Great Expectations

2022 achievements prove Delaware is ready for more success in 2023

BY KURT FOREMAN

DELAWARE MADE GREAT STRIDES as a state for business in 2022 and has great momentum heading into 2023.

Delaware Prosperity Partnership finished the year celebrating its fifth anniversary and the announcement—in cooperation with statewide partners and investors—of more than 50 located projects, nearly 8,000 new and retained jobs, and over $1.5 billion in capital investment since 2017.

These projects include companies new to the First State—such as Maryland-headquartered LaMotte Company, which announced its expansion to Delaware last February—and companies already operating here. Those in the latter category include Solenis, whose announced expansion to a new Avenue North headquarters was one of DPP’s first projects in 2018. DPP worked with the Delaware-founded global water technologies leader again in 2022, as the company once more chose the Wilmington area—this time Chestnut Run Innovation and Science Park—for expansion.

Governor John Carney, Delaware Prosperity Partnership, and economic development partners from throughout the state showcased Kent and Sussex counties for visiting site selectors during Delaware Summit 2022.

Another “repeat customer” in 2022 was The Royale Group. Royale was new to Delaware when it acquired Bear’s IMS Chemblend, renamed the operation AWSM Solutions Delaware and relocated its corporate headquarters there from New Jersey in 2021. In 2022, Royale decided to grow its Delaware presence by choosing the former BASF Polymer Plant in Seaford for its Royale Pigments & Chemicals operation.

Such activity shows how much the state has to offer both existing and new-to-Delaware businesses. When announcing his company’s latest expansion, for example, Royale Group CEO John Logue enthusiastically identified Delaware as “a great place to do business.” He also cited the abundance of “valuable resources to help start or move a business to the state.”

According to Scott Amsbaugh, LaMotte’s president and CEO, expansion to Pencader Corporate Center in Newark was driven largely by the site’s proximity to the University of Delaware (UD) and the “skilled and educated local workforce” UD would help provide since his company had been having difficulty sourcing staff in Maryland. The agile, responsive reputation that UD, Delaware Technical Community College, and Delaware’s other educational and workforce-development entities have earned is well-deserved as they actively create and modify programs to keep the statewide talent pool deep.

Delaware also has been creating or taking advantage of opportunities to increase funding, infrastructure, and other capacity. Thanks to initiatives like the state’s Lab Space Grants and Site Readiness Fund, lab-based companies are getting properly fitted out room to grow and sites for businesses are closer to being available.

Federal monies—including $500 million in infrastructure bill funding the Delaware Department of Transportation is receiving – are being deployed. As innovators develop ideas and launch businesses around them, programs like Horn Entrepreneurship at UD, Division of Small Business EDGE Grants, and the DPP-coordinated Startup302 competition provide further support.

Heading into our sixth full year of operation, DPP celebrates all that our team, our statewide partners, and our investors have accomplished. Collectively, we have much to be proud of—and much to anticipate in 2023.

Kurt Foreman is the president and chief executive officer of Delaware Prosperity Partnership.