.1, May 6, 1992).Weaving, he has said, requires a certain knack. “If you’ve notgot it you can’t buy it,” says Fairey. “The feel in the hands– you have to have that feel, or you are not going to be aknitter.”Top Of PageExpansionsThe Nielsen-Wurster Group Inc., 345 Wall Street,Princeton 08540. Kris R. Nielsen, CEO and president. 609-497-7300;fax, 609-497-3412.The engineering, construction, and construction management firm hasadded nearly 2,000 square feet for a total of 8,650 feet.Top Of PageLeaving TownAmeriquest Mortgage, 4000 Route 66, Tinton Falls07753. Joe Suarez, branch manager. 732-922-6118; fax, 732-922-4748.Joe Suarez has moved the office from a temporary location at 14WashingtonRoad to Tinton Falls. The firm is based in California.Bedard Kurowicki & Company, 318 Route 202 North,Suite 5, Box 77062, Flemington 08822. John R. Bedard CPA,partner.908-782-7900; fax, 908-782-4328.This accounting firm has relocated from West Trenton and hasa new phone and fax.Comprehensive Asset Management, 8 South River Road,Cranbury. David L. Bailin CLU ChFc, general agent.David Baillin has moved his office to be part of MidMonmouthFinancial Concepts, 3301-A, Highway 66, Neptune 07753; 732-932-6300;fax, 732-922-3353. It is part of Minnesota Mutual Life InsuranceCompanyand does business and personal financial planning.FMC Specialty Products, 105 College Road East,Princeton 08543-0008. Anthony J. Maro, director. 609-951-3000; fax,609-951-3809.About 40 employees in the special products research division willbe moving to FMC’s group headquarters in Philadelphia on March 1.Lincoln Company, 626 Sayre Drive, Princeton 08540.Philip J. Carcara, managing partner. 215-238-1259. E-mail:pjcarcara@juno.com.Philip Carcara has moved his office to Pennsylvania. He consultson management, financing, and funding needs for manufacturingcompanies.Top Of PageManagement MovesGlenmede Trust Company of New Jersey, 16 ChambersStreet, Princeton 08540-6232. William D. Baird Jr., president.609-683-1005;fax, 609-252-0082.William Baird succeeds Bruce D. Simon as president of the NewJersey company, which offers asset management services and trustservicesand is part of Glenmede Corporation and Pew Charitable Trusts. Simonwas named chief investment officer of the parent Glenmede company.The Pennington School, 112 West Delaware Avenue,Pennington 08534. 609-737-1838; fax, 609-730-1405.In July, Lyle D. Rigg, 53, will take the position of headmaster atthis private, coeducational, college preparatory school. He comesfrom the headmaster’s post at The American School in Switzerland.He is married to Sharon Creech, whose children’s novel “Walk TwoMoons” won the Newbery Medal in 1995.Schaeffer Lamont & Associates, 35-37 MontgomeryKnoll, Box 3561, Princeton 08543-3561. Sharon Lamont and Linda J.Schaeffer, managing partners. 609-683-4970; fax, 609-683-0523.Sharon Lamont and Linda Schaeffer bought out the Princeton officeof R.D. Hunter and renamed it Schaeffer Lamont & Associates. R.D.Hunter & Co. has offices in Paramus and New York City.nPrevious StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
