News Summary

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), May 17, 2007

Opnet improves earnings

Opnet Technologies Inc., of Bethesda, which manufactures network management software, reported net income for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended March 31, of $1.6 million, or 7 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $24.4 million, versus net income of $985,000, or 5 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $21.3 million for the same period last year.

American Brewery sale OK'd

The Baltimore Board of Estimates on Wednesday approved the sale of the historic American Brewery building on Gay Street in East Baltimore to an investor group controlled by Baltimore developer Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, which plans to convert the long- vacant, deteriorated building into a headquarters for Humanim Inc., a human services nonprofit based in Columbia. An adjacent bottling plant would be used for a mix of office, retail and warehouse space.

Sweet deal for Bluefire

Bluefire Security Technologies Inc., of Baltimore, which develops security software to protect wireless devices and data, said Switzerland-based international food and beverage company Nestle has begun deploying Bluefire Mobile Security VPN to its employees in Brazil. The VPN, for Virtual Private Network, is a private data network that enables Nestle's field sales team to transmit data securely to Nestle's headquarters.

Millennium operations sold

National Titanium Dioxide Co. Ltd., also known as Cristal, an affiliate of a Saudi Arabian company, said it completed its acquisition for $1.3 billion of Houston, Texas-based Lyondell Chemical Co.'s Millennium Inorganic Chemicals segment, a Hunt Valley- based manufacturer of titanium dioxide, a powdery pigment that is used in the manufacture of paint, plastics, paper and other products. Millennium's headquarters will remain in Hunt Valley, Cristal said. The deal includes a manufacturing plant in Hawkins Point and a research facility in Glen Burnie, as well as other operations in the United States and overseas.

Step up for DCA

Dialysis Corporation of America, of Linthicum, which owns and operates free-standing kidney hemodialysis centers, said its application has been approved to have its stock listed on the Nasdaq Global Market (formerly the Nasdaq National Market). This is a step up from the company's listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market (symbol: DCAI), where it has been placed since April 1996. DCA said it applied for the upgraded listing to gain the increased visibility and market exposure associated with a Global Market listing.

Michigan hospitals sold

Bon Secours Health System Inc., of Marriottsville, a $2.2 billion, nonprofit Catholic health system, said a joint venture with Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, in which Bon Secours is the majority partner, agreed to sell the 290-bed Bon Secours Hospital in Grosse Pointe, Mich., and a nursing care center and an assisted living facility in St. Clair Shores, Mich., to Beaumont Hospitals, of Royal Oak, Mich. Financial details were not disclosed. Bon Secours also said the Henry Ford system will take over sole ownership of the 155-bed Cottage Hospital in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., now owned by the joint venture.

Merkle in the Wilderness

Merkle Inc., of Lanham, a provider of database marketing services, said it is helping Washington, D.C.-based conservation nonprofit The Wilderness Society improve its member service through faster gift processing and flexible reporting, under a three-year contract that began in September 2006. The 200,000-member society is using Merkle's Image Viewer software to electronically retrieve and view on desktop computers every piece of processed mail, rather than its staff having to manually trace the documents.

More orders for Comtech

Comtech Mobile Datacom Corp., of Germantown, a provider of mobile data communications systems, said it received orders totaling $2.2 million on its Movement Tracking System contract with the U.S. Army. Total orders received to date against the $418.2 million MTS contract increased to $394.3 million. The orders are primarily for the supply of satellite network capacity and technical services in support of ongoing MTS operations in the United States and abroad.

Williams' new product

Williams Scotsman International, of White Marsh, a lessor of mobile office and storage units, announced the launch of a new line of stainless steel products manufactured by its Spanish subsidiary, Wiron, for the modular building industry. The material, which the company said is both structurally strong and resistant to moist, salty climate conditions, is suitable for structures near coastal locations, such as port offices, storage modules, maritime rescue installations and Red Cross shelters.

Education Award winners

A dozen award winners were announced Monday at the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce's and Baltimore County Public Schools System's 21st annual Awards for Excellence in Education. Award winners, selected from 169 nominees, were: Geoffrey Holland, Dundalk High School; Christine Beard, Ridgely Middle School; Kathy Powell, Lansdowne Elementary School; Frances Vaeth, Campbell Early Learning Center; Joanna Ambridge, Pine Grove Elementary School; Margo Rogers, Timonium Elementary School; Jonathan Roland, Perry Hall High School; Chris Lambert, Owings Mills High School; Gary Caldwell, Chesapeake High School; Leslie Bridgett, Hillcrest Elementary School; Melanie Davis, Windsor Mill Middle School; and John Roberts, Overlea High School.