The expansion of Fairfield Technologies Inc. to Fredericksburg exemplifies the importance of planning and communication in economic development, according to the firm’s president Ken Fried.
“Fredericksburg has done an outstanding job of communicating its interest in developing public private partnerships with businesses,”Fried said. “We’ve looked at communities throughout the nation and, frankly, none have done so well.”
Fairfield Technologies is a small, focused IT firm specializing in software development and modernization of IT systems across large data platforms. Their clients include federal agencies dealing with national security, as well as agencies with a science-focused mission such as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Weather Service. Headquartered in Chantilly, the firm has opened the Fredericksburg Research Center at 520 William Street. From this office, they will support federal government and commercial clients nationwide.
Fredericksburg’s city-wide HUBZone status is also appealing to Fairfield Technologies because the community is also home to a strong pool of qualified IT workers who now commute north to work. To qualify for HUBZone certification, 35 percent of a federal contractor’s employees must reside within a HUBZone.
“We already have employees living in Fredericksburg who commute to our office in Chantilly and to customer worksites, so we know the strength of the city’s workforce,” Fried said. “The government contracting marketplace continues to get more competitive. A successful business needs every edge it can get. So if HUBZone certification helps us get more business, it’s worth it. The fact that Fredericksburg has such a great work force helps,” he said.
In addition to relocating some employees’ work to Fredericksburg, Fried said the company will initially hire a number of part time research assistants, expanding staffing as our customers’ needs grow.
“When we viewed Fredericksburg’s economic development website, it was evident that the community had done a great job of planning and intelligently creating incentive corridors such as the arts corridor and the technology corridor. The website laid out all of the applicable incentives, as well as all the information that a company would need to know in order to open a business here,” he said.
In addition to the city’s pro-business approach, Fried said having an excellent university such as the University of Mary Washington nearby is key in a successfully developing organization, not only from the staffing standpoint, but also from an influx of new ideas and technologies.
“In the past we ahve had successful partnerships with faculty, staff, and students at George Mason University in Fairfax, and look forward to building such a relationship with UMW in Fredericksburg,” he said.
Fried summarized Fredericksburg’s economic development advantages which made it “easy” for them to choose the city for their research center:
- accessibility to their National Capital Region customer base,
- city-wide HUBZone with excellent pool of potential employees,
- home of UMW
- enviable quality of life
- pro-business local government
“You can’t underestimate the important role that your city and regional economic development officials play. We’re a relatively small firm, but they made us feel welcome. We’re eager to be a part of the community,” Fried said.